Diamondbacks Finish Road Trip in San Diego

The Arizona Diamondbacks are coming off a split series with the Los Angeles Dodgers, a series that could have been won of not for some untimely pitching. The D-Backs will move on to take on the San Diego Padres in a three-game series.

Here are the pitching matchups for this series…

Friday September 25

Rubby De La Rosa vs. Casey Kelly

Sep 18, 2015; San Francisco, CA, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Rubby De La Rosa (12) throws a pitch against the San Francisco Giants during the first inning at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

De La Rosa was good in his last start against the San Francisco Giants, where he went 5 2/3 innings, gave up zero runs on only one hit, walked four and struck out five. De La Rosa had lost his last two starts prior to his last one, which has kind of been the story of his season. He will have two good starts in a row and then implode in his next one and vice versa.

Mar 2, 2015; Peoria, AZ, USA; San Diego Padres starting pitcher Casey Kelly (49) poses during photo day at Peoria Sports Complex. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

Kelly will be making his first start for the Padres this season. He has only pitched in one game this season, pitching two innings, giving up one run on five hits and striking out three. He came into that game against the Colorado Rockies in garbage time as the Padres lost to the Rockies 10-2. In six career starts, Kelly is 2-3 with a 6.10 ERA.

Saturday September 26

Jeremy Hellickson vs. Robbie Erlin

Sep 20, 2015; San Francisco, CA, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Jeremy Hellickson (58) throws a pitch against the San Francisco Giants during the first inning at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

Hellickson was also good in his last start against the Giants. He went five innings, gave up two runs on three hits, walked two and struck out five. Hellickson has been the loser in both his starts since coming off the disabled list and is not having the year the D-Backs would have hoped. Overall, he is 9-10 with a 4.73 ERA. It doesn’t help that Hellickson pitches in Chase Field, a notorious hitters park. Petco Park in San Diego, however, is a pitchers park so hopefully tonight’s start is a good one for him.

Apr 30, 2014; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Diego Padres starting pitcher Robbie Erlin (41) pitches against the San Francisco Giants during the fourth inning at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

Erlin is another young arm for the Padres, who will be making his second start of the season. He was not good in his first start this season. He only lasted three innings, gave up seven runs on nine hits. Erlin has made 21 starts in his career, with a record of 7-9 and a career ERA of 4.99 in his two years of experience.

Sunday September 27

Jhoulys Chacin vs. James Shields

Sep 21, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Jhoulys Chacin (47) in the second inning of the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Chacin was good against the Dodgers in his last start. He held the Dodgers to two runs on six hits in 5 1/3 innings. The Dodgers were able to connect on some hard hit balls but they were able to find gloves. Chacin has been serviceable for the D-Backs this year. He is 1-1 with a 3.04 ERA in 23 1/3 innings pitched.

Sep 9, 2015; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres starting pitcher James Shields (33) pitches during the first inning against the Colorado Rockies at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Shields has pitched better as of late as he has won his last three starts. After a mediocre start to the season, Shields has seemed to turn it around lately. He has improved his record to 13-6 and his ERA is now under four at 3.86.

His last start came against the Rockies where he gave up four runs on two hits in 6 2/3 innings. He also walked four and struck out eight. But he was much better in his last start against the D-Backs in Chase Field. Shields pitched seven innings, gave up only one run on four hits, walked two and struck out six.

The D-Backs have had a successful road trip so far and will look to close it out with a series win in San Diego before returning home to finish the season against the Colorado Rockies and the Houston Astros.