The Arizona Diamondbacks head into Sunday sporting an MLB-best 19-7 record (tied with Red Sox) and a five-game lead over the Rockies in the N.L. West. How did they get there? Well, Manager Torey Lovullo’s club has claimed the first two contests of this weekend’s three-game set in D.C. and has now won each of its first nine series of 2018. The last team to accomplish that feat was the 1907 Chicago Cubs. For what it’s worth, that Cubs squad won 107 games and the first of back-to-back World Series titles.

 

More History

Bartolo Colón made his MLB debut over 21 years ago and will celebrate his 45th birthday in less than a month, but as Justin Vreeland pointed out in Saturday evening’s Closing Bell, “Big Sexy” still has some gas in the tank. Colon picked up his first victory of the season Saturday at Toronto, giving him 241 for his career. That’s the most among active pitchers, edging out C.C. Sabathia who will carry 238 wins to the mound at Angel Stadium on Sunday night. Only 47 pitchers in history have reached 250 wins. Both Colon and Sabathia seem to have a shot at that exclusive club.

 

Sunday on the Hill

Opposite Sabathia in Anaheim will be fellow lefty Tyler Skaggs . Skaggs is off to a nice start this season, as he has gone 3-1 with a 2.96 ERA through five starts. The oft-injured 26 year old held a potent Astros’ lineup scoreless over 7.0 innings last time out (April 23) and will face another powerful offense in the Yankees to close out the week.

Matt Andriese has worked exclusively out of the Rays’ bullpen so far this season, posting a 5.40 ERA and 15-to-2 K/BB ratio across 13.1 innings. However, he has made 44 of his 79 career MLB appearances as a starter, and that is the role he will be in Sunday afternoon in Boston. To say Andriese has failed to appreciate the Fenway experience would be an understatement, as the fourth-year big leaguer has been tagged for 21 runs (19 earned) over 14.0 innings at the historic park.

St. Louis youngster Luke Weaver will look to get back on track as he takes the bump in the Steel City. Over his first three starts of the campaign, Weaver cruised to the tune of a 2.08 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and 17-to-5 K/BB ratio. His last two outings against the Cubs and Mets respectively have been quite different, as Weaver has been pelted for 10 earned runs across 8.2 combined innings.

 

Streaking

Padres third baseman Christian Villanueva has undoubtedly been one of the biggest surprises during the first month of the season, as he rather quietly leads the N.L. in both slugging percentage (.768) and OPS (1.206). Following a four-day absence due to a hamstring issue, Villanueva went 1-for-4 in his return to the lineup Friday and followed that with a 1-for-3 effort on Saturday that included his eighth homer of the season. He will ride an 11-game hitting streak into play Sunday afternoon.

The youth movement in Atlanta seems to have brought out the best in veteran Nick Markakis . The 34-year-old outfielder has hit in six straight after going 1-for-2 on Saturday with three walks and his fourth long ball of the year. It took him until his 86th game (July 8) to reach four home runs last year. Through his first 26 games of 2018, Markakis has put up a .307/.413/.485 slash line with 10 extra-base hits, 16 RBI, 19 walks and only 11 whiffs.

Regularly lining up right in front of Markakis, Atlanta’s usual suspect Freddie Freeman has been absolutely raking over the past week as well. Freeman went 1-for-5 with his first triple of the season in Saturday’s 4-1 win over the Phillies, bringing his hitting streak to seven games. The All-Star first baseman was also robbed of his fifth roundtripper of the season via a sensational catch by Philly center fielder Odubel Herrera .

 It’s MOST DEFINITELY worth a/another look…

 

You can follow Nate Miller on Twitter @Miller_RotoDad or hear him every Monday & Thursday hosting the Fantasy Alarm Fantasy Baseball Podcast along with Colby Conway.