Panamanian-born right-hander Randall Delgado takes the mound for the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday night when they visit Great American Ball Park to open an important four-game series with the Cincinnati Reds.
The Reds and Diamondbacks are in a chase for the second available wild card playoff berth in the National League. Cincinnati enters the series with a five-game lead on Arizona for the second slot with St. Louis in front.
Delgado, a 23-year-old right-hander who reached the majors two years ago, is winless in three career meetings with the Reds while allowing seven earned runs on 17 hits in 17 innings.
He last faced them on June 23 in Arizona and dropped a 4-2 decision after pitching five innings, allowing six hits and striking out four batters.
He's 4-2 in nine appearances since then, including wins over San Francisco, San Diego and Boston in three consecutive starts between July 21-Aug. 2.
His last two outings have each yielded no-decisions in which he's combined to surrender seven runs on 13 hits in 12 innings while the Diamondbacks have beaten Tampa Bay and Baltimore.
Arizona is 7-3 in Delgado's last 10 starts, including six straight wins with him on the mound.
He's faced by Reds veteran right-hander Bronson Arroyo, who's gone 7-3 in 14 career starts against the Diamondbacks.
The Key West, Fla. native has won his last two starts in superb style, allowing a single run on six hits in 14 innings, while walking no batters and striking out 14 against San Diego and the Chicago Cubs.
The wins lifted him into double-digits for the eighth time in his big-league career, including the sixth time in eight seasons with the Reds since he was acquired from Boston for outfielder Wily Mo Pena in 2006.
Delgado was just 10 years old when Arroyo made his major-league debut with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2000.
On Sunday in Pittsburgh, Adam Eaton's fourth hit of the game, a two-run double with two out in the top of the 16th inning, broke a long tie and lifted the Diamondbacks to a hard-earned 4-2 decision over the Pirates at PNC Park.
Eaton's sinking liner that a diving Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen couldn't come up with helped the streaking Diamondbacks take the rubber match of the three-game series and post their fifth victory in six outings.
J.J. Putz capped off a sequence of eight scoreless innings by the Arizona bullpen, with Brad Ziegler (7-1) firing a pair of perfect frames to collect the win.
Aaron Hill also amassed four hits, including an RBI single, for the Diamondbacks, while starting pitcher Wade Miley struck out eight while allowing just two runs in an eight-inning no-decision.
In Milwaukee, Ryan Hanigan drove in three runs as the Reds took a 9-1 win over the Brewers to earn a split of a four-game series.
Brandon Phillips drove in a pair of runs, while Chris Heisey and Jack Hannahan each scored twice for the Reds, who have won six of their last eight.
Homer Bailey (8-10) won his third straight decision after he gave up just one run on three hits with a walk and eight strikeouts in eight innings.
The Reds enter the week with a 56-49 lead in the all-time series with the Diamondbacks, but Arizona won two of three when the teams last met in Phoenix from June 21-23.
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