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Galarraga makes D'Backs debut at Wrigley

Apr 6, 2011 - 2:59 PM (Sports Network) - One of 2010's most noteworthy pitchers, right-hander Armando Galarraga, makes his National League debut today when his new team - the Arizona Diamondbacks - visit Wrigley Field to wrap up a three-game series with the Chicago Cubs.

Galarraga, a 29-year-old Venezuelan, made headlines last season with the Detroit Tigers when his bid for a perfect game was foiled in the ninth inning by an apparent missed call at first base by umpire Jim Joyce.

The Tigers won the game against Cleveland, 1-0, on June 2, but Galarraga struggled for the rest of the season, winning just twice in 10 decisions to finish 4-9 overall with a 4.49 earned run average.

He was traded to Arizona on Jan. 24 in a deal that sent a pair of minor- leaguers to the Tigers.

Galarraga's best season came in 2008, when he was 13-7 in 30 appearances with the Tigers with a 3.73 ERA in 178 2/3 innings. He slumped to 6-10 in 29 outings the following year with a 5.64 ERA.

The 6-foot-4, 233-pounder won his lone career start against the Cubs after allowing six hits and four runs in six innings, with a walk and five strikeouts.

He'll be opposed by Canadian-born veteran Ryan Dempster, who got his 2011 under way with a loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on April 1. In that outing, the British Columbia native allowed six hits and six runs in 6 2/3 innings of a 6-3 defeat. He struck out seven batters and walked four and emerged with a bloated early-season ERA of 8.10.

Dempster had one of the best seasons of his career in 2010, winning 15 games in 34 starts for the Cubs in his 15th year in the majors.

He won a career-best 17 games with Chicago in 2008 and won 11 more in 2009 before getting back to 15. He'd previously won 14 and 15 games in 2000 and 2001 while a member of the Florida Marlins.

In 17 lifetime meetings with Arizona - 13 starts - he is 2-6 with a save and a 6.07 ERA in 75 2/3 innings, allowing 91 hits and striking out 70 batters.

In Tuesday's middle game, Tyler Colvin hit a two-run homer and knocked in three, as the Cubs held on for a 6-5 win. Marlon Byrd went 3-for-4 with a run- scoring double in the bottom of the seventh inning for Chicago, which also took the first game of the series on Monday.

Andrew Cashner, making his first big-league start, allowed one run on two hits and one walk, and struck out two before leaving after 5 1/3 innings with tightness in his pitching shoulder. He did not factor in the decision.

Willie Bloomquist had a two-run single in the top of the seventh, while Ryan Roberts hit a solo homer for Arizona, which has lost three straight. Starter Barry Enright worked six innings, yielding four runs on seven hits, but did not figure in the decision.

Chicago was 6-1 against the D'Backs last season.