Record: 3-4. Change on 2025: +0.5. 5-inning record: 1-6.
Well, if there was an award for Comment of the Thread, I’d have to give it to myself for my sarcastic suggestion after the D-backs got on the board: “The comeback starts here!” To be fair, Arizona had been trailing 8-0 at that point. Indeed, they hadn’t mustered a single base-runner through the middle of the fifth, having been outhit 10-0 by Kansas to that point. On that basis, the above score is quite startling, even if almost all the runs came off pitchers who won’t be troubling the Royals on Opening Day. It started with a four-run fifth. Jorge Barrosa singled home a run, then Oscar Mercado emptied the bases with a three-run double.
The Diamondbacks went one better in the seventh, putting up a five-spot. Jose Fernandez had the big blow there, a three-run homer which gave Arizona an unexpected lead. It was brief, the Royals scoring two to take a 10-9 edge. But the D-backs were not to be denied. They scored four runs in the eighth, behind hits from prospects Druw Jones, Kristian Robinson and Tommy Troy, capped off by a three-run home from Luken Baker. Considering they were being perfecto’d into the fifth inning and trailed by eight runs at that point, it’s quite startling the team didn’t even need to bat in the ninth! Never-say-Die-mondbacks indeed.
Obviously, the pitching was… less impressive. Eduardo Rodriguez allowed three hits in the first, but escaped damage with the help of a timely double play, and pitched a clean second. His velo was up a bit on last season too, not bad for his first start. Ryan Thompson allowed a lead-off single, picked the runner off, then got two strikeouts. After that? Two scoreless frames from Thomas Hatch, and Junior Fernandez notched the save. The less said about everyone else, the better. The box score is below: at least all teh runs were earned! Four ABS challenges: 2-2 there.
Tomorrow, it’s off to Peoria where Arizona will face Seattle, and Ryne Nelson gets his first start of spring.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.azsnakepit.com ’
