That’s the headline
Record: 0-1. Change on 2024: 0. After five innings: 1-0.
Corbin Burnes wanted to throw the first pitch by the Diamondbacks this pre-season, and Torey Lovullo was happy to accommodate him, against Colorado this afternoon at Salt River Fields. It really could not have gone any better, Burnes striking out the side on 16 pitches in the first inning, and that was that. We did get to see the new strike zone challenge in effect, with Gabriel Moreno correctly challenging a ball call, which got overturned for strike three and the second out (players were 5-5 on challenges). But if this is any indication of what we’re too expect from Burnes, it’s going to be a good season. He didn’t even throw much except for fastballs, but it was still good enough to get the job done against the Rockies.
Thereafter? Well, if you’d never heard of anyone else taking the mound for Arizona today, I wouldn’t particularly blame you. None of them have ever played for the D-backs at the major-league level. Jeff Brigham, who pitched a scoreless second, is the only one with MLB experience. Roman Angelo, in particular, seemed to be craving minor-league camp food. He loaded the bases with walks in the third, but escaped, then loaded the bases with no outs in the fourth, and did not, as the Rockies scored five runs. Connor Grammes looked the best of the rest, striking out a pair in a scoreless sixth.
The offense did seem ready, out of the gate, getting nine hits through five innings. They scored three times in the third, keyed by Eugenio Suarez’s two-run single, and then three more in the fifth, Ildemaro Vargas hitting the team’s first homer of the year, a two-run shot that just stayed foul down the right-field line. Suarez went 2-for-2, and as you would expect, the starting position players were mostly gone by the end of the fifth inning. This was likely closer than the final score makes it seem. The game was tied at six after eight, but the Rockies sent 12 to the plate there. They scored six with two outs in the ninth, largely due to something called a Jake Rice, to give them a win, despite Arizona scoring two in their half
Thanks to those who popped into the GDT! About a hundred comments, not bad for a day game with only a radio broadcast. Tomorrow, it’s the same two teams at the same park, with the D-backs technically the “visitors”. José Castillo gets the start, and it looks very much like another game of “Who’s he?” for the rest of the pitchers…