Plus a stadium update, Judge broke a milestone, and more!
Diamondbacks News
(Arizona Sports) Geraldo Perdomo’s grand slam not enough as Yankees hold on to beat Diamondbacks
The D-backs got in a hole early, trailing by as many as six runs in Thursday’s game and were unable to overcome the deficit.
In his second start of the season, pitcher Merrill Kelly got off to a rocky start in the first inning. After giving up a double to Ben Rice and walking Cody Bellinger, Kelly surrendered a three-run home run to Aaron Judge. Judge would finish the game a triple shy of the cycle, going 3 for 5 with four runs batted in.
(SI.com) Diamondbacks vs Nationals Weekend Series Preview
The Arizona Diamondbacks will take the train down to Washington D.C. from New York to take on the Washington Nationals. It’s a three-game weekend series in which they’ll take on a potential breakout young club in a stadium that the D-backs have experienced a lot of success in in years past.
The Nationals have had an extremely rough start to the season as they are 1-5 through the season’s first six games. They have been outscored by 12 runs. They were just swept by the Toronto Blue Jays. Meanwhile, the D-backs just outscored the Yankees over a three-game series, won two of three games, and are 4-3.
“I’m still very hopeful. We’re at the point now where all parties have requested getting together again and making sure that we can all collaborate, which is never a bad thing,” Hall told Arizona Sports’ Bickley & Marotta on Thursday. “We’re in a tough situation as a franchise, because we can’t continue to just do it ourselves. … I think everybody understands that, so they’re going to try and find a solution.
(The Athletic) Padres, Diamondbacks expected to play regular-season series in Mexico City in 2026
In an expected revival of an event that was canceled several years ago, the San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks are in discussions with Major League Baseball to play a regular-season series in Mexico City in 2026, industry sources told The Athletic. Team and league officials declined to comment Tuesday, saying that next year’s international schedule is not yet official.
MLB News
“We all tell him every day: `Hey, we want to be you when we grow up,’” Chisholm said after Judge became the third-fastest New York Yankees player to reach 500 extra-base hits with a three-run homer in the first inning of Thursday night’s 9-7 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
And the two players who reached the mark in fewer games than Judge? Joe DiMaggio and Lou Gehrig.
February and March are usually extension season. November, December, and January is when teams improve their rosters, then in spring training they focus on retaining their players. This year, extension season has spilled over into the first week of the regular season. Five extensions in the first week, including three worth nine figures. It’s out of the ordinary.
(News Center Maine) A Maine business helped create the new ‘torpedo bats’ taking the MLB by storm
Two years ago, the Yankees reached out to Maine Billets, a business that makes baseball bats, with designs for a new kind of bat—one shaped more like a bowling pin. LaCasse and his team crafted multiple prototypes and dozens of bats to be tested.
Now, the torpedo bats are taking Major League Baseball by storm.
“As a bat maker for 20 years, it’s extremely exciting,” LaCasse said. “I mean I was ecstatic to see the bats, to see the shape, and obviously all the home runs.”