ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS NOTES:
HERE’S THE STORY
♦ The D-backs are 2-0 on their 5-game road trip @ Rockies (2-0) and Rangers (May 2-3).
♦ The D-backs are in first place in the NL West, 1.0 game ahead of the Dodgers…Arizona has spent 22 total days this season in or tied for first place (since April 8).
♦ Arizona has scored 9+ runs in 4 of its last 5 games @ Rockies (since Sept. 9, 2022).
♦ Geraldo Perdomo is batting .390 (23-for-59)/1.090 OPS with 6 doubles, 1 triple, 2 home runs, 14 runs, 16 RBI and 7 walks over 21 games…if qualified, his average ranks second in the Majors, behind Luis Arraez/MIA (.442).
♦ Ryne Nelson is making his first career start vs. Rockies.
ROSTER MOVES
♦ The D-backs made the following roster moves:
• Recalled OF Dominic Fletcher from Triple-A Reno.
• Optioned LHP Anthony Misiewicz to Reno following last night’s game.
WELCOME TO THE SHOW, FLETCH
♦ Dominic Fletcher, 25, received his first call-up to the Majors since being selected by Arizona on Nov. 15, 2022.
♦ Hit .323 (30-for-93) with 5 doubles, 4 triples, 3 home runs, 13 RBI and 10 walks over 22 games with the Aces.
♦ Entered the 2023 season rated as the D-backs’ No. 12 prospect by The Athletic and No. 13 by MLB Pipeline.
SERIES-LY SPEAKING
♦ Arizona looks to secure their first series sweep of the season and first vs. Rockies @ Coors Field since June 8-10, 2018 (3-0).
♦ The D-backs have won 5 of their last 7 series.
SNAKES AMONG THE REST
♦ The D-backs rank in the Majors in doubles (1st, 62), triples (2nd, 7), hits (3rd, 252), strikeouts (4th fewest, 211), average (4th, .267) and stolen bases (6th, 25).
COORS FIELD CORRELATIONS
♦ Since 2021, Josh Rojas is batting .362 (25-for-69) with 8 doubles, 1 homer and 18 RBI @ Coors Field… his 8 doubles @ Coors Field in the span are the most among all players while his 25 hits are tied for the most (also: Jake Cronenworth/SD).
♦ Since 2021, Christian Walker is tied for the most home runs @ Coors Field (also: Brandon Crawford/SF).
DEFENSE RULES
♦ The D-backs’ 11 Outs Above Average (OAA) lead the Majors, ahead of the Mariners (9), Angels (7), Padres (6) and Tigers (6).
♦ The D-backs’ 8 runs prevented (RP) are the most in the Majors, ahead of the Mariners (7) and Angels (6).
♦ Josh Rojas’ 6 OAA are the most among all fi elders while Christian Walker’s 4 OAA are tied for second with 7 others.
EXTRA! EXTRA!
♦ Since April 6, the D-backs’ 79 extra-base hits (52 2B, 7 3B, 20 HR) are second most in the Majors, behind the Pirates (85).
♦ Arizona’s 6 extra-base hits leading off a game are tied for the most in the Majors (also: Braves and Pirates).
RISP-Y BUSINESS
♦ Since April 7, Arizona’s .313 average (61-for-195) with runners in scoring position is third in the Majors, behind the Pirates (.332) and Rangers (.328).
♦ Geraldo Perdomo’s .588 average (10-for-17) with runners in scoring position leads the Majors [min. 15 PA].
ON DECK: TEXAS RANGERS
♦ Arizona is 7-5 vs. Rangers (4-2 on the road) since 2019.
♦ It marks the D-backs’ first series @ Texas since July 2021
RHP RYNE NELSON ♦ #19♦
AT A GLANCE: Selected by the D-backs in the second round (56th overall) of the 2019 draft.
• Attended the University of Oregon, where he was a 2019 First-Team All-Pac-12 selection…finished his junior year with a conference-high 104 strikeouts and finished fourth in the nation with a 14.40 K/9 IP.
• A Nevada native, attended Basic High School in Henderson where he was a shortstop and pitcher. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: Looking for his fi rst road win of 2023 and first since Sept. 5, 2022 @ Padres (0 ER in 7.0 IP).
• Is 1-0 with a 2.00 ERA (4 ER in 18.0 IP) in 3 career road starts.
• Enters 2023 ranked as the D-backs’ No. 5 prospect by The Athletic (No. 8 by MLB Pipeline)…rated No. 7 and tabbed by Baseball America with the Best Fastball in the system.
LAST START: Lost on April 25 vs. Royals (4 ER in 5.0 IP).
VS. ROCKIES: Will be making his first career appearance
COLORADO ROCKIES NOTES:
SATURDAY IN THE PARK
• The Colorado Rockies look to avoid their third sweep of 2023 this afternoon with the final game of a threegame set against the Arizona Diamondbacks … will host the Milwaukee Brewers for three games Tuesday-Thursday to conclude the homestand before embarking on a six-game road trip to New York-NL (Friday-Sunday) and Pittsburgh (May 8-10).
• The Rockies are coming off a 3-4 road trip to Philadelphia (1-3) and Cleveland (2-1) … their series victory against the Guardians was their first series win since Sept. 16-18, 2022 at Chicago-NL when they took two of three from the Cubs … had lost or split each of their first seven series of 2023, the first time in franchise history that Colorado has failed to win any of their first seven series.
• Overall, the Rockies .286 winning percentage is last in the National League and is the second-lowest in franchise history through 28 games, ahead of the 2005 Rockies (7-21, .250).
APRIL SHOWERS
• Saturday night’s loss dropped the Rockies to 8-20 on the season, their first time in franchise history recording 20 losses in the month of April … have lost 20 games in a month six times in franchise history prior to April 2023: three times in May (1993, 22 games; 2011, 21 games; 2005, 20 games), once in June (2014, 20 games), once in July (2000, 22 games) and once in Sept. (2012, 20 games).
• The Rockies have dropped seven-straight home games dating back to April 11 and are 3-9 overall at home … it is the fourth time in franchise history the club has dropped seven-straight home games (last: June 2-16, 2022) … have dropped 14 of their last 17 games overall.
• Colorado has been outscored 69-24 (-45) over their seven-game home losing streak, the second-worst run differential in franchise history through a seven-game stretch at home … over this span, Rockies starters have posted an 11.44 ERA (28.1 IP, 36 ER) while opponents have batted .373 (47-for-126) with 10 home runs.
MACTION
• Ryan McMahon was 2-for-4 with two doubles and one RBI Saturday night, his sixth career game with multiple doubles and second of 2023 (also: April 18 vs. Pittsburgh) … is batting .310 (13-for-42) over his last 11 games since April 17 with five doubles and one home run.
• McMahon has started each of his last 10 games at third base after playing his first 17 of the year at second base (16 starts) … slashing .196/.281/.411 (11-for-56) when playing second base with three doubles and three home runs … since moving back to the hot corner, slashing .308/.372/.513 (12-for-39) with five doubles, one home run and five RBI.
• Was a NL Gold Glove finalist at third base in 2021 and 2022 … 10 outs above average in 2022 were the third-most among Major League third baseman per Baseball Savant.
SPRING CLEANING
• Colorado has made a Major League-leading 21 errors and is tied for the lowest fielding percentage in baseball (.979) … have also allowed 20 unearned runs through its first 27 games, tied with the Los Angeles Angels for the most in baseball.
• The 21 team errors are the most through the first 28 games of the season since the 2012 Rockies had 24 miscues through 28 contests.
SPEEDY DOYLE CHANGE
• OF Brenton Doyle has registered a max sprint speed of 30.2 ft/sec, tied for the fifth-fastest sprint speed among Major League rookies … he is averaging a 25.9 ft/sec sprint speed, the fastest among ML rookies, and a 4.64 second home plate to first base sprint speed, which ranks second among all rookies.
• Stole his club-leading third base of the season Saturday night … has a career stolen base percentage of 84% across four seasons in the Minor Leagues (62 SB, 12 CS).
BIRD BATH
• Jake Bird ranks second in the Majors with 19.2 relief innings pitched and is tied for fourth among relievers with 21 strikeouts … had pitched a career-high 13.0 innings without an earned run prior to allowing a Jose Herrera double that scored Alek Thomas on Saturday … tallied seven hits, four walks and 17 strikeouts over that stretch … entering the game, his active streak of 11.1 IP with no earned runs allowed was the longest active streak in the National League and fourth-longest among Major League relievers.
• Bird has spun more than one inning seven times this season, tied for the third-most 1.1+ inning outings in the Majors with Brent Suter leading the way with nine.
CHUCK (STILL) NAZTY
• With two runs scored Tuesday in Cleveland, Charlie Blackmon tied Larry Walker for second on the all-time Rockies runs scored list at 892 … Todd Helton ranks first in Rockies history with 1401.
• Blackmon’s 292 career doubles are five short of tying Walker for the second-most doubles in franchise history.
• Blackmon’s home run in the first inning of Tuesday’s game at Cleveland was his 40th career lead-off home run … his 40 lead-off home runs rank ninth all-time (Brady Anderson’s 44 rank eighth).
ROCKIES STARTING PITCHER – #26 AUSTIN GOMBER LHP
HI, I’M AUSTIN
• Winter Garden, Fla., native is in his 10th professional season, his fifth in the Majors and his third with the Rockies.
• Acquired by Colorado, along with four other players including INF Elehuris Montero in exchange for 3B Nolan Arenado.
• Originally selected by St. Louis in the fourth round of the 2014 First-Year Player Draft out of Florida Atlantic University.
BELIEVELAND
• Earned his first win of the season last time out on April 24 at Cleveland, tossing 5.0 shutout innings with three hits, three walks and three strikeouts … exited the game with the Rockies up 6-0, his first time receiving at least six runs of support in a start since July 2, 2022 vs. Arizona (7 RS in an 11-7 Rockies win) … marked his first winning decision since July 12, 2022 vs. San Diego (6.0,6,1,1,1,3).
• Marked the eighth start of his career logging at least five scoreless innings, his fifth overall as a Rockie … last logged five or more scoreless frames on April 23, 2022 at Detroit in a 3-2 Rockies win (6.0,4,0,0,0,8).
SNAKES…WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE SNAKES
• Making his ninth career appearance against the Diamondbacks (fifth start), his eighth as a member of the Rockies … 2-0 in those matchups, logging a 5.27 ERA (27.1 IP, 16 ER) with six walks and 17 strikeouts … D-backs hitters have slashed .290/.330/.542 against him with six home
runs.
• Last start vs. the club came July 7, 2022 at Chase Field … allowed three runs over 5.0 innings, walking one and fanning five in a 4-3 Rockies win.
• Has posted a 4.98 ERA in his four starts (21.2 IP, 12 ER) with five walks and 14 strikeouts … 6.35 clip out of the bullpen (5.2 IP, 4 ER) with one walk and three strikeouts.
ON YOUR LEFT
• Since joining the Rockies, has held left-handed hitters to a .234/.289/.394 slash line with 10 home runs allowed.
• Held opposing left-handed hitters to a .221 average in 2022 (30-for136), the lowest lefty opponent average by a Rockies left-hander since
Kyle Freeland in 2018 (.185) and the ninth-lowest in a single season in franchise history (min. 140 batters faced).
GO GO GOMBER
• Last season, made 17 starts and 16 appearances out of the bullpen in his second season as a Rockie … went 5-7 (Rockies 9-24) while posting a
combined 5.56 ERA (124.2 IP, 77 ER) across his 33 appearances … his 124.2 innings pitched set a new career-high.
• Began the season in the Rockies rotation, making 12 starts through June 15 and going 3-7 with a 6.43 ERA (63.0 IP, 45 ER), 20 walks and 49
strikeouts. • Moved to the bullpen at the end of June and made two relief appearances June 22 at Miami and June 26 at Minnesota … allowed four runs over a combined 4.1 innings (8.31 ERA).
• Went back to the rotation in July and made four starts prior to the All-Star Break, going 2-0 with a 4.15 ERA (21.2 IP, 10 ER), four walks and 15 strikeouts … allowed three or fewer runs in each of his last three starts prior to the Break, pitching to a 3.38 ERA (16.0 IP, 6 ER).
• Returned to the bullpen following the All-Star Break and posted a 4.68 ERA (32.2 IP, 17 ER) with seven walks and 24 strikeouts across 14 relief outings in the second half.
TURN THE TIDE
• Was on the losing side of each of his first four starts of the season, the eighth time a Rockies starter has started 0-4 through their first four starts of a season … first since Roy Oswalt (five straight, June 20-Sept. 14) and Jeff Manship (four straight, Aug.8-24) in 2013.• His 9.28 ERA (21.1 IP, 22 ER) is the third-highest in baseball among pitchers with at least five starts … his .622 opponents slugging percentage is the fifth-highest in baseball and .322 opponent’s batting average is the eighth-highest.
• Logged a quality start in his first outing of the season, April 2 at San Diego, allowing three runs on four hits (two home runs) across six innings in a 3-1 Rockies loss.
START IT UP
• As a starter in 2022, went 5-7 (Rockies 7-10) across 17 starts while pitching to a 5.75 clip (87.2 IP, 56 ER) … walked 25 and struck out 68 while opponents hit .292 (101-for-346) with 13 home runs … seven of his starts were quality.
• Posted a 5.72 ERA (50.1 IP, 32 ER) with 14 walks and 32 strikeouts across nine starts at Coors Field … 5.79 ERA (37.1 IP, 24 ER) with 11 walks and 36 strikeouts in eight starts on the road.
• 8.68 SO/9 on the road compared to a 5.72 SO/9 at home.
BACK IT UP
• Made 16 appearances out of the bullpen in 2022, his most since 18 relief outings as a rookie with St. Louis in 2018 … posted a 5.11 ERA (37.0 IP, 21 ER) out of the bullpen with nine walks and 27 strikeouts … opponents hit .254 (36-for-142) with seven home runs.
• Made 12 appearances of two or more innings, four with three or more innings and one career-long outing of 4.2 IP (Aug. 24 vs. TEX).
• In his outing against Texas on Aug. 24, became the first Rockie in history to toss 4.2 or more scoreless frames out of the ‘pen while allowing one or fewer hits.
HAPPY HOME VS. ROCKY ROAD
• In 51 career home games (26 starts) with both St. Louis and Colorado, is 11-9 with a 4.51 ERA (171.2 IP, 86 ER).
• Since joining the Rockies, has gone 8-7 with a 4.79 ERA (126.0 IP, 67 ER) at Coors Field with 33 walks and 90 strikeouts … in 2021, went 5-1 with a 2.09 ERA (47.1 IP, 11 ER) in nine starts at home, posting a 0.95 WHIP.
• Since 2020, is 8-6 with a 3.86 ERA (137.2 IP, 59 ER) in 34 games (21 starts) in his home ballpark … in road games through the same span, is 8-14 with a 5.67 ERA (150.2 IP, 95 ER) in 40 games (27 starts).
WALK IT OUT…OR DON’T
• 2.45 BB/9 in 2022 was the lowest of his career while his 2.79 SO/BB ratio was his highest … BB/9 was the sixth-lowest among National League lefties and his SO/BB ratio ranked 10th (min. 120.0 IP).
• Did not issue a walk in seven-straight relief outings from Aug. 31-Sept. 29, the longest single-season streak by a Rockies lefty since James Pazos from Sept. 6-28, 2019 (seven games).
• Has walked three or more batters 12 times in 44 starts since joining the Rockies, going 1-9 with an 10.22 ERA (46.2 IP, 53 ER) in those starts … has walked two or fewer batters 33 times over that span, going 14-11 with a 4.20 ERA (177.2 IP, 83 ER) in those starts.
• 12 walks through 21.1 innings in 2023 … 5.06 BB/9 is the 11th-highest in the Majors.
THIS N’ THAT
• Did not allow more than five hits in any of his first eight starts at Coors Field in 2021 and allowed five hits just once (Aug. 7 vs. Miami) … recorded eight-straight starts allowing five or fewer hits at home, tied for the second-longest streak in franchise history (Ubaldo Jiménez, 2008).
• Posted a 3.27 ERA with 238 strikeouts in his collegiate career at Florida Atlantic University.
• First team All-Sun Belt Conference during his junior year with a league-leading 2.97 ERA.
