ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS NOTES:
HERE’S THE STORY
♦ The D-backs are 2-3 on their opening 6-game road trip @ Dodgers (2-2) and Padres (0-1).
♦ Corbin Carroll is hitting .455 (10-for-22)/1.296 OPS with 2 doubles, 2 home runs and 2 RBI in 7 career games vs. Padres.
♦ Christian Walker has reached base safely in each of his first 5 games this season, batting .353 (6-for-17) with 1 home run, 2 RBI and 1 walk.
CHASE FIELD HOME OPENER IS THURSDAY, APRIL 6
♦ The D-backs home opener is Thursday, April 6 with a 7:10 p.m. game vs. Dodgers…tickets are available at dbacks.com/tickets.
♦ Festivities will be led off with the Opening Day Street Festival presented by Waymo…all fans will be able to welcome the 2023 season with great music, food, and drinks prior to the first home game.
♦ The first 30,000 fans will receive a commemorative 25th Anniversary rally towel.
CORBIN BARRELS
♦ Corbin Carroll collected his first 3-hit performance last night @ Padres.
♦ At age 22-225 days, Carroll became the second-youngest D-back since 2013 with a 3+-hit game before 40 career Major League games, behind Geraldo Perdomo (22-203 days on May 13, 2022).
♦ The youngest to do so was Justin Upton (19-347 days) on Aug. 7, 2007.
LONGO-ING, GOING, GONE
♦ Evan Longoria collected his first home run as a D-back last night @ Padres.
♦ It marked his first home run @ Petco Park since April 5, 2021 (go-ahead solo HR), nearly 2 years to the day, while with the Giants.
♦ Longoria’s 316 career homers as a third baseman are the most among all active players, ahead of Nolan Arenado (295), Josh Donaldson (246) and Manny Machado (228).
GO-AHEAD OPPORTUNITIES
♦ Arizona’s 12 go-ahead home runs since 2022 ranks tied for fourth in the NL (also: Rockies), behind Phillies (16), Giants (15) and Cardinals (13).
SAN DIEGO SLUGGER
♦ Christian Walker’s 13 home runs @ Petco Park since 2019 are tied for second most by an opposing player (also: Justin Turner and Joc Pederson), behind Charlie Blackmon (14).
RHP ZAC GALLEN ♦ #23
AT A GLANCE: Is in his fourth full season with the D-backs.
• 2022 D-backs Most Valuable Pitcher by the Arizona Chapter of the BBWAA after going 12-4 with a 2.54 ERA.
• Finished fi fth in the NL Cy Young Award voting, behind Sandy Alcantara (MIA), Max Fried (ATL), Julio Urías (LAD) and Aaron Nola (PHI).
• Acquired on July 31, 2019 from the Marlins.
• Cardinals’ third-round pick in the 2016 draft out of the University of North Carolina.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: Is making his second start of the season after making fi rst career Opening Day start on March 30…became the 12th diff erent D-backs pitcher in franchise history to start the season opener.
LAST START: Took the loss in his fi rst start of the season on March 30 @ Dodgers (5 ER in 4.2 IP).
VS. PADRES: Has gone 1-3 with a3.98 ERA (19 ER in 43.0 IP) in 8 career starts.
• Is 0-0 with a 2.45 ERA (2.45 ERA) over 3 career starts @ Petco Park…has allowed just 2 earned runs or fewer in each start.
• Made his last start @ Padres on June 21, 2022 (1 ER in 6.0 IP).
2022 REVIEW: Set career highs in virtually all categories, including wins, starts, innings and strikeouts.
• Led the NL in WHIP and opponent average…also ranked among NL leaders in win pct. (T-2nd, .750), ERA (4th), quality starts (T-7th, 19), strikeouts (8th) and innings (10th).
THE SCORELESS STREAK: Established the D-backs’ all-time record for consecutive scoreless innings (44.1) from Aug. 8-Sept. 11, 2022, surpassing Brandon Webb’s 42.0-inning stretch (July 20-Aug. 17, 2007) and was the longest in the Majors since Zack Greinke’s/LAD 45.2-scoreless frames in 2015.
SAN DIEGO PADRES NOTES:
Padres win 3rd straight game with their 1st walkoff of 2023; make MLB history with homers from back-to-back homers from No. 8 and No. 9 hitters
• Last night in the 9th inning, No. 8 hitter David Dahl hit a pinch-hit, game-tying home run, and No. 9 hitter Ha-Seong Kim hit his 1st-career walk off home run in San Diego’s 5-4 victory over the D-backs.
• It was the first time in Padres history in which they won a game on B2B game-tying and walk-off home runs, and it marked the first time in MLB history that a team’s 8 and 9 hitters had done so.
• Starter Ryan Weathers went 5.0 innings with 2 runs allowed on 5 hits and 2 punchouts.
Yu Darvish makes his season debut
• Yu Darvish made 3 appearances (1 start) for champion Team Japan in the World Baseball Classic this past March… pitched 3.0 innings against Team Korea in the World Baseball Classic on Friday, allowing 3 runs (two earned) on 3 hits and 0 walks while striking 1 one on Friday, March 11…he was brought on in relief for Japan’s Wednesday, March 16 win over Team Italy before pitching 1.0 inning in relief again in the WBC championship on Tuesday, March 21 vs. USA.
• He finished his offseason by throwing roughly 80 pitches across 5.0 innings in Arizona in an intrasquad game this past Thursday, March 30.
Up next: Padres embark on a 8-day, 7-game roadtrip to Atlanta and NY Mets
• The Padres will fly to Atlanta postgame today, enjoy an off day in Atlanta, play a 4-game series against the Braves (Friday will be an Apple TV+ game and Sunday will be ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball)… after the Braves 7:08 pm ET first pitch, the Padres will travel to Manhattan that night and play the Mets in a 3-game set from April 10-12…they’ll return home on the night of April 12 and play the Brewers at home the next day
STARTING PITCHER – YU DARVISH
Davish vs. the D’Backs
36-year-old Yu Davish takes the mound for his 2023 debut in SD’s 6th game of the season and the final game of the Padres first homestand of the year. Darvish has made 15 career starts vs. ARI, with 10 of those 15 coming since 2021 when he joined the Padres…he has 7 quality starts in those 10 outings vs. ARI as a Padre, with a 3.93 ERA and .224 opp. AVG…he’s earned the win in each of his last 4 starts vs. the D’Backs, dating back to June 20, 2022.
The latest on Yu
Darvish made 3 appearances (1 start) for champion Team Japan in the World Baseball Classic this past March…he pitched 3.0 innings against Team Korea in the World Baseball Classic on Friday, allowing three runs (two earned) on three hits and no walks while striking out one batter on Friday March 11. He was brought on in relief for Japan’s Wednesday, March 16 win over Team Italy before pitching 1.0 inning in relief again in the WBC championship on Tuesday, March 21 vs. USA. He finished his offseason by throwing roughly 80 pitches across 5.0 innings in Arizona in an intrasquad game this past Thursday, March 30.
Stick around a while, why don’t Yu
On February 29, 2023, the Padres signed Darvish to a new six-year contract through the 2028 season. During the press conference, Padres President of Baseball Operations and General Manager said: “If you see the work he puts in in the offseason, the attention to his craft, there’s no secret sauce for why he’s one of the best performers in the game. He’s incredibly curious, he loves the game, and he works like he’s the 26th man on the roster, when he’s as good as any pitcher in the game of baseball.”
It’s been quite the decade
Since his rookie 2012 season through 2022, Darvish ranked in the top 10 in a multitude of categories among all hurlers who have tossed at least 1,400 innings, including: total baserunners allowed (1,740, 1st), SO/9 IP ratio (10.81, 3rd), H/9 IP (7.23, 3rd), opponents’ AVG (.217, 3rd), XBH allowed (448, 3rd), BABIP (.282, 4th), and pitches thrown per game (99.4, 6th).
Darvish comfy at Petco
Entering the 2023 season, among all hurlers who have made at least 30 regular season starts in Petco Park history, he ranks 1st in opponents’ AVG (.201), and his 3.07 ERA at Petco ranks T-5th in the ballpark’s history with Tim Stauffer, behind only Jake Peavy (2.75), Andrew Cashner (2.76), Joe Musgrove (2.84) and Chris Young (2.94).
Darvish and Nomo…Nomo and Darvish
On Sept. 2, 2022 @ LAD, he surpassed the 3,000 strikeout mark in his 17 professional seasons between Japan (2005-11, 1,250 SO) and Major League Baseball (2012-22, 1,788 SO)… only one other pitcher has 3,000 strikeouts with at least 1,000 in each league: Hideo Nomo, currently an advisor for the Padres.
