A nice day for it, at least
Record: 5-4. Change on 2023: +1.5. Five-inning record: 6-2-1.
The front half was well-pitched by the D-backs, beginning with Logan Allen (no, the other one) throwing two hitless innings on one walk with three Ks. He was followed by scoreless frames from Paul Sewald, Scott McGough and Kyle Backhus. The last continues to impress this spring: he has retired all nine faced, six by the strikeout. If he keeps pitching this way, a spot in the bullpen is possible. After holding the Angels scoreless through five, it went a bit pear-shaped. Kyle Nelson put them on the board with his bugbear, the home-run, in the sixth. Andrew Saalfrank gave LA the lead in the seventh, though his run was unearned due to a Jordan Lawlar error, and Peter Strzelecki gave up four hits and two runs in the eighth.
At the plate, the Diamondbacks managed only one run on six hits. Ketel Marte had two of those, both going for doubles, and he is hitting .615 this spring, having gone 8-for-13 with a walk. Save some for the regular season, Ketel. That allowed him to leapfrog Blaze Alexander (7-for-15) for most Cactus League hits to date, with no other D-back having more than four so far. Andrés Chaparro also had a double, on what must have been close to a perfect afternoon at Tempe Diablo for the crowd of 9,220. It’s always one of the most picturesque of the Cactus League parks, and today benefited from a balmy 74-degree temperature and five mph breeze.
Tomorrow, it’s back to Salt River Fields for a game against the Brewers. 1:10 pm first pitch there, with left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez getting the start.