Having stolen that one, more or less on one hit, what will tonight bring?
Depending on how Eduardo Rodriguez goes tonight, I’d not be surprised to see Cristian Mena in the game. As the chart above shows, he hasn’t pitched since being called up. He is basically here as long relief coverage until Monday’s spot starter, Ryne Nelson, is able to throw again, and he should be fully available tomorrow (the expected return of Corbin Burnes to the rotation). With Kendall Graveman getting nearer a return, I’d expect Mena’s roster spot will be used for him. Graveman will pitch tonight down in Reno, and if that goes well, I’d expect him to be called up over the weekend. So it could make sense to use Mena’s arm while it’s still here. But it will depend on the game situation.
Last night saw Gabriel Moreno hit the team’s fifth grand-slam of the season. That’s quite impressive, since there have only been 31 all told in the majors at the start of play today. So the average per team is… one. The D-backs have most, the only team to have more than three. Eleven franchises have yet to hit any, including both the Dodgers and the Padres. Last year set a new franchise record there, with eleven, including two apiece by Eugenio Suarez and Pavin Smith. The former has added two more already this season, giving him four since the start of 2024, most in the majors. But it’s certainly a change. There was a nine-year period, 2002-10 inclusive, where Arizona didn’t have more than three slams in any season.
Tonight’s game is also going to be shown locally on 12 News. I keep forgetting about that, but then, I can’t remember the last time I watched anything on over-the-air television. Even the last Super Bowl was streamed on Tubi. I’m not even sure how I would go about setting that up. Having cut the cable, I would presumably need to buy an aerial, and figure out how to connect it to the TV. I can’t think of many circumstances where that might be anything like worth the hassle. Possibly if all 162 D-backs games were screened that way, it might be cheaper than paying for the Dbacks.tv package?