The Snakes successfully stopped the Tigers on Sunday
Recaps
[SI] Gritty Offensive Performance Powers Diamondbacks to 6-4 Win – Christian Walker specifically had a big game with two sacrifice fly’s, and a huge single in the 7th inning against Alex Faedo. He set the bar early on a trend that would continue throughout the game of “team at-bats”. Walker had some thoughts about the team’s mentality coming into today’s game after the final pitch. “Today’s game was about us. It was about proving something to ourselves…manufacturing runs and doing anything we can to keep ourselves in a spot to win”. While Walker himself showed the team mentality it was something that flowed throughout the whole lineup.
[Arizona Sports] Diamondbacks prevent go-ahead, inside-the-park HR in win over Tigers – Carpenter came up with two outs as a pinch hitter and pumped a deep fly ball off the tall wall in center. Corbin Carroll went to the wall unsure whether it would be catchable, but both corner outfielders were there to back him up. Pavin Smith picked up the ball, bobbled it but delivered a clean throw to Newman to start the game-saving relay. “The two outfielders converged on that and we talk about that a lot, just go help your off outfielder and both of them were there,” Lovullo said. “I love that play. The entire team is engaged. Everybody has responsibilities. Everybody’s rotating. You got to think fast.”
[AZ Central] Diamondbacks escape Tigers to avoid sweep – Even in a win over those Tigers, the Diamondbacks narrow margins persisted for nine innings. In the bottom half of the seventh, they had runners on the corners with one out for Pavin Smith, who bounced a groundball to Javier Baez. The Tigers’ shortstop fired home, trying to cut down Randal Grichuk at the plate. Except his throw — unlike Newman’s in the top half of the inning — bounced just in front of home plate, creating a difficult play for catcher Jake Rogers. Rogers tagged Grichuk in time, but couldn’t hold on to the ball. The play ultimately enabled both of the Diamondbacks’ runs in the inning, after their next run scored on a groundout.
Team news
[Burn City Sports] Joe Mantiply to Start for Diamondbacks Against Dodgers – Instead of Slade Cecconi, who was originally scheduled to take the mound, the Arizona Diamondbacks will hand the ball over to Joe Mantiply to start against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday, as announced by Torey Lovullo after Arizona’s series finale win over the Tigers. This will mark Mantiply’s first start of the season and only the fourth of his career. Last season, Mantiply stepped into the starting role three times due to injuries plaguing the Diamondbacks’ rotation, allowing just one earned run over three innings in those appearances.
[Arizona Sports] What has made Diamondbacks star Ketel Marte’s hitting streak so unique? – The switch-hitter had exactly one hit in 15 consecutive games entering Sunday, which had only been done three times, according to Baseball Reference’s database. Over his 18-game streak, his batting average has actually dropped from .307 to .292. Marte, though, has 10 extra-base hits on this run with four homers. Ted Sizemore in 1975 for the St. Louis Cardinals remains the only player with 16 straight games picking up exactly one hit. Jimmy Rollins in 2014 and Alex Gonzalez in 2005 did it for 15 games each.
[dbacks.com] D- backs Ballpark Summer Pass: three months for $179 – “Experience a summer like never before! The D-backs Ballpark Summer Pass, presented by Bar-S, is now available and it gives you access to all games in June, July, and August for just $179. Create unforgettable memories, watch all the exciting matchups, and get all of the incredible giveaway items with your D-backs Summer Pass!” Rather more expensive than last year’s edition, which cost only $99. But winning the National League pennant comes with a higher price tag. That Jordan Montgomery contract isn’t going to finance itself…
And, elsewhere…
[YouTube] A history of baseball contracts – thanks to Wes for pointing me in the direction of this deep dive (almost two hours long!) into baseball players’ salaries through the decades. I still haven’t finished watching it myself yet, but I’ve already learned a lot.
[CBS Sports] Should umpires use Pitchcom? – Carlos Correa, frustrated by ball-strike decisions during his team’s loss to the Guardians, gave voice to an idea to provide a bridge to the (possible) eventual arrival of the ABS system in the majors. ”I feel like pitchers are too nasty right now for umpires to see. I feel like if the umpires knew what was coming and they had a Pitchcom they would make calls so much better. It’s really hard for them to just be able to call pitches, especially the way the catchers are framing nowadays. If they had a device where it says slider and they are anticipating the slider and they know where it has to start and land for it to be a strike, then we would get so many calls.
Abigail (2024)
Rating: C+
Dir: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett
Star: Melissa Barrera, Dan Stevens, Alisha Weir, Kathryn Newton
This is nominally a remake of, and was originally titled Dracula’s Daughter – if so, it may set a record for the most microscopic levels of “nominally”. That any connection is in name only, becomes absolutely clear when we see how the vampires here react to sunlight. Or stakes. It’s… messy, and probably has far more in common with Blade. Certainly, the human characters here could have used the help of Wesley Snipes, because these “motherf_____s are always trying to ice skate uphill.” They are a group who are hired to kidnap Abigail (Weir), the 12-year-old daughter of an extremely rich businessman. Only they find nothing is what it seems – in particular, the victim is an ageless vampire, and not happy about her abduction.