Take a few days off!
Recaps
[Arizona Sports] Diamondbacks avoid entering All-Star break on losing streak with gritty win over Angels – Merrill Kelly grinded through five innings that were effective enough, while the D-backs took advantage of a key defensive miscue from L.A. to put up a crooked number on an otherwise scoring-deficient ballgame. “At the end of the day, I think we’re all frustrated by what’s happened the past couple days,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “I think they blocked out all the noise, all the things that can possibly be a distraction on the last day of the first half, and they won a baseball game. I saw the reaction in the dugout. That’s the stuff we’re looking for. It was a good game.”
[MLB] Kelly, D-backs end first half on a high note with much-needed win – Four appears to be Arizona’s lucky number. The series finale win was the D-backs’ 47th on the season, 41 of which have come in games in which the team scored at least four runs. Entering play Sunday, their six wins when scoring fewer than four runs were the third fewest in MLB, ahead of only the Braves (3-40 in those games) and the Nationals (5-41). The D-backs’ .176 win percentage (6-28) when scoring fewer than four runs was eighth worst in MLB entering Sunday. Kelly called his start an “adventure” — especially surrendering four times as many walks as hits. He said he didn’t locate his pitches as well as he would have liked, but with the tough run the D-backs had been on, a win entering the break was most important.
Team News
[Dbacks.com] D-backs draft high school shortstop Kayson Cunningham 18th overall – A high-contact/low-strikeout hitter with great barrel control, the 5-foot-10 Cunningham — while not as physically imposing as some others in this Draft class — has great bat speed from the left side. That, coupled with his consistent ability to barrel the ball, could make him a 15-20-home run threat in the big leagues. He covers the strike zone well and hits to all fields. Defensively, the 19-year-old middle infielder has a solid-to-plus arm at shortstop, though he may profile better as a second baseman at the next level. In the field and on the bases, Cunningham demonstrates good energy and good actions, and he has plus speed.
[SI] MLB Insider Says Diamondbacks are Sellers, Making Stars Available – Bob Nightengale has reported that rival general managers are saying the D-backs are definitely sellers, and are making starting pitchers Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly available, along with infielders Eugenio Suarez and Josh Naylor. Not mentioned in the article is outfielder/DH Randal Grichuk, who has a mutual option. Nightengale reports that the Mariners would love to have Suarez back and that they’re also interested in Naylor as well. Other contenders in need of a third baseman that have been linked to Suarez are the New York Yankees and the Milwaukee Brewers.
[AZ Central] Diamondbacks crush Suarez HR Derby snub: MLB does ‘whatever the (expletive) they want’ – They could not seem to understand how Major League Baseball never called last week to invite him. “It didn’t surprise me because at the end of the day MLB does whatever the (expletive) they want to do,” Diamondbacks shortstop Geraldo Perdomo said. “He was open to going to the derby. I don’t get it. I know it’s a popularity contest, but I don’t know when you’ve got a guy who is open to going and he has 20-something bombs, why they don’t call him? I don’t know how that works. But at the end of the day they do whatever the (expletive) they want.”
[Fox Sports] Building the Best Diamondbacks All-Time Lineup – Would this list look any different if Luis Gonzalez hadn’t hit that blooper to help stop a Yankees World Series four-peat? In all likelihood, Gonzo still makes the list. As do other clutch legends like the Big Unit and Matt the Bat. It just goes to show that plenty of stars have stayed cool in the Arizona sun – that pool in the outfield at Chase Field helps, too. [Jim: some… interesting choices here, particularly at third-base and in the outfield]
Minor-league recaps
- Tacoma 13, Reno 9
- Frisco 9, Amarillo 1
- Hillsboro 7, Vancouver 6
- Lake Elsinore 3, Visalia 2
The Aces wasted a great day at the plate from Adrian Del Castillo, who doubled twice and homered twice and drove in six runs. That was largely thanks to a bullpen blowup for the ages in the eighth and ninth innings. After Del Castillo had finally given the Aces a 5-4 lead in the seventh inning, Matt Foster allowed a tying home run in the eighth. But that was nothing compared to the horrors of the ninth, as Hayden Durke had easily his worst day of professional baseball, allowing seven runs (six earned) without retiring a batter. It was 10-5 when he was pulled for Austin Pope, and Pope allowed both inherited runners to score on a three-run home run. Despite Del Castillo answering with a three-run shot of his own in the ninth, the eight-spot was too much to overcome.
The Sod Poodles were dominated at home, as Alec Baker struggled (and was not helped by his defense) as he allowed eight runs (five earned) in three innings. Eli Saul, Philip Abner, Zane Russell, and Landon Sims did much better in relief, with only Abner allowing a run, and he struck out four in 1.2 innings. The offense got eight hits, but Ryan Waldschmidt’s double was the only one that went for extra bases, and they didn’t string hits together, getting just five at-bats with runners in scoring position.
The Hops were trailing 4-0 in the sixth inning. They led 7-4 after, and held on for the win. It helped that Cristofer Torin reached on a wild pitch after striking out, and Modeifi Marte reached on an error. They took the lead on a Kevin Sim single, and could have scored more, but Druw Jones (who doubled to lead off the inning) lined out to second, and Jansel Luis was caught off third base to end the inning.
The Rawhide left 11 on base and went 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position as they concluded their series with Lake Elsinore in defeat. They had a 2-1 lead after a first inning in which Diosfran Cabeza drove in one with a single (his first of three) and scored on a double by Abdias De La Cruz. But the Storm picked up two in the fifth, and while the home side had baserunners in every subsequent inning, they were unable to push any of them across. Despite Cabeza having three hits, he was pulled in favor of JD Dix with the winning run in scoring position and two outs in the ninth. Dix struck out to end things.
And, elsewhere…
[MLB] Nationals make 17-year-old Eli Willits #1 overall pick – Willits is the third-youngest player in history to be drafted first overall and the youngest since Ken Griffey Jr. (17 years, 193 days) in 1987. Tim Foli, the top pick in 1968, was the youngest (17 years, 180 days). “Eli was the top guy on our board,” said Nationals interim general manager Mike DeBartolo. “It’s one of those nice things where the scouts and the analysts see things exactly the same way and saw him as the best hitter in the Draft, the best fielder in the Draft with just great makeup, great work ethic and all the intangibles.”
[ESPN] 2025 MLB draft: Day 1 winners, losers and takeaways – The first day of the 2025 MLB draft is complete! The Washington Nationals selected Eli Willits with the No. 1 pick, opting for the prep shortstop — who might be more likely to sign below slot — in a draft with no clear-cut top prospect. And there were plenty of other intriguing selections as the first three rounds unfolded Sunday night. We asked ESPN baseball insiders Alden Gonzalez, Jesse Rogers and David Schoenfield to break down their favorite and most head-scratching moves of the draft’s first night, as well as to predict which players will bring the most to their new teams in the long term.
[USA Today] Cincinnati Reds manager Terry Francona picks up 2,000th career win – Francona becomes the 13th manager in MLB history to achieve the mark. The victory improved Cincinnati’s record to 50-47 heading into the All-Star break. Francona ― who led the Boston Red Sox to two World Series championships in 2004 and 2007 ― has a career record of 2,000-1,719, good for a winning percentage of .538 over 24 seasons coaching the Philadelphia Phillies, Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians/Guardians and Reds. He won the AL Manager of the Year award in 2013, 2016, and 2022 with Cleveland. Of the 13 coaches with 2,000 career wins, Francona has a better winning percentage than five of them.