Hello, all you lovelies, and happy Opening Weekend for 2025. I am always guardedly optimistic at this early stage of the season, and while our opening day performance left a lot to be desired, last night’s shellacking of the Cubs had the team looking a lot more like I expect them to when they’re in full regular season form. Brandon Pfaadt took the mound for us tonight, fresh off his five-year contract extension, and while I didn’t think he looked all that great when I saw him in Spring Training, well, it’s Spring Training and not quite real baseball. He was facing off against Chicago lefty Shota Imanaga, the very talented Japanese import who has been sadly overshadowed by all those folks the Doyers keep signing for like a zillion dollars. I’m not terribly familiar with him, but I knew that he’s supposed to be pretty good.
Things started off looking a little bit iffy for our young Brandon, I have to say. He put up a zero in the top of the first, but he had to pitch around a one-out Kyle Tucker ground-rule double into the right field corner, and then a two-out walk to Chicago first baseman Michael Busch. It was also worse to watch in real time than the box score would reflect, as Pfaadt needed 22 pitches to get it done, and of those 22 pitches he threw, only 11 of them were strikes. As has been a theme in the early innings for our starters so far, he really couldn’t locate his pitches.
Imanaga, meanwhile, disposed of us quite handily, setting the top of our order down 1-2-3 in the top of the first, though it was mitigated somewhat by Lourdes Gurriel, Jr. putting up a mighty 10-pitch AB with two outs to bring Imanaga’s pitch count to 18 after one.
As it turned out, Pfaadt settled down pretty effectively after that rocky first, as he retired the Cubs in order in the second, including two strikeouts on only ten pitches thrown for the inning. He also had an efficient 16-pitch top of the third, putting up another zero while pitching around a two-out single to, yes, Kyle Tucker. I honestly didn’t know much about the guy until Chicago traded for him early in the offseason, but yeah, I can see why they did. That dude is terrifying.
Meanwhile, we took our first lead of the ballgame in the top of the second. Randal Grichuk, hitting cleanup, led off the bottom of the second by rocketing the first pitch he saw to the gap in right center for an easy double. One out later, Geno Suarez drew a walk, followed by a Montero work to load the bases. Jake McCarthy, who had yet to notch a base hit so far this young season (and still hasn’t, sadly), dribbled a slow grounder to first that allowed everyone else to advance and Grichuk to cross the plate. That was all we managed, but at least the first lead was ours. 1-0 DBACKS
That lead lasted until the top of the fourth, when Pfaadt gave up a Michael Busch single un the middle, followed by two quick grounders that each could have been double-play balls but weren’t. Busch gave way to Dansby Swanson at first, who gave way to Pete Crow-Armstrong at first, but then there were two outs and it seemed like all would be good. Sadly, Chicago catcher Miguel Amaya, who was just a pain in the butt on Opening Day, doubled down the line in left to score Crow-Armstrong. It was still a remarkably efficient inning from Pfaadt, who’d definitely settled into a groove—after an 16-pitch third and 11 pitches all told in the top of the fourth, he ended the frame with the score tied but his pitch count only at 59 pitches thrown. 1-1 TIE
Imanaga, though, was also getting more efficient, and he resumed putting up zeroes, pitching around a one-out Corbin Carroll single in the third and a Josh Naylor leadoff double in the fourth to find himself also at 59 pitches through four. So it was feeling kind of pitchers’-duelish.
The duel ended, kind of anyway, in the op of the fifth, when Chicago, or rather Kyle Tucker, finally broke through. Jon Berti, batting ninth for the Cubs and playing second base, singled to right to lead off the inning. One out later, Kyle Tucker came to the plate for the third time, and for the third time checked another box off on his hit-for-the-cycle list. After the double in the first and the single in the third, he launched a bomb over the fence in right center. Despite that, Pfaadt shook it off and continued to be efficient, ending the inning with no further damage and only 13 more pitches thrown, for a total of 72. 3-1 Chicago
And that was pretty much that, until the very end. Pfaadt wound up going six full innings, with a final pitching line of 6 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 5 K and 1 BB on 78 pitches thrown. Imanaga, meanwhile, continued to cruise through seven innings, with us getting naught but a lone base runner through the fifth, sixth, and seventh.
Jalen Beeks relieved Pfaadt in the top of the seventh, was greeted by pinch-hitter Matt Shaw, launching the first pitch he saw over into the left-center field bleachers. Bryce Jarvis pitched a scoreless eighth, and Justin Martinez a scoreless top of the ninth. 4-1 Chicago
So it came down to the bottom of the ninth, with Josh Naylor leading off against new Cubs closer Ryan Pressley. Pressley’s night did not start auspiciously, as Naylor singled up the middle to bring Geno to the plate. And well, we do at this point know it’s Geno. Whack went the bat, up in the air went the ball, over the fence in left it sailed:
[NOTE: I’m not sure that video highlight is going to work, as the cesspool formerly known as Twitter doesn’t seem to have Diamondbacks video highlights anymore, but we shall see.]
Gabi Moreno then singled on through Gabi Lane. He was replaced by pinch runner Garrett Hampson, who I have dubbed “Hamster Dance” in my mind for whatever reason, which will become important in just a moment and may help to explain the image at the top of this recap. Anyway. Two outs later, Ketel Marte walked to put runners on first and second for Corbin Carroll. Carroll hit a weak grounder on the infield that was clearly shallow enough to go for a single and load the bases!
But. But but but. But Garrett Hampson, perhaps a bit overexcited at having been let out of his cage to play, overran third base as Dansby Swanson made the play on Carroll’s grounder, and Swanson simply ran at him and tagged him out unassisted to end the ballgame. 4-3 Chicago FINAL, and I’m not sure it gets any dumber than that.
Win Probability Added, courtesy of FanGraphs
[Amusingly, or irritatingly, Garrett Hampson doesn’t even rate a number on the WPA table, because all he did was pinch-run for Moreno. Nevertheless, we are going to be going with a rodent theme here, so bear with me.]
The Adorable Capybara: Eugenio Suarez (2 AB, 1 H, 1 HR, 2 RBI, +11.6% WPA); Ketel Marte (4 AB, 1 H, 1 BB, +10.6% WPA)
The Abject Gerbil: Jake McCarthy (4 AB, 0 H, 1 K, -16.9% WPA); Lourdes Gurriel, Jr. (4 AB, 0 H, 1 K, -12.3% WPA)
The Atrocious Hamster: Corbin Carroll (5 AB, 2 H, 2 K, -28.2% WPA)
I suspect that Carroll might have gotten dinged by Hampson’s game-ending TOOTBLAN because it happened during his at bat; otherwise, I’m not sure how you go 2 for 5 and wind up with such a grotesquely negative WPA. Anyway.
It was a pretty light crowd in the Gameday thread tonight, with 138 comments at time of writing. There were a few I had in mind to award my first CotG to for 2025, but after that ending to the game, this late-breaking one from ISH has to take it, hands down:
Me, too, brother. Me too. Anyway.
We still a shot at a series split tomorrow, so I hope you will join us for the rubber game, as the alleged Eduardo Rodriguez takes the mound for us, facing off in a battle of lefties against Matthew Boyd. First pitch is scheduled for 1:10pm AZ time. Hope to see you!
As always, folks, thanks so much for reading. And as always, go Diamondbacks!