Tag: Arizona Diamondbacks

The D-backs’ Ketel Marte didn’t run on a game-ending double play and of course Jonathan Papelbon noticed

It really shouldn’t be difficult to hustle to first.

While baseball does have its share of silly unwritten rules, the expectation for players to show effort is absolutely reasonable. And nearly nine years after Jonathan Papelbon’s in-dugout altercation with Bryce Harper, he’s still bothered watching players cost their teams by not running out ground balls.

The Arizona Diamondbacks lost Wednesday afternoon’s game against the Cardinals, 5-1. And though it was unlikely that the D-backs would have been able to put together a four-run, two-out rally, Ketel Marte should have at least been on first base to give Arizona the chance.

Instead, he did this on a grounder to first base to end the game.

Marte did not expect Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley to be able to cover first base on the turn for the double play, so he basically went to first on a half jog. And by the time he realized that Helsley was going to be there, Marte was only able to get within a step of beating the throw back to first. Had Marte hustled out of the box at all, he would have been safe easily to extend the game.

Of course, the video made its way over to Papelbon who tweeted about Marte’s poor effort there.

Marte should probably consider himself lucky that the former MLB pitcher wasn’t in the dugout waiting for him after that one.

We know how that would have turned out.

Zac Gallen gets opening day nod again for Diamondbacks

Former UNC baseball standout Zac Gallen gets the opening day start for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2024.

Former North Carolina Tar Heels’ pitcher Zac Gallen was a big reason why the Arizona Diamondbacks were able to win the NL pennant and make the World Series. Although the Diamondbacks fell short, it was a special season they are hoping to build on.

As the Diamondbacks get set for the 2024 MLB season, Gallen will once again be the team’s ace and get the opening day start.

The Diamondbacks announced on Tuesday that Gallen will be the team’s opening day start. The team will host Colorado on Thursday, March 28th at 7:10 p.m. MST. This is the second straight season that Gallen will get the opening day nod but the first at home as he started last season’s game in Los Angeles.

Gallen is coming off a big season in 2023, finishing third in the NL Cy Young race and being named the All-Star Game starter. He posted a 17-9 record with a 3.47 ERA in 34 starts for the Diamondbacks. He struck out 9.4 batters per nine innings while allowing just 22 home runs all year.

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Gallen’s six no-hit innings not enough as Diamondbacks lose World Series

Arizona Diamondbacks ace Zac Gallen, the UNC standout pitcher from 2014-2016, gave his team a strong chance in Game 5 of the World Series.

One of the best pitchers to come out of the UNC baseball program nearly pitched his team to a World Series win on Wednesday, Nov. 1.

That pitcher is none other than Arizona Diamondbacks ace Zac Gallen, who toed the rubber in Chapel Hill from 2014-2016. Gallen compiled a 14-13 record, 3.36 earned run average and struck out 231 batters as a Tar Heel, which was good enough for the St. Louis Cardinals to select him third round in the 2016 MLB Draft.

What Gallen did last night, with the Diamondbacks facing elimination on baseball’s grandest stage, was the type of performance that turns ordinary guys into legends.

Though Gallen took the loss in a 5-0 Rangers victory, he pitched six no-hit innings to start. He ended his night allowing just one run, one walk and three hits through 6 1/3 innings while striking out six batters.

When your pitcher is nearly perfect through six innings, chances are you’ll end up winning the game. Arizona, sadly, only mustered five hits throughout the decisive Game 5 last night.

Gallen’s World Series performance was only a microcosm of the impressive season he enjoyed, which deserves a National League Cy Young (best pitcher) Award to cap it off.

In the regular season, Gallen carried the second-best NL record with a 17-9 mark. He struck out 220 batters (sixth), compiled a 3.47 ERA (16th) and 1.12 WHIP (12th).

Gallen struggled a bit more in the postseason, only pitching to a 2-3 win-loss record, 4.54 ERA and striking out just 24 batters. His performance on Wednesday night, however, showed the baseball world he can deliver in the clutch and is one of the sport’s best, young pitchers.

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A tearful Torey Lovullo honestly summed up the pain of losing the World Series: ‘I want to … suck my thumb’

The Diamondbacks manager was teary after losing to the Rangers.

The Arizona Diamondbacks have a lot to be proud of after an incredible, unlikely run to the 2023 World Series, even if they came up short against the Texas Rangers.

That includes manager Torey Lovullo, who was of course heartbroken after watching his team fall short on Wednesday. In speaking with reporters after the Game 5 loss, he was asked how many days it would take before thinking about the 2024 season.

His reply?

“I just want to run away and hide for few days. I want to go camping and just sit in the tent and suck my thumb, and eat ice cream. Is that the weirdest answer? … I want to hurt because I want to remember what this feels like, cause I never want to feel this again.”

There was also this tearful moment and hugs from his family:

There was no way the Rangers would have been able to celebrate World Series win in the D-backs pool

The Diamondbacks pool was off limits!

It used to be that opponents at the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Chase Field could celebrate in the home team’s pool in the postseason. But then, actual police officers guarded it after the Los Angeles Dodgers won a series, and that was that.

What would happen on Wednesday night, as the Texas Rangers won their first-ever World Series as a franchise?

No pool celebration, and while I’d like to report that perhaps this was a gesture of keeping it classy, there were also photos snapped of a bunch of Diamondbacks security standing out there near the pool, suggesting that maybe it was off limits:

Oh well. Enjoy these photos of the Diamondbacks jumping in after their NLDS win. And at least this Dallas TV reporter and camera operator got to do it:

The Rangers delightfully sang along to Creed anthem “Higher” to celebrate World Series victory

The Rangers singing “Higher” by Creed after winning the World Series is everything.

After the Texas Rangers adopted the Creed song “Higher” as their season anthem, the team fulfilled the lyrics in that famous rock ballad after winning the World Series on Wednesday night.

After the team took down the Arizona Diamondbacks to win the franchise’s first-ever World Series title, the Rangers decided to belt out “Higher” with each other in the locker room as they doused each other in beer to celebrate.

It was as spirited a post-World Series victory sing-a-long as you could imagine for the Rangers, completing the Creed-fueled playoff run of a lifetime. They, indeed, took their team higher.

We’re curious if any other teams will embrace Creed next MLB postseason, or if another nostalgic rock band will take the spotlight.

For now, we’ll blast “Higher” while we’re riding in the car this week in honor of the Rangers and the song that helped inspire a World Series victory.

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Bruce Bochy’s recliner joke perfectly summed up his journey to a Rangers World Series win

Bruce Bochy went from relaxing in retirement to leading a World Series effort for the Rangers.

The Texas Rangers have won their first World Series in franchise history, and they have future Hall of Fame manager Bruce Bochy to thank for that.

After leading the San Francisco Giants to three titles as manager, Bochy came out of retirement this past offseason after a few years away to manage the Rangers.

It wound up working out spectacularly, as Bochy led the Rangers to a championship over the Arizona Diamondbacks in his first season managing the dugout.

While reflecting after the big win on how he got to this moment, Bochy recalled how he was relaxing in a recliner in Nashville, Tennessee, before he got the call to come back to the majors.

It’s really neat to hear Bochy describe how dramatically his life changed and how much it means to him to get to celebrate yet another impressive title effort.

While Bochy didn’t really need to do anything else to confirm his future Hall of Fame status, this is just the icing on the cake for the legendary manager.

Now, he can return to Arlington to help Texas potentially win another title next year.

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D-backs CF Alek Thomas shocked MLB fans with his brutal 9th-inning error in the World Series

He’s going to think about that play for a long time.

The margin for error is so slim in the World Series that even the slightest of mistakes can derail an entire ballgame. And Arizona Diamondbacks center fielder Alek Thomas learned that in the worst way on Wednesday.

Despite D-backs starter Zac Gallen taking a no hitter into the seventh inning, Arizona hitters simply could not produce with runners in scoring position in Game 5. It seemed inevitable that the Rangers would break the game open with a World Series title looming, and that ultimately happened in bizarre fashion.

As D-backs closer Paul Sewald faced Jonah Heim with two runners on and no outs, a single up the middle was poised to score one run for the Rangers. But as the ball rolled into center field, Thomas seemingly lost focus and let the ball go under his glove.

Corbin Carroll had to retrieve the ball at the wall, and Arizona was fortunate that Heim was running because it could have been a Little League home run. Marcus Semien would break the game open with a two-run homer a couple batters later.

But man, what a way to let a World Series get away. Fans could not believe that error. The kind of error that will haunt Thomas.

D-backs fans in the stands were so confused when Lourdes Gurriel Jr.’s HR ball seemingly disappeared

The game wasn’t close, but the search for that baseball was RIVETING.

The Arizona Diamondbacks had themselves a rough Halloween night in Tuesday’s Game 4 of the World Series, but they did manage to show some life late in the game with six unanswered runs.

And while it would be a stretch to call that late rally a serious comeback attempt, it did provide us with one of the weirder moments in the stands.

Batting with two outs in the eighth inning, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit a three-run home run into the left-field stands to bring the Snakes within six runs.

Again, the home run was pretty inconsequential and only made the game look closer than it really was. But I just can’t stop laughing at the scene in the stands. For 20 seconds, nobody could find the baseball. At one point, it appeared that one fan was falsely accused of catching the baseball, and he had to be like, “No, this is a different ball.” And then the search just continued.

@mlbonfox How the heck did he end up with it 😂 #mlb #baseball #worldseries #texasrangers #arizonadiamondbacks ♬ original sound – MLBonFOX

As fans in the first row continued looking behind seats for the baseball, the guy in the red D-backs jersey somehow ended up with the ball. How he got it — I have no idea. But he seemed to have the ball right away and nobody else in the area noticed.

That was honestly the most compelling part of the game. Let’s hope those fans stopped looking for the ball eventually.