To this point of the season, it’s been one step forward and two steps back for the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Diamondbacks first pick (third overall) last year is on the fast-track to success and judging from his steady climb through the Dbacks minor league affiliates, don’t be surprised to see the 6’1 right-hander with the quirky delivery at Chase Field in the near future.
The Diamondbacks and All-Star catcher Miguel Montero recently came to terms on a five-year, $60 million contract extension.
Prior to Friday night’s series opener against the Brewers, Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson took time to speak to the media, and talked about the first meeting between the teams since their playoff series last fall.
Coming off an improbable season a year ago which included a National League West title, 94 regular season wins and a trip to the NL Division Series, nobody would have expected Kirk Gibson’s Arizona Diamondbacks to be 20-25, near the bottom of the division and 10.5 games behind the Dodgers in late May.
Here’s a brief synopsis of the Diamondbacks game from Tuesday night: the Cardinals hitting and pitching both worked, while neither worked for the Diamondbacks.
Diamondbacks Manager Kirk Gibson is looking for someone to step up offensively. Coming off a tough road trip, the Diamondbacks had more than their share off opportunities to come out on the winning side of games in just about every game they lost on the road trip.
The Diamondbacks didn’t have the homestand they envisioned after starting the season 6-3. They got off to a promising start with a win over the Pirates last Monday, but quickly deteriorated into a five game losing streak that got broken, followed by Arizona losing two of three to the Phillies, with the latest loss – a 7-2 loss – coming on Wednesday.
The Diamondbacks are not strangers to adversity. Last season everyone picked them last and once they got into first, no one thought they would hold on.
Through the first 10 games of the regular season, the Pittsburgh Pirates offense has been anemic, scoring only 19 runs in those games.
