Diamondbacks vs. Dodgers Round 1 Recap

If there was ever a series that was the distilled essence of Diamondbacks baseball, this series was it. A lot of the themes of the 2022 season were present in this series: great starting pitching, momentary offensive takeoffs, solid bullpen action, and a hefty dose of strange baseball. Let's take a look at the games that just wrapped up...

Tuesday, April 26th
Dodgers 3 - Diamondbacks 5
W: Kennedy (1-1, 5.14 ERA); L: Graterol (0-1, 2.70 ERA); SV: Melancon (3rd, 1.29 ERA)

This game opened up in a not-so-fun way: a bases-loaded double from Will Smith that plated three runs in the first. I looked at the notification on my watch and groaned. I was ready to see more crooked numbers. And then I didn't see any more, at least not from Los Angeles.

Tony Gonsolin opened this game up for the Dodgers and was pretty effective, fanning four through the first two innings. He stumbled in the third allowing a single and a walk. And from there, it all unraveled. Gavin Lux makes an error that lets Varsho on and lets two runners score. Then Pavin piles on with a single that tied the game. That's something the Diamondbacks need to be more consistent with: timely hitting. Capitalizing on mistakes is huge and is something every team wants to do.

Following his rocky first inning, Zach Davies cruises for a while, getting some traffic on the bases, but no runs scored. From there, the bullpen came out and looked pretty darn good. Kyle Nelson, J.B. Wendelken, Joe Mantiply, and Ian Kennedy all hung up zeroes. Again, traffic was a problem for some of these guys. Mantiply had runners on first and second and Kennedy worked his way out of a bases-loaded jam.

The big moment for the Diamondbacks came in the bottom of the eighth when the Freight Train went on the tracks and never looked back. A two-run, go-ahead home run? I'll take those any day of the week. From there, Melancon came in and picked up the save with no issues.

This is the team I think the Diamondbacks are. I sincerely believe that. A never quit mentality, taking advantage of the situations they're in. That'll be a theme going forward, I'm sure of it.

Wednesday, April 26th
Dodgers 1 - Diamondbacks 3
W: Kennedy (2-1, 5.63 ERA); L: Hudson (1-1, 1.35 ERA); SV: Melancon (4th, 1.13 ERA)

Zac Gallen started this game but stumbled into a no-decision despite his stellar performance. Six innings, two hits, two walks, and five strikeouts, all over just 90 pitches. That is phenomenal. This is the guy every Diamondbacks fan was excited about when he was traded for back in 2019. Zac has given up a casual one run this season. One. Just one. And just like Merrill, he's given up no home runs. This Diamondbacks rotation is looking very good so far this season and I'm very excited to see more.

Nick Ahmed picked up one of the two Diamondback hits by smoking a ball into left field for a home run. That was the only scoring the game had for the first seven innings. In the eighth, Trea Turner tied the game with a ball laced into left field for an RBI single.

In the bottom of that same inning, the Diamondbacks made a splash without a hit. Varsho works a walk, and then some chaos worked its magic. Sergio Alcantara tries to sac bunt, but a wild throw from Max Muncy made that ball escape the infield, let Varsho score, and put Alcantara onto third. Just after that, Cooper Hummel reaches base on a bizarre play where Muncy expected the ball to go foul, and then it just... didn't. From there, Pavin grounded out but that was enough for Alcantara to score. The final out came on a strange play that definitely didn't need to be an out. A wild throw from Gavin Lux pulled Freddie Freeman off the bag and would have gotten another run on the board, but a lack of hustle on the part of Christian Walker led to an out instead of a run. That's another example of capitalizing on mistakes. Let them make every error they want, but you gotta be ready to deal that blow when they're made.

Of course, that baserunning mistake didn't matter much. Melancon came in and had himself a 1-2-3 inning. Common Mark Melancon performance.

I do want to highlight the amazing baserunning decisions from Sergio Alcantara in the bottom of the eighth. There were two batters that came up in between him and Pavin where he just sat on third base waiting for the right opportunity. Both involved balls in play and I can see him going for it on at least one of them, but he held off and eventually was able to cash in. Excellent stuff.

A series win against the Dodgers? I'm in a great mood for sure. This was the Diamondbacks' first series win against the Dodgers since 2019, and I'm sure it felt great for this team. From here, the Diamondbacks are off on another short road trip where they'll face off against the Cardinals and Marlins. I hope you're as excited as I am.

Fan Reactions!

Did I miss a moment that stood out to you? Was there a player I neglected to mention? Let me know in the comments below or @xwOBAplus on Twitter!