Arizona

Arizona Diamondbacks 5, Toronto Blue Jays 4: Call An Ambulance, But Not For Me.

Published

4 months ago

July 13, 2024

Arizona Diamondbacks 5, Toronto Blue Jays 4: Call An Ambulance, But Not For Me.

Long time no see, friends! Although you have not seen me commenting much I have reverted back to my lurking ways. I figured after the magical World Series run last year Jim would have no difficulty finding eager writers to discuss this team. It was a good opportunity for me to take a step back and focus on fatherhood which has been an absolute blast. Don’t get it twisted though, I’m still raising my daughter to become a Diamondbacks fan as the good (choose your deity) intended. We’ve been watching every game even if she can’t quite comprehend it yet.

The way I see it, the Diamondbacks have been a tear as of late against a challenging part of the schedule. They would find themselves a healthy number of games above .500 and in a decent spot in the wild card race were it not for some blown saves. Regardless, the team has not used that as an excuse and continues to find ways to bounce back. Still plenty of season left on the plate, and as we saw last season the only need to make it into the playoffs and anything can happen from there.

Tonight they opened up a series against the Toronto Blue Jays who like Arizona had playoff aspirations at the start of this season but have been even more disappointing. That ballclub is currently glaring hard into the mirror and will have some difficult decisions to make before the trade deadline.

Ryne Nelson took the bump for Arizona and continued a string of really good starts. Outside of rough outings at San Diego on June 8th and June 26th against Minnesota he has been very impressive the past two months. This comes at a time when the starting rotation is running thin with injuries, which his manager surely appreciates from him. This evening it was seven innings of dominant pitching with Nelson touching 98 miles per hour at times. Unfortunately, the Diamondbacks offense was a bit anemic until the late innings of this contest so he ultimately walks away with a no decision when he arguably deserves the win.

Through four innings Nelson gave up only one hit, an excuse me single to Vlad Guerrero Jr. in the first. After that hit he buckled down and retired 11 straight Blue Jays in a row. The Diamondbacks’ offense did manage to provide Nelson with a pair of runs in the second and third innings, but also missed a couple of opportunities after that to give him more support. Kevin Newman got the start at second base tonight to give Ketel Marte some rest before the All Star game and doubled with one out in the third. Corbin Carroll, his ears ringing after Jim’s accurate analysis of his performance in the GDT, drove Newman in on a line drive to right field for the first run of the game. Carroll stole his 17th base of the season followed by a walk from Gabriel Moreno. With two outs in the inning, Christian Walker hit a dribbler to third base that Ernie Clement was unable to field cleanly which loaded the bases for Geraldo Perdomo. Gerry worked a really nice full count at bat but sadly looked at strike three right down the middle of the plate to end the inning.

Arizona kept the scoring going in the fourth courtesy of a leadoff triple from Randal Grichuk who was driven in on a sac fly from Kevin Newman. However, that would be all the run production the Diamondbacks could muster until the end of the game allowing Toronto to come back and take the lead. Ryne Nelson first ran into trouble in the fifth inning. A single and a double put runners on first and second with only one out. Toronto cut the Arizona lead in half on a force out, but Nelson prevented further damage by striking out Leo Jimenez to end the inning.

Toronto picked up the next inning countering with a leadoff triple of their own from George Springer. A sac fly in the following at bat tied the game at two apiece, but again Nelson remained calm retiring Vlad Guerrero Jr. and Justin Turner in order to end the inning. His final inning of work started much the same with a leadoff triple from former Diamondback Daulton Varsho. His hit stayed just fair bouncing right on the first base line in the outfield rolling all the way to the corner. A one out sac fly gave the Blue Jays their first lead of the game. Nelson’s outing was concluded after the seventh inning, his final line being three runs on five hits with five strikeouts and no walks.

Bryce Jarvis came out of the bullpen to pitch the eighth inning. A trio of singles opened the frame ahead of Vlad Guerrero Jr., and to be honest with the recent streak of luck this team has had in the late innings I was not too optimistic I would be recapping a win tonight. Miraculously, Jarvis limited the damage to just one further run inducing a sac fly from Vlad and ending the inning on a Justin Turner double play.

Down two runs and with only five hits in the game so far Arizona had their work cut out for them. Geraldo Perdomo and Eugenio Suarez drew a pair of key walks sandwiched between outs and each advanced a base on a wild pitch. Alek Thomas delivered the biggest hit of the game for Arizona with a single to left field scoring both men to tie the game at four apiece.

Justin Martinez, the hottest bullpen arm for Arizona right now, made easy work of the Blue Jays in the top of the ninth to keep it a tie game and put the team in a position for a come from behind victory. Toronto brought in Chad Green in hopes to send the game to extras but he struggled to find the strike zone issuing walks to three D’backs batters, albeit one of them intentional to Christian Walker. That loaded the bases for Gerry Perdomo, and with Corbin Carroll as the man on third base with only one out he did exactly what he needed to sending the first pitch he saw into the outfield for the game winning run.

07/12/24 D’backs (5) vs. Blue Jays (4)

FanGraphs

CoTN goes to Dano for one topic I haven’t touched on in this recap yet. His comment was obviously posted in the first inning, but it was a foreshadowing of the Doug Eddings experience last night. His strike zone was rather wide, so it will be interesting to see his scorecard in the morning.

Regardless, a win is a win and the Arizona Diamondbacks who have flirted with it for much of the past two months are now over .500 for the first time since April 5th. As always, it was a pleasure recapping for you tonight and thank you for reading. Remember there is still a good chunk of season left and absolutely no reason to panic. The team is playing better of late and will hopefully be getting healthier in the coming weeks. All it takes is a wildcard berth and the October magic happens from there. Enjoy the journey!

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Arizona

Two Cubs Prospects Earn High Marks for Their Arizona Fall League Performance

Published

19 mins ago

November 21, 2024

Press Room

Two Cubs Prospects Earn High Marks for Their Arizona Fall League Performance

The Arizona Fall League gives organizations a chance to see how some of their prospects might look when facing other stars in pipelines around the league, and for the Chicago Cubs who have a loaded farm system, this allowed them to formulate a plan for a group of their minor leaguers.

Things seem to be brewing for the Cubs this winter.

Unlike last year, they have been aggressive in the early portion of the offseason, already making trades to upgrade their bullpen by acquiring Eli Morgan, and giving themselves a solid backup catcher by landing Matt Thaiss from the Los Angeles Angels.

More moves are expected to come for Chicago, specifically regarding their starting rotation.

By adding a reliever and backstop with early trades, that allows them to hold onto some of the money they allocated to potentially get this done in free agency.

However, shipping out more talent is something they might continue to do.

Someone they could potentially look to move coming off his good showing at the Arizona Fall League is Jonathon Long.

When sharing some final thoughts on what occurred at this year’s AFL, Melissa Lockard of The Athletic gave high marks for two Cubs prospects who competed in this event, Long being one of them.

He followed up his strong Double-A season with an eye-catching performance in the Arizona Fall League by slashing 338/.425/.662 with six home runs.

Long could become an outfield option for Chicago down the line, but with other more heralded prospects who play his same position, he could be expendable as the front office searches for ways to improve their Major League roster.

The other player who received high marks shouldn’t surprise anyone.

Moises Ballesteros continues his ascent, following up his breakout performance in 2024 with a .316/.376/.557 slash line, five homers and four doubles in his 19 AFL games.

There was some thought he could be the backup catcher for the Cubs next season based on their need for offensive output at that position, but there are still questions about how he performs on the defensive end that could cause them to use him elsewhere while he continues to develop.

Still, he was impressive with the bat in his hand, prompting Lockard to state he “continues to look like a potential middle-of-the-order fixture.”

Whether it’s at designated hitter or he does become Chicago’s catcher of the future eventually, knowing he has this ability to be an elite offensive producer when he gets the call to The Show should excite the organization and fanbase.

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Arizona

Arizona State could push Big 12 title chase to final weekend

Published

8 hours ago

November 21, 2024

Press Room

Arizona State could push Big 12 title chase to final weekend

TEMPE, AZ (AP/AZFamily) — The Arizona State Sun Devils are set for a huge matchup this weekend when they host the BYU Cougars at Mountain America Stadium.

Saturday’s game in Tempe will have massive implications in the Big 12 Conference with multiple teams chasing a title game appearance.

A win over the 14th-ranked Cougars would massively boost title game hopes for the 21st-ranked Sun Devils. Ticket prices have been soaring for the highly anticipated conference game.

Arizona State Head Coach Kenny Dillingham joined Good Morning Arizona on Thursday to talk about the team’s expectation-busting season. Watch the full interview in the video player at the top of this page.

Things to watch this week in the Big 12 Conference:

Game of the week

No. 14 BYU (9-1, 6-1 Big 12, No. 14 CFP) at No. 21 Arizona State (8-2, 5-2, No. 21), Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)

League newcomer Arizona State has a three-game winning streak and BYU is coming off its first loss. The Cougars, after losing at home to Kansas, still control their own destiny in making the Big 12 championship game. They can clinch a spot in that Dec. 7 game as early as Saturday, if they win and instate rival Utah wins at home against No. 22 Iowa State.

Arizona State was picked at the bottom of the 16-team league in the preseason media poll, but already has a five-win improvement in coach Dillingham’s second season.

The undercard

No. 16 Colorado (8-2, 6-1, No. 16 CFP) at Kansas (4-6, 3-4), Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET (Fox)

Coach Deion Sanders and the Buffaloes are in prime position to make the Big 12 title game in their return to the league after 13 seasons in the Pac-12. If BYU and Utah win, Colorado would be able to claim the other title game spot with a win over Kansas. The Buffs have a four-game winning streak.

The Jayhawks need another November win over a ranked Big 12 contender while trying to get bowl eligible for the third season in a row. Kansas has won consecutive games over Top 25 teams for the first time in school history, knocking off Iowa State before BYU.

Impact players

Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht has thrown a touchdown in a school-record 14 consecutive games, while receivers Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel both have more than 800 yards receiving. San Jose State is the only other FBS team with a pair of 800-yard receivers. Becht has 2,628 yards and 17 touchdowns passing for the Cyclones (8-2, 5-2), who are still in Big 12 contention.

Inside the numbers

Oklahoma State goes into its home finale against Texas Tech with a seven-game losing streak, its longest since a nine-game skid from 1977-78. The only longer winless streak since was an 0-10-1 season in 1991. This is Mike Gundy’s 20th season as head coach, and his longest losing streak before now was five in a row in 2005, his first season and the last time the Cowboys didn’t make a bowl game. … Baylor plays at Houston for the first time since 1995, the final Southwest Conference season. The Cougars won last year in the only meeting since to even the series 14-14-1. … Eight Big 12 teams are bowl eligible. As many as six more teams could reach six wins.

Repeating 1,000

The Big 12 already has four 1,000-yard rushers, including three who did it last season. UCF’s RJ Harvey is the league’s top rusher (1,328 yards) and top scorer with 21 touchdowns (19 rushing/two receiving). The others with consecutive 1,000-yard seasons are Texas Tech career rushing leader Tahj Brooks (1,184 yards) and Kansas State’s DJ Giddens (1,128 yards). Cam Skattebo with league newcomer Arizona State has 1,074 yards.

Devin Neal, the career rushing leader at his hometown university, is 74 yards shy of being the first Kansas player with three 1,000-yard seasons. Cincinnati’s Corey Kiner needs 97 yards to reach 1,000 again.

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Arizona

What BYU coach Kalani Sitake said about Arizona State game

Published

16 hours ago

November 21, 2024

Press Room

What BYU coach Kalani Sitake said about Arizona State game

BYU’s stock plummeted this week.

After suffering a 17-13 loss to Kansas — their first loss of the season — the Cougars dropped from No. 6 to No. 14 in the College Football Playoff Rankings and into a tie with Colorado for first place in the Big 12.

And now they’re 3.5-point underdogs to Arizona State (8-2) in arguably the biggest game on the college football schedule this weekend. The winner will be in the pole position for a berth in the Big 12 championship game; the loser will be all but eliminated.

BYU coach Kalani Sitake knows anything can happen in the Big 12, and the Cougars are still very much alive for a berth in the College Football Playoff.

“You look at the conference, there’s a lot of parity … anyone has a shot,” Sitake said during his weekly press conference.

Here is a snapshot of what Sitake said ahead of BYU’s game with Arizona State:

Sitake on ASU Coach Kenny Dillingham

“Kenny Dillingham is a really good coach. I have a lot of respect for him and the way he coaches his team. You can tell he’s got a great connection with his players, and he’s a local kid so he’s from that area. He grew up an ASU fan and knows what that program can do. … I think he did it the right way bringing in a lot of local staff. … I know a lot of guys on his coaching staff. They’re really good coaches, good men.

“Looking at the talent that they have, it’s a difficult matchup. You have to be ready. We’re going on the road. We already know the time for that game and that it will be a little better weather than what we have here [in Provo]. Looking forward to the matchup. I think the goal is for us, like we said every week, stay humble, stay hungry and find ways to get better.”

Sitake on ASU Quarterback Sam Leavitt

“Really good player. He comes from a good family. He’s super athletic. He can run, he’s got an accurate arm. I think he’s got a great football IQ. He’s dangerous. He’s got a lot of football to play. I think he he saw some opportunities over there at ASU and you look at him, he’s thriving in it. He’s going to be a difficult matchup for us for sure. But man, it’s good to see good young men that you know are from amazing families get what they want. He’s doing some really cool things and he’s going to be doing really good things for a long time becauase I think he’s only a freshman right now. The sky’s the limit for him. Hopefully we just don’t see that great ‘sky limit’ performance this weekend.”

Sitake on BYU’s Recent Offensive Struggles

“There’s a fine line between it all … the key to execution is just eliminating the mistakes. There shouldn’t be any mistakes. Whether it’s alignment issues or technique issues or even running the wrong route or not doing the correct assignment. So all that should be cleaned up. But there’s also some room for improvement where you can actually install some stuff. You want to have a foundation of stuff that you’re good at and that you could lean on, but that’s the stuff that everybody knows is coming. So we have to have that and you have to have a little bit of install that gives you the favorable matchup, depending on who you’re going against.”

“That’s what we’re trying to get done. Obviously it’s worked quite a bit, and the offense they’re getting in the red zone. We’ve just got to score touchdowns. It’s hard to get in the red zone and only kick field goals. Even though you have a good kicker like Will Ferrin you’re going to need to score points and score touchdowns and finish the drives. It gives you a little bit more motivation and a little bit more ‘umph’ when you’re trying to get it done, so that’s what we’re focusing on.”