Arizona Diamondbacks Gameday Thread, #20: 4/17 vs. Blue Jays
Aerial view of downtown Phoenix, Arizona, United States, looking northeast to Camelback Mountain, featuring the Westward Ho Hotel and the red-roofed Post Office building, 1970. (Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images) | Gado via Getty Images Today’s Lineups BLUE JAYS DIAMONDBACKS Davis Schneider – LF Ketel Marte – 2B Daulton Varsho – CF Corbin Carroll – RF Vladimir Guerrero – 1B Geraldo Perdomo – SS Jesus Sanchez – RF Jose Fernandez – DH Lenyn Sosa – DH Nolan Arenado – 3B Andres Gimenez – SS Ildemaro Vargas – 1B Kazuma Okamoto – 3B James McCann – C Ernie Clement – 2B Tim Tawa – LF Tyler Heineman – C Jorge Barrosa – CF Eric Lauer – LHP Michael Soroka – RHP The D-backs come home after a road-trip which likely surpassed all expectations. I know I would not have minded too much if they had gone 4-5 over those nine games.
5-4 would have been a good result. But for the D-backs to go 6-3, winning all three series, was beyond anything I would have predicted. Now, it is worth noting that the three teams they faced have all been struggling.
The Mets, Phillies and Orioles, were all initially expected to be contenders this year. ZIPS preseason projection had the trio each winning between 88-91 games. Instead, they are all below .
500, with a combined record of 24-32. Even discounting our games, they’re 21-26: not as good as expected. The Mets, in particular, are startling.
Their cash payroll is over $360 million , most in the majors by thirty million dollars. But it’s as if the D-backs broke them. Beginning with our two victories over them, New York have now lost nine games in a row, and have slumped to a mark of 7-13.