Record: 3-9 - Home: 1-4. - Road: 2-5
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1982: Jamie D'Antona born. Remember when D'Antona, Quentin and Jackson were the 'Three Amigos', destined to lead the D-backs in to the promised land. One got Byrned, one got Valley Fever, and D'Antona got less than twenty major-league PAs, before being sold to Japan - seems like a popular destination for ex-Dbacks. He played 2009-10 with Yakult, hitting a decent .263/.322/.473, but failed to make the cut with the Marlins last year. No sign of him this year: maybe he has gone fishing.
- 1999. If the D-backs win today, it'll be the first time they've prevailed at Chase Field on this date in 13 years. The last time was this 8-6 victory over the Expos, and even that required a major comeback, with Arizona scoring five in the ninth. Andy Fox, Jay Bell and Matt Williams all hit home-runs in the frame: Bell's tied the game with two outs and, after a Luis Gonzalez single, Williams then won it for the D-backs. It completed the sweep of Montreal. with all three victories coming in walk-off fashion.
- 2004. Bobby Estalella granted free agency. I was just thinking about him, albeit in passing - there's a piece up tomorrow on the history of Diamondbacks' catchers. He was signed in February that year, to act as a back-up after Robbie Hammock needed knee surgery, but appeared in only a dozen games before being let go. One wonders whether there were "whispers", as Estalella was later named in the Mitchell Report, and at one point, looked like he might testify against former team-mate Barry Bonds.
- 2011. Curiously, one year ago today, we also faced Matt Cain, albeit in San Francisco. He dominated us, getting the W as the Giants beat the D-backs 3-2, taking a shutout into the eighth inning. Cain was replaced with two out and two on, and RBI singles from Stephen Drew and Justin Upton made it a one-run game, but Russell Branyan grounded out. Kelly Johnson and Gerardo Parra struck out in the ninth, with the tying run at third. Daniel Hudson took the loss, allowing three runs in 6.2 innings.