Diamondbacks 8, Cubs 3: An Exercise in Being Less Inept

Patrick Corbin got the start for the Diamondbacks. He seemed to have his pitches working, setting the Cubs down in order in the first. (Dexter Fowler, Ben Zobrist, and Jason Heyward being the batters; Zobrist was retired via the strikeout.) The Diamondbacks quickly got on the board with Jake Lamb driving in Jean Segura and then being driven in by Peter O'Brien. The lead, though, was short-lived. The Cubs got both runs back in unearned fashion. Jake Lamb started things with a throwing error to put the leadoff man on, then Peter O'Brien did his best Mark Trumbo impression, allowing a double that scored one. Another double tied things up, but Corbin struck out two in escaping further damage.

Randall Delgado served up a gopher ball to Dexter Fowler in the third, but from there things went the D-backs way. Socrates Brito doubled in Peter O'Brien, advanced to third on a wild pitch, and then scored on a third strike that was another wild pitch. That gave the Diamondbacks a lead they would never give up. A series of pitchers (Wesley Wright, Keith Hessler, Enrique Burgos, Matt Stites, Sam LeCure, and Cody Hall) gave up just two hits over the last six innings, albeit generally pitching to backups. Jack Reinheimer hit a home run, and we also saw hits from Jamie Westbrook and Phil Gosselin.

Although I didn't watch most of the game, I did hear most of two interesting interviews. First, Ken Rosenthal discussed a number of topics, including the state of the rotations in the NL West. Unsurprisingly, with the injury to Anderson and the slow progress of Ryu, the Dodgers are well behind the Diamondbacks and Giants (will we see Mike Bolsinger there this year, I wonder?) It sounded as if he was leaning towards the Diamondbacks having the best rotation, but didn't want to say it yet.

The interview with Dave Stewart was more interesting. It helped that almost everyone was getting a hit while he was in the booth. A couple interesting nuggets: apparently, there are some members of the staff who think Reinheimer could play center field. I'm not sure how widespread that view is, but with the lack of a backup center fielder, if he actually can play the position, that would be a point in his favor. Stewart also said he thought Gabby Guerrero could be as good as his uncle, but I think that was mostly GM speak. Vlad had his first full season at age 22 and hit .302; Gabby hit .222 at AA last year, and this will be his age-22 season. We shall see.

All in all, a lot to be happy about. I believe Rubby De La Rosa will be the starting pitcher tomorrow against the Mariners in Peoria. Go Diamondbacks!