Snake Bytes, 5/11: Tigers Mauled

Recaps

[Ariizona Sports] Zack Godley lifts Diamondbacks to win over Tigers - The 18,897 in attendance at Chase Field were treated to an 11-hit attack by Arizona, including a trio of home runs. Nick Ahmed homered in the third, while Yasmany Tomas and Brandon Drury went back-to-back in the seventh inning. Given a second chance at landing the No. 5 spot in the starting rotation, Godley (1-0) pitched seven strong innings. He allowed the one run — a James McCann RBI single — on four hits with one walk and six strikeouts. During one stretch, he retired 11 in a row. Godley threw just 88 pitches, three times inducing the double-play ball

[AZ Central] Zack Godley puts claim in on Diamondbacks' No. 5 starting job - It was a dominant performance and one usually reserved for the other Zack on the pitching staff. Greinke, that is.On a night when we needed someone to step up, Zack Godley did a great job for us,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “Seven outstanding innings … what more could you ask for. Kept some very, very dangerous hitters off balance throughout the course of the day. … He controlled every inning for me.” Lovullo wouldn’t commit to Godley getting the ball again in five days – “We’ll sit down and talk about that,” he said – but whom else would he turn to?

[dbacks.com] D-backs' Zack Godley delivers strong outing - "I think the biggest thing for me tonight was establishing my changeup and off-speed stuff, getting them off-balance, and then being able to get ground balls with the fastball," Godley said. "I felt like I was in a groove from the beginning. It ended up working out really well." Godley said he did not know whether he would remain in the rotation. "That's up to them to decide. All I can do is keep doing what they ask of me. If they ask me to start, I'll start. If they ask me to go out of the 'pen, I'll do that. If they want me to go back down, I'll do that too. It's their decision, and I'll just try to keep taking advantage of the opportunities they give me."

[AP] D-backs get strong start from Godley, 3 home runs to down Tigers - Anibal Sanchez gave up back-to-back home runs to Tomas and Drury. Tomas hit his sixth of the season, a two-run shot, and Drury his second. It marked the third time the Diamondbacks have hit back-to-back home runs this season. The Diamondbacks took over the major league lead in stolen bases Wednesday night with their 38th, courtesy of Goldschmidt in the seventh inning. Pollock leads the team with 11, and Lovullo was asked if Pollock has the green light to steal third base at any time. “I don’t want to give our strategy away,” Lovullo said, pausing for effect. “Yes, he does.”

Team news

[AZ Central] Shelby Miller undergoes Tommy John surgery - The team didn’t have an update on how the procedure went, but manager Torey Lovullo expected Miller to return to the clubhouse in a couple of days. “I exchanged texts with Shelby this morning before he went into surgery,” Lovullo said. “ … It’s a tough day for us. We know one of our family members is in surgery and going to be gone for a little bit – 15 months he’s going to be missing from us. But he’s not forgotten, and I want him to know we’re thinking about him through this process.”

[Dbacks.com] T.J. McFarland goes on 10-day DL - "Very frustrating," McFarland said. "Nobody likes to go on the DL, nobody wants to take time off, especially when you feel good, especially when you want to help the team out. I don't want to come out of the game there because it puts more pressure on the bullpen." X-rays taken of McFarland's ankle Tuesday night were negative, so it doesn't look like the left-hander will be out for an extended period. "He came in today and was a little stiff, a little sore," manager Torey Lovullo said. "It was the right situation for him to not force anything."

[Fanrag] Diamondbacks lineup stability making difference in 2017 - “You like showing up to the yard every day knowing what to expect,” Lamb said. “I like the fact that I don’t have to check the lineup, know that I’ll be in there. I feel like that’s the same for most guys. The same as anybody else’s job. You show up for your job and you know what you have to do. If you show up to work and you don’t know what to expect, what to do, it makes it harder on yourself. If you have a game plan of what I have to do today, it makes it easier.”

[AZ Central] Nick Ahmed's glove earning him more starts - While Owings has been terrific offensively, hitting .307 with five homers, 21 RBIs and eight stolen bases, he’s had six errors in 67 chances at shortstop. Ahmed has one error in 73 chances. Given the Diamondbacks’ defense as a whole has been inconsistent – it ranks eighth in the National League in fielding percentage – it makes sense that Ahmed has seen his name on the lineup card more often than not recently. “The defense is great; he gives us a lot of stability when he’s out there,” Lovullo said. “He’s a good baseball player and he deserves to play. He’s earned the playing time.”

[Arizona Sports] D-backs' Mother's Day specials feature pink-themed Churro Dog - Chase Field has a special menu on deck highlighted by a pink-themed Churro Dog. The white-iced Long John doughnut will feature a pink sugar churro in the middle, and it’ll be topped with vanilla frozen yogurt, strawberry topping, whipped cream and pink pearl candy. The Mother’s Day Churro Dog will be available at dessert portables near Sections 114, 123 and 315. That’s just one of many specialty items.

[12 NEWS] Where should you sit at Chase Field if you want to catch a home run ball? - If you want to catch a Paul Goldschmidt big fly, your best bet is Chase Field's section 142. According to an analysis conducted by secondhand ticket broker SeatGeek, the best home run bang for your buck at a Diamondbacks home game is the left-field section. Section 142 not only had the most highest raw total of home runs at Chase Field in 2016 with 19; it also had the lowest cost per home run if you divide the average price of a ticket by the number of home runs.

[FOX Sports] 7 MLB trades that should happen immediately - Blue Jays SP Marco Estrada to Diamondbacks. A surprise destination for a surprise contender. With the Blue Jays unlikely to recover from their miserable start – especially in the wildly competitive AL East – they should shift from buyers to sellers. Estrada will be in high demand and this is in his walk year, so it makes sense to shop him. Arizona continues to distance itself from a disastrous 2016 season but needs another arm with Shelby Miller shelved for the season.

And, elsewhere...

[ESPN] Olney: Fight to the ... tie? Extra innings moving toward extinction - I hope they keep the current rules in place, because they create the birth of the occasional memorable marathon, and Major League Baseball is well aware that fans want extra innings to continue until a resolution of win or lose. But there has been an increased focus on player safety and working conditions in the industry, and I suspect that, inevitably, the marathon games will soon be an endangered species, moving toward eventual extinction, like home plate collisions and takeout slides at second base.

[Hardball Times] An American Learns What’s Cricket - If you are a seamhead and you find yourself Down Under — a phrase which nobody except those of us from Up Over apparently uses — you can’t resist the urge to see cricket in person... Some 71,158 of the fans at the MCG on this evening are intimately plugged into what’s happening as the Melbourne Renegades meet the crosstown rival Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash League. Four Americans sitting 15 rows from the field are clueless as aliens landing their spaceship on the Las Vegas Strip.

[The Ringer] As Home Run Rates Rise, MLB Offers Evidence That the Ball Isn’t Juiced - However you slice the stats — plate appearances per home run, home runs per batted ball — last season’s home run rate was the highest ever. Thus far, this year’s has been higher still, even though home run rates are usually lower early in the season, before the weather warms up and the ball flies farther. All indications are that we’re headed for another new season-long high.