Arizona Diamondbacks 3, Cincinnati Reds 6: The Day the Zero ERA died

Record: 12-10-1. Change on 2017: -0.5

It was a rough first inning for Zack Godley over at Goodyear Stadium this afternoon. He had got two outs relatively quickly, around a single, but then lost command, walking consecutive batters. He was made to pay for his wildness with a two-RBI single, and the Reds took advantage of another free base-runner in the second inning, when a hit batter came around to score on a triple. Godley did then settle down, retiring nine in a row, before a second hit batter ended his afternoon, with 4.2 innings in the books. He allowed three hits, in addition to the two walks and two hit batters, but did also strike out seven.

Unfortunately, the runner he left behind was also charged to him, as Antonio Bastardo was ambushed, the left-hander giving up a two-run bomb to the first batter he faced (also a left-hander), making four in all for Godley. Archie Bradley and Neftali Feliz tossed scoreless innings, though Bradley appeared to have some issues with the mound spiking a warm-up pitch and calling out the grounds-crew to make repairs, while Feliz walked a pair. Jimmie Sherfy made his Cactus League debut here: he worked the ninth and gave up two hits, including the final run of the afternoon on a solo home-run.

Offensively, the D-backs didn’t get much going early. The first five innings required only about sixty pitches, and the sole Arizona hit was a Ketel Marte infield chopper in the fourth, initially ruled an error. The Diamondbacks finally got on the board in the sixth, when Marte drove in David Peralta with an RBI single, and Lamb followed later in the same frame with a sacrifice fly. Arizona’s best chance was in the eighth, when the first three all reached, including a Kris Negron RBI double which help load the bases and put the tying run in scoring position with no outs. But an unfortunate double-play killed the rally. Marte had a pair of hits this afternoon, and J.R. Murphy singled and walked.

Tomorrow afternoon, it’s back to Salt River Fields, for a game against the White Sox, with Albert Suarez starting for Arizona.