Diamondbacks 1, Padres 5: Send. More. Beer.

Record: 0-2. Full-season equivalent: 0-5. Change on 2019: -2.

I’m back. After months of anxiety, fear and not a little stress I have returned to writing Beercaps for this glorious blog.

It’s been a rough few month for yours truly; getting laid off, cancelling wedding, stuck at home with no baseball, etc. We’ve all powered on though, and finally we have some baseball.

Well, last night’s game was rough, like much of this ill fated year has been. There is hope though as Ray takes the mound tonight, so lets see if his Summer Camp hype is real or not.

Beer 1: Crystal Eyes by Arizona Wilderness Brewing Co

It’s been a wild year and a long long time since I’ve done a beercap, so on that note I wanted to make sure I did this with as many Arizona beers as possible. Starting off the night with an exquisite IPA made with 200 lbs of Arizona honey (not per can silly). Super smooth, and so well balanced that you’d hardly believe it’s 9.5% by volume. That’s right folks, this is gonna be a night.

Lamet throwing some heat here in the 1st. Easily hitting 99 and 100mph right off the get-go. Ketel and Peralta go down quickly, followed soon after by Starling. Not exactly the way I want to start the night, but we got time still.

Ray’s half of the frame is just as excellent as Lamet’s. He certainly looks like he’s put in the work in the off season and he’s throwing HARD, but we still got a few innings left to see if the hype is real. 0-0 going in to the 2nd.

No dice for us in the top of the 2nd. Really praying our bats wake up some time soon.

Also no dice for the Padres in their half of the 2nd. Ray is looking pretty solid, not gonna lie. 0-0 going in to the 3rd.

Ketel gets our first hit of the night with a solid 2-out double, but Peralta strands him there soon thereafter. Ketel’s destined for glory, big time. It’s a pity that we’re missing out on a full year of K Marte, but that’s just the way of the world in 2020. Sigh.

Ray is officially dealing here in the 3rd after punching the ticket of a fifth Padre. He’s still got a lot of baseball to go, but he’s looking real solid. Super solid. Hyper solid.

Well, at least most solid after Ray allows two baserunners to reach after that. Old Ray habits die hard I guess, but his 6th K against Machado redeems him quite a bit. Still 0-0 going in to the 4th.

Beer 2: Such Great Heights Hazy Rye IPA by Dark Sky Brewing Co.

Wow, only my second beer and it’s the 4th inning. Madness. I guess it means I’ll be more coherent tonight, but from a sheer enjoyment perspective that might be a problem for my fellow readers. Sorry guys :(

Walker! Dbacks get the lead off a clutch double by Walker. We needed that, big time. I have a feeling that an early momentum play like that is just what this team needs. 1-0 D-backs.

Myers ruins both my day and Ray’s with a three-run blast in the 4th. Ray may look good, but those same problems of yesteryear keep coming back to haunt him. 1-3 Padres.

Two more baserunners later and Ray’s night is done. Same. Friggen’. Problems. Lots of K’s, too many pitches and giving up the long ball. Nice.

Lamet continues to dominate in the 5th and this game is starting to look out of reach quickly, and I’m only on beer 2. Perhaps a 3rd beer will fix things..............

Beer 3: Rainy Daze by Dark Sky Brewing Co

Good stuff, and honestly anything by Dark Sky is good stuff.

Crichton continues to salvage things in the 5th for us all, though we still need our bats to put up a better than good inning. Come on!

There you go Startling!!! Lead off doubles are a very good thing, and I want to see more of that. Much more.

Lamet is no more and Strahm is up on the mound. Escobar tests the wavy haired pitcher’s metal, but after 10 pitches, narrowly missing a game-tying homer-run just foul. his ticket is punched and it’s up to Walker to bring Starling home.

Walker fails as well in the 6th, so now Calhoun is all that’s left to salvage Starling’s lead off double. Regrettably Starling punches his own ticket trying to steal third, which didn't quite work out for him. 1-3 Padres going in to the bottom of the 6th. Oh joy.

Chafin does work in the 6th, keeping this game close, which is really what we need from our bullpen each and ever day in this short season.

Our half of the 7th goes as all previous innings. Terribly. Thankfully quarantine has upped my alcohol tolerance quite a bit, because I need another beer. 1-3 Padres going in to the bottom of the 7th.

Beer 4: Dance! Everybody Dance! by Dark Sky Brewing Co.

Rondon takes over for Chafin here in the bottom of the 7th to hopefully keep this game within striking distance.

Lol at us. Striking distance isn't a thing anymore after Rondon gives up a lead off double followed by a Machado homer. Oh joy. 1-5 Padres.

What a terrible way to start the season. Pathetic.

There is no offense, only pain.....

Yet another inning with no bats to be seen. Ughhhhhhh, Bottom of the 8th, 1-5 Padres.

Well that sucked. Glad to be back writing, but what a crap game to write for. Catch you all later, don’t forget to drink more beer.

Bells and whistles, by Jim

That... could have gone better. Three runs over two games from the offense, while the pitching staff issued seven walks for the second consecutive night. Our balance there is an ugly 14 issued, to just 2 taken. Not good. Two games in, and 27 MLB teams have a victory. The D-backs are not one of them. Still, almost 450 comments in the GDT, though I’ll admit to having dipped out to go watch a film called Aquaslash. Here’s the trailer. It seems an appropriate metaphor for the game.

Anyway, present were: AZDovs11, Augdogs, AzDbackfanInDc, ChuckJohnson56, DeadManG, DesertWeagle, Driaz, GuruB, Jack Sommers, Jim McLennan, JoeCB1991, Makakilo, Michael McDermott, MrMrrbi, NikT77, Preston Salisbury, Rockkstarr12, Smurf1000, Totally Not Blind Squirrel, but still I apologize, edbigghead, gzimmerm, kilnborn, onedotfive, ponus, ryeandi, since_98, suroeste and yutzamin. Two Sedona Red comments, forcing me to make a decision, and give it to Preston:

Third game in this wrap-around series tomorrow, with Zac Gallen taking the mound for the D-backs. 12:10 pm first pitch, so at least it won’t spoil your entire day...