Diamondbacks 9, Angels 2: MadBum rounds ‘em up

Record: 2-3. Five-inning record: 2-3.

One of the points repeatedly stressed by the Angels’ commentator during this afternoon’s game was that this wasn’t their A-lineup. What, you mean former D-backs Jon Jay and Phil Gosselin are not likely to be everyday starters for them? I am shocked... shocked! to find that out. That said, this was still a selection of professional ballplayers, and in that light, you can hardly ask for more than Madison Bumgarner striking out six batters over two innings of work this afternoon. He did reach as high as 91.1 mph with his fast ball: while that is harder than any regular season pitch, it is below the 92.5 mph Bumgarner hit in his first spring start last year. So we’ll see if this velocity is sustained, as we get closer to Opening Day.

Here are the strikeouts. According to Gameday, three of them came on Madison’s curve, two on a fastball and one on a cutter.

The Diamondbacks scored in each of the first six innings, with an effective mixture of long balls and small ball. David Peralta got them on the board in the first with an RBI single, but then Trayce Thompson launched his second home-run of spring, a monster shot which almost cleared the berm in left-field entirely. In the third inning, Josh Rojas and Eduardo Escobar also went deep, making it 4-0, and a Ketel Marte single in the fourth made it 5-0. A pretty double-steal from Nick Ahmed and Trayce Thompson, without even a throw, set up Wyatt Mathisen for a two-run single in the fifth. Arizona went into the sixth with a 7-1 lead, and many of the regulars exited the game at that point.

Actually, it doesn’t include Daulton Varsho’s homer, embedded below. After Bumgarner’s departure, Ryan Buchter had a nice third inning, striking out two of the three batters faced. Jon Duplantier put up a zero in the fourth, but the Angels got on the board in the fifth. The D-backs defense made it an unearned run, with the outfielders helping create a lead-off triple, which scored on a passed ball by Stephen Vogt. Yoan Lopez allowed a run in the sixth on a pair of hits, but Matt Peacock recorded the next five outs with no further damage. This game went 8¹⁄₂ innings with J.B. Bukauskas working a scoreless ninth, fanning two. All told, the D-backs pitchers had as good a day as the hitters, with a K:BB ratio for the day of 15:0.

Speaking of which, Varsho’s homer and a Bryan Holaday bloop RBI single tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the sixth, but the Diamondbacks were unable to complete the day scoring in every frame, eventually being held scoreless their seventh time up. Thompson finished the day with three of our fifteen hits, with Marte getting two; Peralta and Ahmed each had a hit and a walk. At the other end, Domingo Leyba was 0-for-3 with three K’s.

Tomorrow, it’s back to Goodyear to face the Reds. Something called Seth Frankoff is the scheduled starter. Google him if necessary. :) It’s an evening game, with a 6:10 pm first pitch, but there does not appear to be any local broadcast.

Yes, the comments section isn’t working at the time of posting. The tech overlords know. We appreciate your patience in this difficult time.