Snake Bytes 4/12: Snakes Defanged

Diamondbacks News

Milwaukee 7, Arizona 1
The Diamondbacks entered the evening sitting atop the NL West. Merrill Kelly took the mound for Arizona to start the game. There was plenty of reason for optimism about this game - until there wasn’t.

Kelly Loses No-No, Snakes Lose Game
A lot of the talk about this game is going to be about how The Diamondbacks workhorse starter was up to his old tricks, taking a no-no into the seventh inning, but how he just couldn’t seal the deal. The praise is well-deserved. But the real story for Arizona should be how both the offense and bullpen let Kelly fall.

Brewers Avoid No-No, Blow Out Diamondbacks
Merrill Kell took a no-no into the seventh inning. Usually, that would be a good indication the Diamondbacks pulled out a win. Unfortunately, they were facing Corbin Burnes and the Brewers. Burnes was even sharper, allowing only three ineffectual hits over the course of eight shutout innings, during which he struck out eight and walked none. While Kelly was flashing his 2022 form, so was Arizona’s bullpen. The result was a final score nowhere close to indicative of the pitching duel that dominated the first two-thirds of the game.

Scott McGough Heads to Paternity List
Congrats to Arizona’s most recent foreign league import. While McGough heads home to welcome a new addition to the family, Jose Ruiz will work from the Arizona bullpen.

Other Baseball News

Royals Employ New Shift
Kansas City is not ready to give up on depriving Joey Gallo (and others) of groundball hits.

How One Game Encapsulates the New Rules
The Manfred Man is doing a ton of heavy lifting here and that will never not be an abomination.

How Wilson Contreras is Replacing a Rival’s Legend
The St. Louis Cardinals needed to replace their Hall of Fame catcher, Yadier Molina. They have been churning out highly-touted catching prospects for years. However, it seems Yadi’s replacement has come not from within, but from the Cardinals’ biggest rival.

Tampa Bay Soars to 11-0
Not only are the Rays off to one of the best starts to a season ever seen in baseball, but they are putting the world on notice while they do it, also setting a record for the most home runs slugged by a team to open the season.

Ohtnai Setting New Records
Shohei Ohtani just keeps finding new ways to impress. I still don’t put it past him to collect a Cy Young Award before he finishes his career.

Luis Arraez Becomes First Marlin to Hit for Cycle
Slapping a looping single into left, Luis Arraez etched his name into the record books.