Diamondbacks Gameday Thread, #23: 4/23 vs. Padres

Last night’s game was the sixth time in 22 contests this year where the D-backs failed to draw a single walk. Across all of last year, they only had 13 such games. To the same point in the schedule, Arizona had drawn 82 walks: the total so far is less than half that, at only 40. You won’t be surprised to hear, that is the least in the majors, and it’s not even close. The 29th-ranked Royals have 20% more walks than the D-backs, with 48. Or if you prefer to break it down to an individual level, 161 batters have drawn more than five bases on balls in the majors this year. None of them are Diamondbacks. League leader Juan Soto has half as many walks by himself (20) as the entire Arizona roster.

It’s also a problem on the other side of the ball, whee D-backs pitchers have given up 93 walks, so more than 2.3 times as many as the hitters have taken. That’s the most in the National League (though is at least behind the White Sox and A’s). and is more thsn 20% up on the total to this point in the 2022 campaign. It feels like too many of these free passes have ended up coming round to score. It’s probably significant that the team are 6-2 when they walk fewer than four batters in a game. Though weirdly, they have won three out of the four games where they gave up 7+ BBs too, so go figure. With nine walks in 16 IP, Drey Jameson has been more the problem the solution. We’ll see what today brings.