Diamondbacks 6 @ Angels 2: Schwing! and a miss... For LAA

Record: 49-34 , on pace for 96-66 (+22 on 2022)

NL West: First, 2 games ahead of LAD

Wild Card: 5 games ahead of PHI (first team out)

Magic Number: 76 (Using PHI - first team out of playoffs)

This game is on AppleTV+, so I have a feeling many people are going to “watch” this game via Gameday. Sadly, it’s just not that popular a streamer yet. (Side bar: if you haven’t used your free trial yet, I HIGHLY recommend using it - Ted Lasso alone is worth it, but nearly every show they’ve made in the last 3 years is better than most Netflix/Discovery/Paramount swill we’ve been getting).

To the baseball though! Earlier in the day Pavin and Pfaadt were optioned in favor of Dominic Fletcher and Kyle Lewis! Unfortunate that neither is currently a Big League capable ballplayer, but there’s little argument for either being on the roster right now. If the team weren’t in First, I’d advocate for Pfaadt to develop at the MLB level, but winning is important too; he’s not able to make that happen yet.

The Diamondbacks scored in the first as Longoria plated Gurriel with two outs. Canning managed to get Fletcher (AZ) to ground out with two runners on to end the inning though. Henry walked some rando international dude name Shohei Ohtani in the bottom half but worked around it to give the good guys the desired Shut Down Inning.

The second inning was considerably more exciting for those who prefer Sedona Red! After Thomas grounded out and Kelly popped out, McCarthy, Perdomo and Marte all earned two out walks to load the bases. Gurriel didn’t like that, so he decided to clear them with a GRAND SLAM! The announced say these four walks by Canning were a season high (6 being his career high).

At this point, both Henry and Canning settled in. The only interesting offense was a Ward single in the fourth and a Rendon walk in the fifth. On the defensive side, McCarthy made a very nice sliding grab to end the fourth, and Perdomo saved Walker an error on a potential double play throw. Griffin Canning turned himself into a BOSS going a full six innings despite a high pitch count and rough start.

To begin the bottom of the sixth, the announcers praised Henry’s wonderful game just in time for Ohtani to BLAST a home run 493 feet to right field (parking lot was almost more accurate). Trout followed that up with a loud single to center. But Henry got two outs before Lovullo brought in Adams to get the final out - success. Loup took over for Canning at this point. He walked Carson Kelly. The team couldn’t capitalize.

Castro pitched next for Arizona. It was scoreless! Victor Mederos then made his MLB debut for LAA (also his first appearance above AA!) alongside a couple defensive moves (Fletcher LA left the game). He got Walker to ground out, but then walked Longoria, Fletcher singled, and Thomas walked. Carson then flew out to Trout in center, but Longo still managed to score. Mederos then hit McCarthy in the foot on the next pitch, reloading the bases for Perdomo! But he also flew out, ending the inning...

Chafin took over for the scary part of Anaheim’s lineup: Ohtani, Trout and Rendon. Unsurprisingly, he walked Ohtani. Anaheim booed him. If only they knew. This brought Trout up. He grounded to first, but Walker made a throwing error (number one on the season) trying to get Ohtani at second. This allowed him to take third and Trout on base. But Rendon grounded into a double play at short, scoring Ohtani. A broken bat ground out from Moose ended the inning.

Gurriel earned the dubious honor of becoming Mederos’ first MLB strikeout victim. Walker became his second, but not before a cat ran onto and off of the field, scaring a poor fan (and likely Eduardo Escobar). Ginkel took over to finish the game. He did so without issue.

Diamondbacks 6, Angels 2 WIN

Conclusion

This was fun game! The offense showed up early, rested for the middle innings and sort of came back later, scoring 6 runs overall. Henry pitched well again, bolstering the hope that he has truly turned a corner and can be what we all hoped Zach Davies could be (better would be nice) before the season. Griffin Canning had an off night, and the patient bats took advantage.

As a follow up the heartbreaking Tampa Bay series, this one feels good. Not quite the same talent level for an opponent, but the Angels aren’t the Padres either.

Comment of the Day

Hard to pass up this gem from Diamondhacks right before Gurriel hit a grand slam. Better luck next time.

Up Next

Saturday July 1 at 7:07pm Arizona Time - Bally Sports AZ (I think?) and MLB Network - TV stuff might get wonky now

Ryne Nelson (4.45 FIP, 1.08 HR/9, 3.02 BB/9, 6.26 K/9) vs Tyler Anderson (4.68 FIP, 1.08 HR/9, 3.98 BB/9, 7.23 K/9)