The Diamondbacks won their first home series of the year, taking two of three from the Cincinnati Reds in games won by offensive outbursts. The Diamondbacks came back twice on Sunday and survived a ninth inning scare to secure the series win.
The team heads into the second full week of the MLB season with a 4-4 record, and generally speaking looks like a completely different team than last season. They have apparently embraced “Gibby” ball.
The team has faught their way back in three games so far in the early season, something that was largely unseen in 2010. Last season when the Diamondbacks fell behind, they stayed behind.
Right now the offense has been the difference. The Diamondbacks are in the top ten of all MLB teams in every major batting category, and they lead the National League in stolen bases. While the offense has been plentiful at times, there have been three games where the team only scored one run, undone by their lack of timely hitting, and this has led to three of their four losses.
The biggest surprise has been Willie Bloomquist. While it’s anyone’s guess how long he can keep up his torrid offensive pace, while he’s hot he should be in the line up everyday. Fortunately for Kirk Gibson, Bloomquist plays every position except catcher, so finding a spot for him most days shouldn’t be an issue.
Another pleasant surprise has been Chris Young, who has shown himself to be one of the best centerfielders in the game. He’s going to the wall and making catches that have earned him spots in highlight reels around the country.
The pitching has been inconsistent however, ranking in the bottom ten in MLB in ERA, WHIP, and BAA. Most of the starting rotation has had a game where they have struggled early on. Fortunately most games they have been able to settle in before the damage has become too great.
And three games into the season, it looks like the Diamondbacks have something that they’ve missed the past three seasons, an actual MLB closer.
JJ Putz, until yesterday, has been the ideal type of closer: very boring. His first two appearances resulted in 1-2-3 innings. No loading the bases. No making fans hold their breath. Just nice and boring.
Hopefully the rest of the season will be anything but.
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