Diamondbacks 6, Guardians 4: Walker’s back!

Mar 18, 2023 - 11:00 PM

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Record: 10-11-1. Change on 2022: -1.

That’ll incidentally be the last “change on 2022” I’ll be doing. Last year, due to the CBA lockout, the team only played 22 spring games, so we’re done. There’s still another week’s worth to go this year though. This afternoon, the D-backs picked up their third win in a row, and fifth in the last six games. It began with Christian Walker, who’d been mentioned in the preview, as not having had a walk or home-run this spring. He took care of the latter in the second inning, with a solo shot, then walked in the third inning. The walk came immediately after Evan Longoria had swatted a two-run homer (below). Buddy Kennedy had an RBI single, and Ryan Bliss broke a 4-4 tie with a two-run double in the eighth.

Zac Gallen started on the mound, and it ended up being a bit of a rough outing again. He got through four innings allowing one run, but the fifth was ugly. It started off single, balk, bunt single, throwing error by Gallen, steal, single, double steal, walk. He was eventually lifted with two outs, and Kevin Ginkel was able to leave the bases loaded. Gallen’s final line was: 4.2 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 5 SO. Ginkel, Ryan Hendrix, Jeurys Familia and Miguel Castro combined for 4.1 scoreless innings thereafter. Gabriel Moreno was lifted from the game after being hit on the hand, but Jesse Friedman reports, the pitch “caught him on the knuckles and that he is not getting an X-ray for now.”

Tomorrow, Tommy Henry will start as the Diamondbacks face the Royals at Salt River Fields, and an old friend, in the shape of Zack Greinke, is scheduled to start for Kansas City.