The Arizona Diamondbacks were on the brink of losing a four game series to the Chicago Cubs until an eight run, eighth inning allowed them to come back and win Sunday's finale. That rally earned the D-backs a 2-2 series split. Ryne Nelson's hit in the rally was the feel good moment, but here are five takeaways from the series that are potentially more significant.
The Diamondbacks Can Still Hit
The leagues leading offense from 2024 banged out 46 hits hits, including 15 doubles and five homers. They also drew 15 walks and three hit by pitch. In all they batted .329/.398/.543, .940 OPS.
Some of this is the Cubs pitching of course, which has not been very good through their first six games. But the D-backs only struck out 24 times in the series, putting the ball in play with plenty of hard contact.
Josh Naylor and Ketel Marte each had six hits, while Naylor didn't strike out even once in 18 trips to the plate. Gabriel Moreno, Geraldo Perdomo, and Alek Thomas had five hits a piece
Eugenio Suarez Hot Start
What can you say about Eugenio Suarez? He crushed four homers in the first three games, a franchise record, and drove in seven runs. That included a pair of two-run homers on Friday to power an 8-1 victory. This comes on the heels of an incredible second half last year in which he hit .312 with 24 homers and 69 RBI over his final 78 games.
Suarez hit well in spring training, and his first three games of the season lend optimism to the idea that the changes to his pre game routined adopted mid 2024 make his resurgence sustainable. Playing in his age 34 season, Suarez is a free agent at the end of 2025.
Zac Gallen Cause for Concern?
Zac Gallen did not have a good start in the season opener. He lasted just four innings, waked four, gave up four runs on four hits, and overall struggled. The main culprit was once again lack of fastball command.
This issue goes back over a year now, and Michael McDermott will be publishing a deep dive on the fastball issues on Tuesday. Gallens' next start comes on Wednesday at Yankee Stadium where the Yankees are crushing homers left and right with their new Torpedo Bats.
Sloppy Play Might Have Cost Two Games
The D-backs did not play "Diamondbacks Baseball" through much of the first three games. They committed six errors in those contests. In 2024 Arizona had the lowest error total in MLB with just 62 through the entire season.
It wasn't just the errors however. There were numerous other plays on defense that could, or even should have been turned into outs that did not get made. There were also outs on the bases including a couple at third base. None were bigger than Garrett Hampson's base running gaffe to end Saturday night's game.
The #Dbacks are struggling with the details.
They've committed 6 errors in 3 games and have had quite a few other mental errors on defense and on the bases.
Some haven't cost them, but tonight one did.
Here's the 80 seconds of miscues:
Keep an Eye on the Centerfield Contest
Alek Thomas had a rough year in 2024, struggling with a season long hamstring issue. He missed a lot of time, and when he came back he never seemed right. He failed to hit, batting just .189, and ended the season in Triple-A
Jake McCarthy stepped in and took full advantage of his opportunity, batting 285 with a .759 OPS. While not quite the defender that a healthy Alek Thomas, he more than made up for it on offense.
But the tide may be turning back in Thomas' favor. He got off to a hot start in the series, hitting a lot of hard line drives while going 5-for-7 with two doubles and three RBI. He just missed a three-run homer too, settling for a sacrifice fly RBI on a ball hit to the wall in right field Sunday.
McCarthy meanwhile was hitless in eight at bats, and failed to make a catch on a diving attempt that resulted in a bases clearing double in the game one loss. While the catch probability was just 44%, it felt like a play that could have been made.
It's all a very small sample size, and much too early to define as a trend. But it's a situation that bears monitoring.
