The ground ball rolled slowly toward Diamondbacks shortstop Geraldo Perdomo, and rather than charge it, he shuffled to his left, gloved it and threw to second base. It was a split-second decision, the choice to stay back on the ball, and it might have cost the Diamondbacks the game on Thursday night.
After Pete Crow-Armstrong beat Perdomo’s feed to second to load the bases, the Chicago Cubs’ Miguel Amaya quickly unloaded them, lining a bases-clearing double off the glove of a diving Jake McCarthy in center field.
It was the biggest hit of the Diamondbacks’ 10-6 loss to the Cubs on Opening Day at Chase Field. And it felt like it easily could have been avoided — a theme that played out more than once.
Diamondbacks right-hander Zac Gallen gave up four runs in four innings, struggling to find the strike zone for much of the evening. Right-hander Ryne Nelson followed in relief and was charged with four runs in 1 2/3 innings. His night might have unfolded more kindly had the Diamondbacks converted the grounder to Perdomo into an out in the fifth inning.
There were runners on first and second when the Cubs’ Matt Shaw hit that slow roller to short. Crow-Armstrong, running at full speed from first, popped up after his slide into second with his arms flailing in celebration. Had Perdomo charged it, Crow-Armstrong likely would have been out at second. If Perdomo had opted to throw to first instead, the Diamondbacks might have recorded the third out there, too.
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Instead, it set the stage for Amaya, who blistered a hard liner into left-center. McCarthy appeared to get a good break on the ball before leaving his feet with his arm outstretched. The ball hit off his glove and fell to the ground. If it wasn’t a catch that should have been made, it certainly could have been made.
The Diamondbacks’ offense made some noise. Eugenio Suarez blasted a solo homer, starting his season in much the same fashion as he finished last year. Gabriel Moreno reached base three times. Corbin Carroll reached base twice and hit two balls hard for lineouts.
It wasn’t enough. The loss was Diamondbacks’ first at home on Opening Day since 2016, snapping a four-game win streak.
—Nick Piecoro
Cubs lead after 5 1/2 innings.
Opening Night started out well for the Arizona Diamondbacks when leadoff hitter Ketel Marte doubled and Josh Naylor blooped a single to left field in the bottom of the first inning to drive in Marte. It was Naylor’s first hit and run batted in with the Diamondbacks, and it gave the team an early 1-0 lead.
But not much has gone right for the Diamondbacks since. They trailed 8-3 through 5 ½ innings.
Arizona starting pitcher Zac Gallen just didn’t seem to have good control with all of his pitches in what would be a four-inning outing for the veteran right-hander. The Cubs scored three runs in the top of the second as Gallen labored through a 29-pitch inning, at one point throwing 11 consecutive balls to Cubs hitters.
Eugenio Suarez hit a second-inning solo home run deep into the left field seats in his first at-bat of the season.
Gallen then gave up an Ian Happ home run in the fourth inning and finished allowing four earned runs on four hits with four strikeouts and four walks. Ryne Nelson, moved from starter to reliever during spring training, entered the game in the top of the fifth.
The Diamondbacks made it 4-3 on Gabriel Moreno’s single, Randal Grichuk’s ground-rule double and a Geraldo Perdomo infield single in the bottom of the fourth. Then Nelson couldn’t get the third out of the top of the fifth as Miguel Amaya’s bases-loaded double off Diamondbacks center fielder Jake McCarthy’s glove.
The Diamondbacks could have been out of the inning had they gotten an out on a ground ball to shortstop Perdomo, whose throw to second base for a force out was too late. Then came Amaya’s double.
McCarthy had to leave his feet to try to flag down the line drive, and the ball popped out of his glove.
The announced sellout crowd of 49,070 did have something to cheer before the game started, when head coach Kenny Dillingham and members of Arizona State‘s football team threw out ceremonial first pitches.
—José M. Romero
Shelby Miller: ‘not the same person’
The faces in the clubhouse have changed, but most everything about the room, about Chase Field, looks about the same as Shelby Miller remembers it. The thing that might be most different from when he was here last is Miller himself.
“He’s not the same person,” Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen said. “I’m happy for him. I told him. I was like, ‘I don’t recognize the guy that was here.’”
Seven years ago, Miller arrived in Arizona as a high-profile trade acquisition expected to occupy a place near the top of the starting rotation. Things did not go well. He struggled in 2016. He battled injuries the next two years. It seemed like he might wash out of baseball.
Instead, he has reinvented himself as a reliever. This week, he officially made the Diamondbacks’ Opening Day roster. Signed to a minor league deal during spring training, he threw well in camp and won a spot in the bullpen.
His stuff is a little different. His mentality on the mound has changed, too. But what seems to stand out most for those who remember him from his first stint is how much he has changed as a person.
He seems more comfortable in his own skin. He has a better training and workout regimen. He is older, more mature. Hazen isn’t the only person around the team to describe him as almost unrecognizable.
Miller doesn’t disagree.
“I was single (then) and now I’m married with two kids,” he said. “Definitely older; I think maturity comes with that. And then just bouncing around the game and learning.
“I think everybody gets to that point where you make smarter decisions, whether it’s on the field or off the field, whatever it is. You just mature and you lock it in and know how valuable this game is. Second time around, good to be back. I’m definitely probably more mature now than I was back then as a 26-, 27-year-old.”
The only player remaining from Miller’s last go-round with the Diamondbacks is second baseman Ketel Marte.
Oddly enough, Miller’s first outing back with the Diamondbacks could come this week against the Chicago Cubs, a team whose starting shortstop is none other than Dansby Swanson. Swanson was the centerpiece of the trade with the Atlanta Braves that brought Miller to Arizona back in December 2015.
“Pretty full circle, for sure,” Miller said.
Miller still features a big fastball — he sat in the mid-90s during camp — and uses a pair of breaking balls and a splitter to go with it. Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said he has seen Miller grow in his understanding of how to deploy his stuff.
“He’s still throwing, he’s still aggressive with that stuff, but he’s also pitching at the same time,” Lovullo said.
That is far from the only area in which Lovullo has seen growth.
“There’s just a certain comfort that he has with conversation that maybe he couldn’t have had before,” Lovullo said. “He’s just very mature and just comfortable in his space. He’s going to hear me say that – it wasn’t terrible before. But today he’s a grown-up and I can see that every single day.”
Miller figures to open the year in a medium-to-low leverage role. He twice threw more than one inning in appearances during spring training, meaning Lovullo could use him as a length option, as well.
“I would say I’m a little bit different of a pitcher and player than I was then,” Miller said. “I’m definitely excited to be back in this uniform and be a part of this team.”
—Nick Piecoro
Injured list updates
Three Diamondbacks players opened the season on the injured list. Infielder Blaze Alexander (strained right oblique) is on the 10-day list, right-handed pitcher Kevin Ginkel (right shoulder inflammation) is on the 15-day list and right-handed pitcher Kendall Graveman (back strain) is also on the 15-day injured list.
Alexander, Lovullo said, will play in a game at Salt River Fields Friday as a designated hitter and start at shortstop on Saturday in another game. Ginkel will continue receiving treatment and has yet to start throwing, and Graveman will throw a bullpen session April 1. The hope is that Ginkel and Graveman will be ready to return not long after they begin throwing.
“I’m keeping my fingers crossed for that, because we need him,” Lovullo said of Graveman.
—José M. Romero
Thursday’s Diamondbacks-Cubs pitching matchup
Cubs at Diamondbacks, 7:10 p.m., Cox, Ch. 34
Diamondbacks RHP Zac Gallen (14-6, 3.65)* vs. Cubs LHP Justin Steele (0-1, 11.25).
At Chase Field: Gallen gets the nod for his third consecutive Opening Day start, as manager Torey Lovullo opted not to stray from a pitcher with whom he has a long history. … In 2023, Gallen gave up five runs in 4 2/3 innings in an Opening Day start at Dodger Stadium. He was better at home last year vs. the Colorado Rockies, giving up just one run in five innings in a blowout win. … In six career starts against the Cubs, Gallen has a 2.60 ERA. He has fired 14 scoreless innings against them in two starts the past two years. … Steele started the second game against the Dodgers in Tokyo on March 19, giving up five runs in four innings. He served up a pair of homers, one to 2B Tommy Edman, the other to 1B Enrique Hernandez. … Steele has quietly been one of the better pitchers in the National League the past few seasons, logging a 3.10 ERA in 78 starts from 2022-24. … He has never beaten the Diamondbacks in five starts, posting an 0-2 record with a 4.08 ERA. He was hit hard the only time he faced them last year, giving up five runs on nine hits and two walks in 4 2/3 innings.
* Stats from 2024.
Coming up
Friday: At Chase Field, 6:40 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Merrill Kelly (5-1, 4.03)* vs. Cubs RHP Jameson Taillon (12-8, 3.27)*.
Saturday: At Chase Field, 5:10 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Brandon Pfaadt (11-10, 4.71)* vs. Cubs LHP Shota Imanaga (0-0, 0.00).
Sunday: At Chase Field, 1:10 p.m., Diamondbacks LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (3-4, 5.04)* vs. Cubs LHP Matthew Boyd (2-2, 2.72).
* Stats from 2024.
What to know about the Chicago Cubs
This will be the second Opening Day for the Cubs, who started their season with a two-game set in Tokyo against the Los Angeles Dodgers last week. Unfortunately for them, they dropped both games, scoring just four runs in the two games. The Cubs made one of the bigger acquisitions of any team over the winter when they landed OF Kyle Tucker from the Houston Astros. It was a win-now move considering Tucker is an impending free agent and is likely to command a monster contract in free agency. The Cubs also added RHP Ryan Pressly to handle the ninth inning. Pressly, 36, spent parts of seven seasons with the Astros. Chicago traded OF Cody Bellinger to the New York Yankees, clearing the way for Pete Crow-Armstrong to take over as the full-time center fielder. Another rookie, 3B Matt Shaw, has a chance to break in as an everyday player. The Cubs will lean heavily on LHP Shota Imanaga, who had an impressive first season in the United States after an eight-year career in Japan with the Yokohama Bay Stars.
