Fresh off of their National League pennant, the Arizona Diamondbacks didn’t waste any time opening the season with a bang in front of their beloved home crowd of 49,011 at Chase Field in Phoenix.
Arizona rolled to a 16-1 season-opening win over the Colorado Rockies thanks to a huge third inning.
After a two-run first inning, the D-backs scored 14 runs in the third inning and sent 18 batters to the plate. According to MLB.com, the 14 runs scored in a single inning were the most scored by a team on Opening Day in the Modern Era (since 1900). It was also tied for the fourth-most runs scored by a team in an inning in the Modern Era.
The D-backs also set franchise records for runs in an inning, hits in an inning, and plate appearances in an inning.
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Every hitter in the Arizona lineup reached base safely in the historic inning and Corbin Carroll was the only one not to record a hit. The reigning National League Rookie of the Year drew two walks and scored a pair of runs. The final run of the inning came off the bat of rookie Blaze Alexander, who made his major league debut and singled to center field.
Alexander’s at-bat gave him a memory that he will never forget. He took a pitch out of the zone on a 2-2 count and headed to first base, thinking he had worked a walk. He got halfway to first base before turning around.
“I thought it was ball four and kind of embarrassed myself a little bit,” Alexander said. “But I made up for it with that RBI hit up the middle.”
The first batter of the inning, Geraldo Perdomo, dumped a single into right field. The onslaught didn’t stop for 34 minutes. Starting pitcher Zac Gallen had to go into the batting cage located behind the home dugout and play catch twice during the inning just to stay loose.
“I have never seen each guy get two at-bats in an inning,” D-backs starter Zac Gallen said. “Maybe in Little League? Seriously, I don’t mean that as a slight, it’s just I don’t know if I’ve ever seen that happen.”
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Gabriel Moreno each drove in three runs in the frame. Gallen gave up just one run over five innings and struck out three.
Arizona was clicking on both sides of the ball and left the dugout speechless at times. Manager Torey Lovullo had never seen anything like it.
“When you draw up an Opening Day type of a game, this was probably times 10,” Lovullo said.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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