Beginner's Luck: Arizona's Gilbert twirls unlikely No-No

In what's been a dismal season for the Arizona Diamondbacks, there hasn't been a whole lot to cheer for in the desert this year. Sitting in the cellar of the National League Western Division at 38-81 and 38.5 games behind the first-place San Francisco Giants, positivity and all around good vibes have been at a minimum for the D-Backs who own the worst record in all of baseball. However, the was one magical moment that took place on Saturday with the snakes in the limelight as 27-year old pitcher Tyler Gilbert threw a no-hitter in his first career big league start. With his family in attendance at Arizona's Chase Field, Gilbert blanked the high-powered San Diego Padres, albeit without their best player in Fernando Tatis Jr., to become the fourth pitcher in Major League history to toss a no-no in his first career start and the first since 1953. Making things even more improbable, Gilbert who had bounced around with the Phillies before being traded to the Dodgers and ultimately released and picked up by Arizona, had never logged a complete-game at any level in his professional baseball career. That was until his historic night. 

Having just made his Major League debut nine days earlier in a relief appearance against San Francisco in which Gilbert gave up a hit and a walk while striking out one in 2/3 innings pitched, followed by two shutout frames (1 hit, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts) against San Diego two days later, the D-Backs' southpaw has lived up to the adage, "one man's trash is another man's treasure." Or in this case one team's trash is another team's treasure, even if only for this one spectacular history-making evening. After all, it's stories like this that make us fall in love with baseball time and time again. Before being mobbed by his teammates as out No. 27 was caught in center-field on a line-drive off the bat of Tommy Pham, Gilbert walked three batters and struck out five Padre hitters on 102-pitches (64 strikes). And while he didn't have the type of stuff that was blowing guys away as he barely sniffed the low-90's with his fastball, he did enough to throw guys off and keep the ball in the park. Something that's easier said than done at Arizona's hitter-friendly ballpark. Oddly enough, Joe Musgrove who pitched the first no-hitter of 2021 back on April 9 against the Texas Rangers, was the opposing pitcher on Saturday. 

The first Diamondbacks no-hitter since Edwin Jackson's no-no in 2010 and just the third in D-Backs franchise history (Hall of Famer Randy Johnson the other), unless you count Madison Bumgarner's 7 no-hit frames in the second game of a 7-inning doubleheader back on April 25, it's the eighth no-hitter tossed this season which ties the record for the most in a single season set back in 1884. Quite the story and an unforgettable night for a guy who even if we never hear from him again, etched his name into the record books and will forever have a story to tell, especially considering he was working with his father as an electrician less than a year ago following the cancellation of the 2020 Minor League Baseball season due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Learning the trade just in case he never received that call to the bigs. 

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Bumgarner makes History in Opening Day Loss

Baseball season is back at last! Sunday served as Opening Day for six MLB teams including the San Francisco Giants who made it as far as the National League Divisional round last season before falling in a best of five series against the eventual champion Chicago Cubs. And if there was one thing that kept the Giants from making it to the World Series for the fourth time in seven years or in its fourth consecutive even year if you believed in the even year magic, it was the inconsistency of the bullpen which showed its face all too often in 2016. After owning the dubious title of leading the league in blown saves a year ago with a total of 30, Sunday seemed all too familiar for Giants fans.

After leading for most of the game thanks to a bit of small ball and a pair of Madison Bumgarner home runs which we'll get to after the dreadful bullpen, Giants skipper Bruce Bochy saw much of the same in Game 1 of 162, falling to a walk-off loss on the road against the division rival Arizona Diamondbacks. Though Arizona starter Zack Greinke was only able to make it thru the first 5 innings due to a high pitch count, the former AL Cy Young Award winner who has some ownage on the Giants, would be bailed out and no longer on the hook for what appeared to be an imminent loss. With MadBum supplying some offense of his own as well as pitching a gem thru 5 innings and not allowing a single base runner until the bottom of the 6th, the Giants ace who made his fourth consecutive Opening Day start, would hit a rough patch as he surrendered three straight hits to end both his bid for a perfect game and the shutout. Following a 1-out triple by D-Backs catcher Jeff Mathis and a Nick Ahmed single to put Arizona on the board, A.J. Pollock tied the game at 3-3 just three pitches later with a 2-run homer. It would be a deflating inning considering how dominant Bumgarner was pitching before allowing his first hit, striking out 11 D-Backs batters in total, but he wouldn't let it effect him too much as he would more than make up for it during his next at-bat the following inning.

With the Giants back on top in a 4-3 ballgame, Derek Law would take the ball in the bottom of the 8th inning in relief of Bumgarner but would be greeted rather rudely as three straight singles tied the game once again and put an abrupt end to his day. Relievers Ty Blach and Hunter Strickland would limit the damage thanks to a double-play and a ground out to end the frame. Onto the 9th they went where a lead-off triple by Joe Panik who scored on a pinch-hit sac-fly by Conor Cillaspie one batter later, appeared to be the deciding blow. However, the third time would not be a charm this time around as San Francisco's bullpen struggles only continued. While the Giants headed into December's winter meetings with a closer atop their list of needs, they walked away with their guy after throwing what was then a record of $62 Million over 4 years at Mark Melancon. Though it would be a lot of money to invest into one guy, not to mention a reliever, the Giants were in desperate need as the signing received positive reviews among Giants fans who are hoping he'll be the anti-Santiago Casilla for years to come. But while facing his first big test in a San Francisco uniform, things didn't quite go as planned for the 3-time All-Star.

After retiring the first two batters he faced and needing only one more out to complete the save and seal the win, the same guy who ended Bumgarner's bid for perfection, sparked the late rally for Arizona. Jeff Mathis' 2-out double would be followed by three straight singles including the decisive blow off the bat of Chris Owings as the Diamondbacks walked-off to a 6-5 Opening Day victory, spoiling Bumgarner's record-setting day and Melancon's Giants debut as he was tagged with the loss. Defeat is always a bummer but this one stings a bit more because of how the Giants went ahead three different times and had their opponent's back against the wall and needing only one out for the win, but hey, its the first game of many. Let's just pray to the Baseball Gods that this isn't a repeat of the 2016 Giants bullpen. It'll be up to All-Star pitcher Johnny Cueto to get the Giants in the win column as he'll toe the slab in Game 2.

The biggest takeaway from the game would be Giants ace Madison Bumgarner who has proved to be almost as dangerous at the plate as he is on the mound. After making a bid for the Home Run Derby last season before the idea was shot down by Giants manager Bruce Bochy, baseball fans everywhere are already putting his name in the hat in hopes of getting a glimpse of MadBum at this year's Derby after his Opening Day magic which saw him belt a pair of home runs including his second career homer off of Zack Greinke. After becoming the fourth pitcher in Giants franchise history to connect for a home run on Opening Day, Bumgarner did something no other pitcher has done by becoming the first pitcher in MLB history to hit multiple home runs on Opening Day. It would also mark the fifth time a Giant at any position would have a multi-home run game on Opening Day with a guy named Barry Bonds being the last to do so. Following his home run in the fifth inning which tied him for the franchise lead for the most career home runs by a Giants pitcher with 15, Bumgarner separated himself from the rest of the list with another dinger in his very next at-bat for career home run No. 16. Though it won't last too long, how cool is it to say a pitcher (who isn't just any normal pitcher) is currently leading the league in home runs.


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Four's Company

Today's Special: 4 Home runs served on a platter with french fried potatoes - One of Baseball's rarities took place this week and believe it or not, it wasn't a no-hitter. Given there's been five of those this season alone, this feat might have been a bit more interesting. With 1-out in the 4th inning and the heart of the order due up to bat, the Arizona Diamondbacks hit back-to-back-to-back-to-back jacks against the hosting Milwaukee Brewers. Starting pitcher Dave Bush fell victim to the barrage of homers which came off the bats of Arizona's 4-7 hitters. First baseman Adam LaRoche started the trend of long balls, followed by catcher Miguel Montero, third baseman Mark Reynolds, and finished with shortstop Stephen Drew.

The quadruple home runs in consecutive at-bats was a franchise first for the D-Backs and is only the 7th time in Major League history four batters have belted long balls consecutively. Making this an even more rare occurrence, is the fact that they all came off the same pitcher in the same inning, which has happened even less times in the sports 100+ year history (3). Also worth mentioning is that the Brewers had some back-to-back fun of their own earlier in the game when Prince Fielder and Casey McGehee both went deep in the 2nd inning. However, that was the only scoring on Milwaukee's behalf as Arizona eventually won the game, 8-2. Ironically, the last time the feat occurred in the National League in September of 2006, Stephen Drew's older brother J.D. Drew who at the time was a Los Angeles Dodger, was part of a back-to-back-to-back-to-back homer fest in the 9th inning against the San Diego Padres.

As a free-agent the following offseason, older brother J.D. inked a 5-year deal with the Boston Red Sox where he would once again participate in back-to-back-to-back-to-back home runs, this time against the rival Yankees in 2007. Oddly enough, Drew served as the second player to homer in each instance. As J.D. remains the lone player to take place in the feat more than once, the Drew brothers are the only brothers to have participated in a string of four straight home runs. The last time Arizona hit as many as three homers in a row, was May of 2002 when the Washington Nationals called Montreal their home and donned the name the Expos. Given the D-Backs last place struggles this year, the feat just might be the most exciting thing the ball club has done all season long. Even more exciting than Edwin Jackson's no-hitter if you ask me.

Arizona's new immigration law & its impact on Arizona sports

Arizona Sports takes a Blow - Many like myself believe politics and sports shouldn't mix. But with everything that's been going on in the state of Arizona, it was only a matter of time before the two crossed paths. With the states new immigration law set to take place come August, the world of sports will surely feel an impact, especially baseball. How so? Today, close to 30% of Major Leaguers and 48% of Minor Leaguers are born outside of the United States. Most of which are from a Hispanic background. And for those who live and play in or around the state of Arizona will soon be familiar with the new immigration law if they aren't already. The law states that you could be pulled over starting in August and asked for documentation if police think you're a person of suspicion.

With the MLB All-Star game set to take place in Anaheim, California this season in July, the torch is expected to be handed down to Arizona in 2011. The Arizona Diamondbacks who have been in existence since 1998, are yet to host an All-Star Game. And with the states new law at hand, many think commissioner Bud Selig should take a stand by moving the game's mid-summer classic out of Arizona. If so, the voice of the MLB as a whole would be heard. Either direction Selig decides to take, one side is going to be left offended. Whether it's the state of Arizona by taking the game elsewhere, or the Latin players for keeping it there. It's basically a pick your poison type of situation. But baseball isn't the only sport aware of the state's immigration law. The NBA is also doing its part.

With the Phoenix Suns hosting and battling it out with the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Semifinals, the team that calls Arizona its home decided to wear their 'Los Suns' uniforms on Cinco De Mayo in protest and in honor of the team's "Latino community, diversity of the league, the state of Arizona and our nation", says Suns team owner Robert Sarvar. Personally, I like the approach the Suns have taken with the whole jersey thing, considering it's the safest and smartest thing to do in response of the new immigration law. Prior to game 2 of the Suns-Spurs series, Phoenix's star player and 2-time league MVP Steve Nash who is also a foreigner, spoke out and expressed his disagreement with the law on ESPN's Pardon The Interruption. Hours before tip off, the visiting San Antonio Spurs were also planning to wear their Latin inspired uniforms which read 'Los Spurs' across the chest, but didn't receive them on time.

With the NFL still in its offseason, it'll be interesting to see what commissioner Roger Goodell decides to do, if anything. With the University of Phoenix Stadium, home of the Arizona Cardinals football team already checked off the list for hosting Super Bowl XLII in February of 2008, It's unlikely the state of Arizona will be hosting the event anytime soon. Because if they were, transferring the nations most watched sporting event wouldn't be out of the question considering it's been done before. The state of Arizona owns a dark past in familiar situations as the National Football League pulled the plug on the Super Bowl in 1993. Arizona had plans to hold its first Super Bowl in the history of the state, until the late Evan Mecham who was governor of Arizona at the time, decided that Martin Luther King Day had been "illegally certified" as a national holiday. Mecham refused to acknowledge the holiday as such in his state, resulting in the NFL's decision. Mecham would later find himself impeached and removed from office a year later.