Joe Nuxhall Memorial Star of the Game
Ian Kennedy twirled a masterful game, scattering six hits and a walk over eight innings, striking out an impressive nine. His changeup was particularly nasty, frustrating Reds hitters all evening. Honorable mentions go to Miguel Montero, who went 3-3 with a pair of a doubles and a walk, and Joey Votto, who was the lone bright spot for the beleaguered Reds offense. He went 2-4 with a double and a Dunnesque homer.
Key Plays
- The Diamondbacks got on the board early, as Red-for-a-minute Willie Bloomquist led off the 1st with a double. After a sac bunt from Kelly Johnson, Justin Upton drove him in with a single. A Stephen Drew double later in the inning brought Upton around to score. 2-nil.
- Travis Wood took a while to settle down, but he did eventually. In the 2nd Miguel Montero led off with his first double of the evening, and later scored on a wild pitch. 3-nil.
- The Reds would counter in the top of the 3rd, as Paul Janish led off with a single. After a Drew Stubbs single, Brandon Phillips brought Janish home with a sac fly. The rally was killed when Stubbs was picked off 1st though. 3-1.
- As I said, Wood eventually settled down, at one time retiring eight in a row. But the wheels came off and the game got out of hand in the 6th. Wood gave up a pair of walks, a single, and a double to begin the inning and was pulled in favor of Logan Ondrusek. He would put out the fire, but by then the Snakes had scored another three runs. 6-1.
- Matt Maloney gave up six runs in the 8th, including a pair of home runs. That will not look good on his CV.
- Joey Votto crushed one a good 420 feet in the 9th, but you don't get extra runs for style. 13-2 is your final score.
Other Notes
- Paul Janish went 2-4 with another pair of singles. He has 10 hits so far on the year, but only one of those has gone for extra bases (a double). He's hitting .455/.455/.500.
- Jonny Gomes walked twice, increasing his season total to a league-leading 10. He has only two hits so far this season, but a .462 OBP.
- Jay Bruce picked up his first extra-base hit of the season, doubling in the 7th. He also struck out twice. He's stumbled mightily out of the gate, posting a .604 OPS thus far.
- It was Opening Day for the Diamondbacks, and they sold out Chase Field's 48,000+ seats. Reports are that many of the upper deck seats were empty, though.