Pitcher Patrick Corbin and third-baseman Jake Lamb of the Arizona Diamondbacks both displayed vulnerability and resiliency in the opener.
Despite a near .500 record a year ago, left-hander Patrick Corbin of the Arizona Diamondbacks suffered from a vulnerability not uncommon to most pitchers. That would be exposure to the home run, and by the end of last season, Corbin topped Arizona pitchers in yielding the most round-trippers on the staff.
On opening night against the Colorado Rockies in Chase Field Thursday, Corbin again displayed the kind of liability which could doom any pitcher. Surrendering a first-inning homer to D. J. LeMahieu and a sixth-inning blast to Nolan Arenado, Corbin, between these bookends, proved worthy. In the end, he opened the season with an 8-2 victory over the Rockies before a sellout crowd of 48,703 in Chase Field and jump-started the season.
Home runs aside, the offense, from the start, picked up Corbin, and jumped on Rox starter Jon Gray for three runs in the opening frame. That was enough support, and afterward, Corbin told Call to the Pen he was able to block the typical opening day distractions and merely concentrate on the task at hand.
"“Before the game, it was fun and with everything that was going on,” he said. “Once you’re on the mound, it’s just like a normal game. I just tried to focus on my job and see what happens.”"
Despite the success of Opening Day, the sub-plot for Corbin was the home runs. Last season, he surrendered 26 to lead the club, and after gaining the victory in his initial start of the season, Corbin told Call to the Pen that good hitters will simply hit.
"“On the first one, it was a great swing,” Corbin said. “(LeMahieu) usually hits me pretty well. I tried to make some good pitches to him and he’s a really good hitter. On the second one (to Arenado), that was was a mistake pitch. Solo homers, and we have the lead so that will not kill you. Obviously, it’s not what I want to do, Other than that, I felt okay and located pretty well. Their hits were singles to right field, so I just try to minimize damage.”"
For his effort, Corbin showed a crisp fastball and constantly hit the radar gun in the low to mid-90s. Despite a 21-pitch, first inning, the native of Clay, N. Y settled into a groove and left with a 3-2 lead in the sixth inning. That prompted manager Torey Lovullo to explain to the Call to the Pen that Corbin set the tone for a team effort.
"“(Corbin) executed with the right pitches in the right situations,” the manager said. “He built up his pitch count but told me he wanted to stay in there longer. I appreciate that but felt it was time to hand things over to the bullpen.”"
If Corbin showed a susceptibility against the home run, one key member of the offense continued to show both a positive and dark side. For most of his major league career, third baseman Jake Lamb seemed to perform at a Jekyll and Hyde level. That is, he hits right-handed pitching superbly but faces several challenges against left-handed arms.
That dichotomy continued on opening night.
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In the first inning with the bases loaded and no outs, Lamb took Rox starter Jon Gray deep to the right-field fence for a two-run double, and help provide Arizona with an early advantage.
In the fifth, Lamb came to the plate in the exact-same situation, and that featured the bases loaded and no outs. This time, Colorado manager Bud Black waved to the bullpen and called for lefty Chris Rusin to face Lamb. True to his previous history, Lamb missed a pitch down and in and struck out. When Ketel Marte fouled out to right, and Alex Avila rolled out to second, the Diamondbacks came up empty a critical inning.
Later, Lamb keyed a three-run sixth inning and, again, showed his success in hitting right-handed pitching. For the third time in this game, Lamb came to the plate with the bases loaded. In the sixth with two out, and facing righty Scott Oberg, Lamb dumped a bleeder over Arenado’s head for a single and two scored.
Following his four-RBI night, Lamb told Call to the Pen that the chances developed to demonstrate the offensive nature of this team.
"“That shows how good this team is,” he said. “That’s my job in that part of the line-up and it’s on the other guys to get on base. Up and down the line-up, that’s what our team does. I got a couple of knocks but it’s on the other guys. They get on so easily and so often. It makes it much easier for me.”"
Leftovers from opening night …
Lamb’s four RBIs in this game set a franchise record for most RBIs in a first game of the season. His career nine RBIs in opening games is also a franchise record. … With the win, the Diamondbacks move to 12-9 all-time on opening day and have won eight of their previous 11 opening day games. … Corbin fanned eight in his 5.2 innings, and that’s good enough fourth-best in team history on opening day. Randy Johnson struck out 10 twice during an opening day effort and also fanned nine on the other occasion.
More Rox and Diamondbacks …
Next: Souza, when healthy, and Dyson improve the offense
The opening set of the season continues on Friday night. That’s when lefty Robbie Ray (15-5, 2.89 ERA last year) takes on lefty Tyler Anderson, who was 6-6 last season with a 4.81 ERA in 15 starts and two relief appearances. The set concludes Saturday when Zack Greinke makes his first start of the season and draws right-hander German Marquez as his mound opponent.