Nobody’s Perfect: The Diamondbacks’ One-Hit Wonder, Manners and the Specter of Injuries

by Jason Franz

The Arizona Diamondbacks’ strong start has caught a lot of major league pundits off guard, with the exception of The Beard.

No

— Archie Bradley (@ArchieBradley7) April 17, 2018

But perhaps no bigger surprise in the opening stanzas of this season was the naming of Pat Corbin as the club’s opening day starter. What about Zack Greinke? What about Robbie Ray? Manager Torey Lovullo and his staff had some kind of inkling of what Corbin, just two seasons removed from Tommy John surgery, could achieve if he just believed in magic. Corbin has been a wicked sorcerer from the hill, tossing his arsenal of pitches that now includes some crazy slower-than-molasses curveball.

Hunter Pence just lost his bat trying to hit a 69mph slow slider from Patrick Corbin.

This represents the night pretty well. pic.twitter.com/6Ot5iIXl4a

— Pitcher List (@PitcherList) April 18, 2018

In four outings, Corbin has two one-hitters. TWO! I’m no math expert but he’s currently on pace to throw a one-hitter in 50% of his starts. On top of all of this, he’s 3-0 with a really low earned run average. That means a lot to a lot of people. Neither Kershaw nor Scherzer can claim that kind of dominance. Well, maybe Scherzer.

Thank goodness for Corbin, because the injury bug has leaked from the everyday players into the pitching staff, claiming its first victim in Taijuan Walker, who was piecing together a respectable season for a number four starter. Walker went down over the weekend in the D-Backs 9-1 rout of the Dodgers, with Lovullo taking full blame for the Walker’s ulnar collateral ligament tear by not yanking him after showing signs of tightness after the first inning. Alas, Walker is now scheduled for Tommy John surgery and will be out for all of this season and a healthy chunk of 2019.

Which brings us to the notion about the Diamondbacks and their sense of politeness. After the scuffle with Yadier Molina and the Cardinals, Lovullo effused praise on the catcher and said he was wrong. Then they go into Chavez Ravine to take on the Dodgers with Jackie Robinson Day and go out of their way to get blown out, allowing L.A .fans to feel like everything is A-OK. Now Lovullo is shrugging his shoulders and saying “It’s my fault” for a UCL tear?!? Come on, guys! Can’t we toughen up just a little bit???

With the Dodgers getting back in rhythm, beating up on the NL Worst’s bottom feeders in the team that couldn’t field straight, the Diamondbacks need to stay sharp. Last night’s extra-innings debacle of a loss, stranding a man on third in each of the game’s final innings to either get the win or force more play, was not a sign of a killer instinct.

There’s no doubt this season will come down to a race between Arizona and L.A. Arizona is set to get Jake Lamb and Steven Souza, Jr. – the club’s two big bats – back soon enough, along with Shelby Miller’s return from Tommy John mid-season. Maybe they strike gold with another mid-season rental acquisition like last year with JD Martinez.

Regardless, these guys need to find more daggers if they want to stay on top.