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Arizona Diamondbacks’ Torey Lovullo talks about the team’s ups and downs in a win against the Indians, April 7, 2017. (Bob McManaman/azcentral sports)
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D-Backs’ Shelby Miller talks about his 2017 season start in a win against the Cleveland Indians, April 7, 2017. (Bob McManaman/azcentral sports)
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azcentral sports’ Mark Faller and Dan Bickley discuss the D-Backs’ start to the season as well as the retirement of Shane Doan.
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Diamondbacks outfielder David Peralta discusses Thursday’s win over the Giants.
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Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo discusses his team’s 3-1 start to the season.
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Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo on using humidor for baseballs at Chase Field.
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Starting pitcher Taijuan Walker discusses his first start in a Diamondbacks uniform on Wednesday against the Giants. Bob McManaman/azcentral sports
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Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo talks about his club’s 8-6 win over the Giants on Wednesday. Bob McManaman/azcentral sports
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The Diamondbacks need a shortstop. Scott Bordow and Jay Dieffenbach discuss that and the Hamilton hazing scandal in the Shot Clock.
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Diamondbacks shortstop Chris Owings talks about his error in the Giants’ five-run fifth inning.
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Diamondbacks lefty Patrick Corbin talks about his outing vs. the Giants and his struggles to retire Hunter Pence.
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The Arizona Diamondbacks dedicated Paul Goldschmidt Field in Goodyear on April 4, 2017. It’s the 39th “Diamonds Back” Field in Arizona. Video: Arizona Diamondbacks
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Former Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals slugger had an emergency brain procedure to address a brain hemorrhage.
USA TODAY Sports
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You can stream baseball online using MLB.TV, but the service does have restrictions.
Reviewed.com – Jeremy Stamas
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Diamondbacks shortstop Chris Owings delivered the game-winning hit on Sunday vs. the Giants.
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Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo talks about the hug he gave walk-off hero Chris Owings and about his first win in his new job.
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Diamondbacks right-hander Zack Greinke gave up two runs in five innings against the San Francisco Giants on Sunday at Chase Field.
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Diamondbacks insider Nick Piecoro and Jay Dieffenbach talk about the upcoming baseball season. The lineup appears to be solid. What about the pitching staff? Video: Cheryl Evans/azcentral sports
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USA TODAY Sports released its annual list of players to watch for in the upcoming season.
USA TODAY Sports
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The Diamondbacks had their photos taken on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2017 at Salt River Fields.
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Torey Lovullo talks about the D-Backs’ win against the Indians
D-Backs’ Shelby Miller describes starting his 2017 season
Shot Clock: What D-Backs’ good start means
David Peralta on hot start: ‘We’re ready for anybody’
D-Backs manager Lovullo on starting year 3-1
D-Backs manager Lovullo on using humidor for baseballs
Taijuan Walker on his first D-Backs start
Torey Lovullo on D-Backs’ win over Giants
Shot Clock: Answer to D-Backs’ shortstop question?
Chris Owings talks about his fifth-inning error
Patrick Corbin after loss to Giants
Diamondbacks dedicate ‘Paul Goldschmidt Field’
Former Dodgers star Pedro Guerrero in critical condition
How to watch every baseball game in 2017
Chris Owings discusses his walk-off hit vs. Giants
Torey Lovullo on his emotional first win as D-Backs’ manager
Zack Greinke after his start vs. Giants on Opening Day
What is in store for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2017?
MLB’s 100 Names to Know for 2017
Behind the scenes at Diamondbacks Photo Day
In the discussion of taxes, advanced calculus and bathroom scales, numbers are rarely enjoyable. In baseball? Arithmetical values can make us giddy.
Yes, we’re only six games into a 162-game season. No, that shouldn’t preclude a closer look at statistics from the Diamondbacks’ strong start.
Remember, numbers are fun!
One of the more intriguing statistics is the team’s 5-1 record vs. its 1-5 mark in quality starts.
For the unfamiliar, a quality start is when a starter pitches at least six innings and allows no more than three earned runs. It was created in the 1980s by longtime sportswriter John Lowe (who is now mentoring students at Arizona State’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication).
If you consider the ERA of Diamondbacks starters last year – 5.19, which ranked 29th out of 30 teams – that’s not surprising. The starters struggled to go deep in games.
This season, only twice have Diamondbacks pitchers hit the six-inning threshold: Taijuan Walker in his debut and Zack Greinke on Saturday. Obviously, not too much should be read into this so early, but it’s worth watching. The good news is the starters’ ERA is an improved 4.17.
So why are the Diamondbacks winning? They are hitting the you-know-what out of the ball, most often in mid- to late-game situations. Of the MLB-leading 45 runs they have scored, only one has occurred in the first three innings.
Their .322 average and 42 RBIs are also tops in the league. And although some statistics are impacted by the reality that some teams have played fewer games, this group clearly has its offensive mojo working.
Color me intrigued.
RELATED: New Diamondbacks making a great first impression
Questions for Fitz
Are you a high school athlete who has wanted to pick Larry Fitzgerald’s brain? Have you wondered who inspired him during his youth? Questioned what Kurt Warner is really like? Thought about his most memorable sports moment?
Now is the time to find out. I’ll be interviewing the Cardinals receiver during the azcentral.com Sports Awards on April 30 and asking some of your questions. Send them to azcentral.com sports on Facebook, azcsports on Twitter or azcsports on Instagram.
The event, at ASU Gammage, will be a fun evening and will honor the most elite athletes in the Arizona high school sports community. Go to sportsawards.azcentral.com for tickets and more information.
• Larry Fitzgerald headlines the azcentral.com Sports Awards show
You bet
Do you consider yourself an NFL draft guru? Now is the chance to put your money where your expertise is: in Nevada.
For the first time, betting will be allowed on the NFL draft, which is set for April 27-29 in Philadelphia.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that the Nevada Gaming Control granted approval Thursday to offer prop bets.
Fans won’t be able to wager on who will be the first player selected, according to the newspaper, but can on the “total number of quarterbacks drafted in the first round, whether there will be more offensive players than defensive players drafted in the first round, and the over/under of the draft position for the first kicker taken, to name a few.”
Another bet allowed will be the total number of players drafted from a particular college or conference for the first round and for the entire draft.
DIVE IN: Complete Cardinals pre-draft coverage
Ottawa additions
Ottawa University, the Surprise school that announced recently it was adding intercollegiate athletics, has hired its men’s basketball coach for its debut 2017-18 season.
Matt Keely comes from MidAmerica Nazarene University in Olathe, Kansas, where he was an associate head coach. He plans to recruit “local student-athletes that have energy to launch a new program,” he said in a release.
Ottawa will compete in the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).
Tweet of the day
“Actress Olivia Munn and boyfriend break up, according to reports trib.in/2oa81pn” – The Chicago Tribune, on the split of a power couple, which is funny because it didn’t name her former partner, Aaron Rodgers, the quarterback of the Bears’ NFC North rival Packers. It’s also amusing because the Tribune took heat in 2016 for a tweet that said, “Wife of a Bears lineman wins a bronze medal today in Rio Olympics” but didn’t name the Olympian, Corey Cogdell.
Quote of the Day
“Playing golf is hard. Writing articles is easy.” – Hey! … Two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson, to reporters, after missing the cut at Augusta.
Stat of the day
4.
The number of consecutive World Championships the U.S. women’s hockey team has after beating Canada in overtime Friday.
Reach Paola Boivin at [email protected] and on Twitter at Twitter.com/PaolaBoivin. Listen to her streaming live on “The Brad Cesmat Show” on sports360az.com every Monday at 10:30 a.m.
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