Tuesday, July 01

Welcome to the D-backs Beat Newsletter! I’m Steve Gilbert and I’ve been writing about the D-backs since 1998. Let’s get right to it…

With the score tied toward the end of Sunday’s game against the Cubs, Drey Jameson was sitting in the Diamondbacks bullpen wondering why closer Justin Martinez wasn’t moving around like he usually would late in the game.

When the game went to extra innings, Jameson, who was recalled from Triple-A Reno the previous day, started to put the pieces together and realized Martinez was likely not available to pitch.

“So I started moving around and looking at scouting reports,” Jameson said.

With Martinez unavailable and Arizona’s other closer, A.J. Puk, currently on the injured list, Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo was unable to give Jameson the “soft landing” he had hoped for and instead had to use him to try to preserve a 3-2 lead in the 11th inning.

That was just fine with Jameson, who relishes the chance to pitch in big moments. So there he was jogging out to a big league mound for the first time since July 6, 2023. It had been a long road back from Tommy John surgery for Jameson, and the right-hander was ready for the moment.

“I'm honestly glad that's how it was, because it put pressure on me to come in and throw strikes and not beat around the bush,” Jameson said. “I didn't want to come in and walk anyone. So that's the best situation, and I'm glad that that's the situation I got to put into my first outing.”

Jameson needed to face only two batters to record the save as he got Ian Happ to line out to shortstop where automatic runner Jon Berti was doubled off second. Kyle Tucker then lined out to end the game.

Happ’s liner left his bat at 112 mph and Tucker hit his 102.3 mph.

“I had some luck on my side today,” Jameson said.

After going through an arduous rehab and then being sent to Reno at the end of Spring Training despite having had an excellent spring (1.59 ERA over 5 2/3 innings pitched), Jameson is entitled to a little good fortune.

No one with the Diamondbacks thought Jameson didn’t throw well during the spring, but they wanted to be cautious with him being used back-to-back days and possibly three out of four days.

At the time he was sent down, Jameson said he was disappointed in the decision, but after he dealt with minor soreness in Reno, he realized that the Diamondbacks made the right decision in sending him down.

“I thought I was ready, obviously, earlier,” Jameson said. “But that’s just me not knowing the full sense because then I went to Reno and had a little hiccup. Ultimately, I think they know more than I know.”

Puk was placed on the 15-day IL on Saturday with inflammation in his left elbow. Monday he had an MRI taken and Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo did not say what the results were but said that Puk is going to get at least a second opinion on them.

“We’re still gathering information,” Lovullo said. “We want to be as thorough as possible.”

The Diamondbacks optioned outfielder Jake McCarthy to Reno and recalled outfielder Jorge Barrosa (their No. 21 prospect according to MLB Pipeline).

McCarthy had a rough start to the season at the plate and Lovullo said the decision to send McCarthy down was a result of the organization feeling that his offensive struggles were starting to leak into his baserunning and defense.

“Jake has had a tough run of it,” Lovullo said. “Sometimes this is a savage business. He's been one of our best players in a couple of different years and the game wasn't working for him. The at-bats, and the numbers matter. It's just where we are. And then there were some mistakes were being made around his game that we felt like it was all connected. 

“We couldn't help but start to take notice that just a little bit of a reboot might matter to him. He wasn’t comfortable with the decision and I didn’t expect him to be comfortable with the decision.”

The Diamondbacks and Rays joined Major League Baseball the same season in 1998, and heading into their series opener Tuesday night, the two franchises had remarkably similar records:

• The D-backs have gone 2,100-2,194 while the Rays have gone 2,100-2,192.

• Since 1998, the clubs almost match in various stat categories all-time (AZ/TB): AVG (.255/.254), OBP (.324/323), walk rate (8.7/8.5), home run rate (2.8/2.7) and stolen base rate (73.5/72.3).

• They also have the same number of playoff victories all-time (28).

(Hat tip: MLB Research)

The first postgame concert of the season is this Friday with a special performance from Scotty Hasting for Country Night. Entry to the concert is included with a game ticket.

Other concerts scheduled for this year:

• Friday, May 9 vs. Dodgers: La Original Banda El Limón
• Friday, August 8 vs. Rockies: Tauren Wells
• Friday, August 22 vs. Reds: Banda La Adictiva
• Friday, September 5 vs. Red Sox: Flo Rida

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