D-Backs dominate reigning N.L. Central champions in Phoenix
Matt Schaeffer
A full house of 48,027 showed up for the Arizona Diamondbacks in their home opener against the Cincinnati Reds on April 8. Following a 2-3 road start, the D-backs sent Ian Kennedy to the mound in an attempt to bring the team to .500.
Right fielder Justin Upton and shortstop Stephen Drew each drove in a run to get Arizona off to a quick start, going up 2-0 in the bottom of the first. A wild pitch in the second by Cincinnati’s Wood allowed Miguel Montero to score and put Arizona up 3-0.
The Reds made it 3-1 in the third when a Brandon Phillips’s sacrifice brought home Paul Janish.
Arizona extended their lead by 3 in the sixth when a Xavier Nady’s double drove in Upton and Chris Young, followed by a sacrifice from Melvin Mora that scored Drew.
At this point the rout was on. Upton hit a home run in the seventh to make it 7-1. The Diamondbacks followed that with a six run eighth including home runs by Kelly Johnson and Young.
Reigning national league MVP Joey Votto hit a solo home run in the top of the ninth, but it was too little too late as Diamondbacks took their home opener 13-2 and improved to 3-3 on the year.
Cincinnati up-and-coming pitcher Travis Wood struggled in his second start. Wood gave up seven hits and six runs in five innings.
The Reds, coming off their first loss of the season to Houston the day before, fell to 5-2. Kennedy was impressive giving up just one run in eight innings and strike out nine.
The Diamondbacks batted equally as well. Everyone in the starting lineup, excluding Kennedy, drove in a run.
