Beekeeper who saved the Arizona Diamondback game throws out the first pitch
After removing a swarm of bees before the DBacks’ game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Matt Hilton threw out the ceremonial first pitch.
Arizona Diamondbacks
Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Gabriel Moreno was scratched from the lineup on Wednesday and replaced by catcher Tucker Barnhart.
The Diamondbacks said Moreno was feeling the effects of a dental procedure earlier on Wednesday. The team added that Moreno was available off the bench.
Moreno started each of the first two games of the series and went a combined 2 for 6 with two walks. He is hitting .238/.344/.325 with five doubles, one triple and no home runs in 93 plate appearances.
Zac Gallen’s next start pushed back again
Right-hander Zac Gallen won’t pitch until Sunday at the earliest, manager Torey Lovullo said, as the Diamondbacks are opting to give their top starter additional rest to make sure his hamstring is fully healthy.
Despite leaving his start on Friday in Seattle with right hamstring tightness, Gallen had been planning to take his usual turn in the rotation, which would have been Wednesday.
However, Tuesday night’s bee-related delay caused left-hander Jordan Montgomery to get pushed to Wednesday, which initially meant Gallen would be pushed back, as well, to Friday vs. the Padres.
But after thinking it over some more, Lovullo decided to take the opportunity to give Gallen as much rest as possible. For now, that means giving the ball to right-handers Slade Cecconi and Brandon Pfaadt on Friday and Saturday and listing Sunday’s starter as “TBA.”
Sunday could be Gallen, but the decision will also impact right-hander Ryne Nelson, who is close to returning from the injured list.
Lovullo, who said he expects to have a plan in place by the end of Wednesday night, stressed that nothing is wrong with Gallen, who would have started on Wednesday had things not become shuffled.
“Zac is fine,” Lovullo said. “I just felt like it made the most sense to give him the most rest possible so he could make it for the rest of the season without even having to worry about that area one more time. We had the luxury to be creative. He understood that.”
Blake Walston added for length; Andrew Saalfrank optioned
After deploying seven relievers in Tuesday night’s 3-2 win over the Dodgers, the Diamondbacks reached to the minors for a fresh arm and promoted lefty Blake Walston from Triple-A Reno.
Left-hander Andrew Saalfrank was optioned.
Walston, a starting pitching prospect, will be available in relief on Wednesday and should be able to pitch multiple innings if needed. A former first-round pick in 2019, this is Walston’s first trip to the big leagues.
Walston owned a 4.79 ERA in five games (four starts) in Reno, where he had 19 strikeouts and 15 walks in 20⅔ innings.
“There’s a real good chance he’ll be in the game tonight,” Lovullo said of Walston.
As for Saalfrank, he struggled to throw strikes on Monday night, issuing three walks in the Dodgers’ four-run fifth inning. The Diamondbacks lost that game, 8-4.
Wednesday’s Diamondbacks-Dodgers pitching matchup
Left-hander Jordan Montgomery will make his Chase Field debut with the Diamondbacks on Wednesday night, a day later than expected due to the bee-related delay from Tuesday night.
Montgomery was scratched on Tuesday after the game was delayed nearly two hours when a colony of bees congregated near the backstop. Montgomery had already warmed up and was ready to start, so rather than have him sit around and wait the club decided to push him to Wednesday. …
This will be Montgomery’s third start with the Diamondbacks after he was signed to a one-year, $25 million deal at the end of spring training. Montgomery was sharp in his first two starts, most recently firing seven innings against the Cardinals and giving up just three runs (two earned).
He will face Dodgers right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who signed a 12-year, $325 million deal with the Dodgers in the offseason, the largest contract ever given to a pitcher.
Yamamoto, 25, spent seven seasons with Orix in Japan’s top league and logged a 1.72 ERA.
He gave up five runs in one inning in his first start of the year but has pitched to a 2.00 ERA in 27 innings over his other five starts, walking five and striking out 35 in that span.
Yamamoto throws a fastball that averages 95.3 mph along with a curveball, splitter and cutter.
Coming up
Thursday: Off.
Friday: At Chase Field, 6:40 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Slade Cecconi (1-1, 2.25) vs. Padres RHP Dylan Cease (3-2, 2.78).
Saturday: At Chase Field, 5:10 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Brandon Pfaadt (1-1, 4.63) vs. Padres RHP Michael King (2-3, 5.00).
Sunday: At Chase Field, 1:10 p.m., Diamondbacks TBA vs. Padres RHP Matt Waldron (1-3, 4.35).
