For Diamondbacks players, WBC was 'special' experience
For the past three weeks, Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo has had a group chat with his players and coaches who were off representing their countries at the World Baseball Classic.
At first, the group consisted of players spread all over the world. There was Dominic Miroglio, Dominic Fletcher and Mitchell Stumpo representing Italy in Taiwan; Ketel Marte and Emmanuel Rivera with the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico in Miami; Merrill Kelly and Alek Thomas with the U.S. and Mexico in Phoenix.
Eventually, by the time Puerto Rico was eliminated in the quarterfinals, it consisted of just Kelly and Thomas, the chat’s most active member. And when Mexico was knocked out by Japan on Monday, only Kelly remained.
On Thursday morning, no one did. With Tuesday’s electrifying championship game — Japan beat the U.S., 3-2 — in the rearview mirror, the Diamondbacks’ contingent trickled back into the club’s facility at Salt River Fields, reuniting a team that had spent much of the previous month in disparate corners of the globe.
To a man, the WBC returners raved about the experience.
“It's kind of hard to put in one word, but it was incredible honestly,” Kelly said. “It was, from start to finish. Just being able to be in that environment and being around the guys that I was around … Five years ago or even four years ago when I first got here, I never in a million years thought that that would even be an opportunity for me. So the fact that I not only got to be a part of it but be somewhat — at least attempted to be a big part of it, it was definitely special.”
For Kelly, the highlight was watching Trea Turner’s grand slam in the quarterfinals against Venezuela from the American dugout. On Tuesday, he was warming up to start the championship game during the pre-game ceremony, which he called a “special” experience. He also enjoyed watching Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout battle with the tournament on the line without the pitch clock.
"One of the thoughts going through my head while that was going on is how are we possibly gonna put a pitch clock on a situation like this?" Kelly said. "... The anticipation of each pitch in that at-bat was part of what made that at-bat so special."
Thomas, meanwhile, said his highlight was beating the U.S. in front of a sellout at Chase Field.
“It was a cool experience to play at a packed Chase Field and get that atmosphere,” Thomas said. “Alright, so if we start to win and we start to do what we want to do and have a lot of people there, this is what it will look like and this is what it's gonna feel like.”
The tournament provided Thomas with an opportunity to connect with his Mexican roots. He grew up in Chicago, but his mom’s side of the family is from Sonora.
“Being able to play for my grandma, my mom, that whole side of the family was pretty special,” Thomas said.
The tournament, though, wasn’t long enough to pick up much Spanish. As Thomas met with reporters Thursday, Geraldo Perdomo stood in the scrum, goading him by asking if he had learned any new words.
“Yeah, some bad words but we'll keep that to myself,” Thomas responded.
There is, though, a downside of the WBC for the Diamondbacks. Thomas said he “didn't get a chance to get in the work that I normally would in spring training” because of the hectic nature of the event, with meaningful games every day.
More importantly, Kelly wasn’t able to get fully stretched out as he would have in Spring Training games. He threw 61 pitches in three innings against Colombia last Wednesday. On Tuesday, he was pulled after just 1 1/3 innings and 36 pitches after he gave up a homer and then loaded the bases with one out in the second.
“Probably a little bit more behind the 8 ball than I usually am going into the season as far as pitching out innings and up-and-downs and stuff like that,” Kelly said.
The Diamondbacks are aiming to have Kelly throw somewhere in the ballpark of 65 or 70 pitches against the Brewers on Sunday. That would put his pitch count in the “85 pitch range” for his first regular season start, according to Lovullo.
Short hops
Right fielder Jake McCarthy was back in the clubhouse Thursday after dealing with an undisclosed illness for most of the past week. Over the past four seasons, undisclosed illnesses of this ilk typically mean a player tested positive for Covid.
Second baseman Ketel Marte was scratched from the lineup Thursday due to illness. Marte’s illness is not believed to be Covid-related.
Diamondbacks 11, Dodgers 5
At Salt River Fields
At the plate: The Diamondbacks exploded for 10 runs in the bottom of the first, although most of the damage came against Julian Smith, who spent last year in High-A. SS Nick Ahmed, DH Dominic Canzone, LF Kyle Lewis and C Gabriel Moreno all homered. The former three were off Smith, while Moreno’s was off Aaron Ochsenbein, who spent last year between Double-A and Triple-A. Moreno’s was hit the softest, at 102.1 mph, but it was perhaps the most impressive as he sent it out the opposite way, down the right-field line. “(He) is doing a lot right,” Lovullo said. “Using your legs, got the right swing plane. You’re accomplishing a lot with your approach and the finish of your swing when you can do that.”
On the mound: It was a mixed bag for RHP Drey Jameson, one of two contenders for the final rotation spot. Jameson got seven strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings thanks in large part to his slider, which he used to get eight whiffs on 10 swings. “That’s my best pitch so it’s a go-to pitch,” Jameson said. On the flip side, he allowed three runs in a difficult first inning. Both of the Dodgers’ doubles came on four-seam fastballs that Jameson didn’t elevate quite enough. More concerningly, he also issued four walks, including three lead-off walks. “Four walks is not it,” Jameson said. “… That’s something that I have to zone it in a lot faster.”
Extra bases: RHP Jeurys Familia had a pitch clock violation on a full-count in the seventh inning, leading to a walk. Lovullo said Familia “needs to be situationally aware” but also said Moreno needed to be aware of the situation and call timeout to take a mound visit. “Those are the instructions we’ve given our catchers, to never let somebody get on base,” Lovullo said.
Cubs 11, Diamondbacks 1
At Sloan Park
At the plate: RF Corbin Carroll lined a triple into the right-center field gap in the fifth, then scored on an errant pickoff attempt. Carroll also drew a walk in the third inning, his 10th of the spring. Playing in his first game back from the World Baseball Classic, CF Alek Thomas went 1 for 3 with a single to right. He also made a pair of rangy plays in center, going back to the wall on a SS Dansby Swanson drive, then racing into the gap to catch a ball off DH Trey Mancini’s bat.
On the mound: RHP Ryne Nelson’s start was not dominant, but he did pitch competitively into the fifth. He gave up three runs in 4 2/3 innings, walking two and striking out three. He did not give up much in the way of hard contact, but one of the walks he issued in the second ended up scoring. The other two runs came on a sequence that went single-single-sacrifice bunt-single in the fifth. “I probably could have mixed in some more change-ups and could have had some more success in certain spots,” Nelson said. “Overall, I think I’m finding a rhythm and in a good spot. Now I just have to kind of execute some stuff more and make better decisions every once in a while.”
Extra bases: Because 2B Ketel Marte was scratched due to illness, the Diamondbacks juggled their lineup about an hour before the game. Word apparently did not get to SS Geraldo Perdomo, who was hitting seventh in the original lineup but second in the revamped one and as a result did not know it was his turn to hit one batter into the first inning. He was docked a strike for a pitch clock violation, then struck out two pitches later.
Friday’s game: Diamondbacks RHP Zac Gallen vs. Reds RHP Hunter Greene, 1:10 p.m., Salt River Fields.
Nick Piecoro contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: For Diamondbacks players, WBC was 'special' experience
