D-backs explode early with 12 runs in 1st 2 innings of win over Texas
Jul 17, 2019, 8:20 PM | Updated: 8:25 pm
Eduardo Escobar #5 of the Arizona Diamondbacks looks skyward after hitting a solo home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park May 21, 2019 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images)
(Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images)
The Arizona Diamondbacks wrapped up Tuesday night’s win with a four-run ninth inning against the Texas Rangers, and they picked up right where they left off on Wednesday in Texas.
Arizona scored seven runs in the first inning and five more in the second, providing a more than comfy cushion for starting pitcher Robbie Ray in a 19-4 win.
The first batter of the game Jarrod Dyson actually grounded out but the next six D-backs hitters would reach base.
After Ketel Marte was hit by a pitch, Eduardo Escobar blasted a 416-foot two-run shot to right for an early advantage.
That was quick! @escobarmaracay blasts a 2-run homer to right and the @Dbacks take a 2-0 lead in the 1st! pic.twitter.com/BggOB9ZntG
— FOX Sports Arizona (@FOXSPORTSAZ) July 18, 2019
From there, Christian Walker walked, Adam Jones singled, Jake Lamb doubled to score Walker and Nick Ahmed’s single brought home Jones and Lamb to make it 5-0.
What a start! Nick Ahmed ropes a single to center to plate Adam Jones and Jake Lamb! It's 5-0 @Dbacks…and it's only the 1st inning! #WeGotTacos pic.twitter.com/7p5GnVymFZ
— FOX Sports Arizona (@FOXSPORTSAZ) July 18, 2019
After Kevin Cron’s groundout, Carson Kelly’s RBI single made it a full trip through the D-backs’ batting order that ended Rangers starter Jesse Chavez’s night.
Texas reliever Adrian Sampson promptly allowed a Dyson single and Marte double that added a seventh run before Escobar’s flyout finally ended the damage.
A seven-run first is the second-most scored by the D-backs in the opening inning. Arizona has scored eight runs in the first inning of two different games, once in 2014 against the San Diego Padres and again in 2017 in San Diego.
It didn’t stop there.
The second inning saw Walker, Jones and Lamb all reach base before an Ahmed sac fly scored one run and Cron’s homer made it three more for 11 runs in two innings. To no surprise, Cron hit the ball quite far, 453 feet in total.
Everything is bigger in Texas, including the @Dbacks' run total. Kevin Cron's 453-foot homer made it 11-0! pic.twitter.com/8UITkpkrCa
— FOX Sports Arizona (@FOXSPORTSAZ) July 18, 2019
Dyson homered to get in on the fun too, bringing the tally to a dozen. Dyson’s sixth homer of the season is a career-high.
Twelve runs through the first two innings is a new franchise record.
The D-backs added two more in the third, three more in the sixth and an additional run in the seventh and ninth for a grand total of 19.
Escobar had two homers and five RBIs while Jones tied a career-high with four hits. Lamb had his second multi-hit game since returning from injury and Walker reached base six times, becoming only the fourth player to do so in franchise history.
It was a good time for Ray to have a below-average performance given the aforementioned cushion. He went 6.0 innings, allowing four earned runs on six hits and one walk, striking out seven.
The flurry of offense isn’t the first time the D-backs bats had a huge uptick following low-scoring performances.
In their return from the All-Star Break, Arizona scored a total of eight runs through three games in St. Louis before reaching just 21 through 11 innings against the Rangers.
In late April, Arizona scored nine runs over four games before starting May with 26 in three games at Coors Field versus the Colorado Rockies.
Later that month, seven runs were scored over four games against the San Francisco Giants and Padres before they scored a whopping 28 in two games at San Francisco.
