It seems a little odd, to have the game on getaway day start three hours later than the rest of the series. But, due to the rescheduling of the games on Tuesday and Wednesday, here we are. Though at least the D-backs don’t have far to go. Google Maps tells me that Citizens Bank Park and Citi Field are only 111 miles from each other by road – 117 if you want to avoid tolls. Though I think the closest parks, discounting those located in the same city like the Mets and Yankees, might be the Orioles
and Nationals. Again per Google Maps, those two are 38 miles apart. There was a lengthy dispute when the Nats relocated, about them encroaching on the Orioles territory.
This is the rubber game of the series, after the teams split the first two, and give the D-backs a chance to climb above .500 for the first time in 2026. It’s the fourth opportunity they have had to do so. But they have gone 0-3 previously and been outscored 29-7 over those three games. The most recent and closest was the opener in New York, where they got walked off, and here we are again. If past form is any guide, they should be optimistic, with starting pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez yet to concede an earned run this year. Discounting opener types, the record such streak to start the season is four games, most recently by Chris Carpenter and Zack Greinke in 2009.
Though the most famous such is probably Fernando Valenzuela in 1985. He didn’t allow an earned run until the ninth inning of his fifth game – and two of the preceding ones were complete game shutouts. That gave him a 41-inning scoreless streak to start the year, before a Tony Gwynn home-run ended it, also giving Valenzuela a 1-0 loss. For the D-backs, E-Rod’s 12 innings is the longest by a starter to open the year since Merrill Kelly went 14.1 innings to kick off the 2022 campaign. Though for relievers, Shelby Miller went 13.2 without an earned run out of the bullpen last year. We’ll see how far Eduardo can go today!
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