Recaps
[AZ Central] Diamondbacks blow late lead, drop series to Twins – The series loss ended the Diamondbacks’ mini streak of back-to-back series victories. They fell to 39-38. The Diamondbacks managed only six hits, though they did walk five times, creating a variety of scoring opportunities. They went just 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position, the lone hit coming from Marte, who split the gap in right-center off Twins right-hander Mike Paredes in the second inning. Cabrera was impressive, giving
up just three hits while striking out three in five-plus innings. He faced one batter in the sixth inning before departing. He smiled, waved and tipped his hat to the crowd on his way off the mound.
[Dbacks.com] Right-hander Cabrera strong in debut for battered, short-handed D-backs – Torey Lovullo was asked where his team goes from here. “One way, and that’s all we know, and that is to just keep putting it in gear and going forward,” Lovullo said. “The easy thing to do is feel sorry for ourselves, but I don’t think that group is. They’re in there, they’re hungry, they want to win baseball games, they know how to win baseball games. And we’re going to get this thing turned around. I think on a given day or night, we put two-thirds of our game together. We’ve got to put it all together and start playing very consistent baseball. When we do, we’re going to start to win some baseball games.”
[Arizona Sports] Jose Cabrera delivers enthusiastic, impressive MLB debut – The game had a rhythm with him on the mound, as he handled the pressure of pitching in front of 35,000 fans on Father’s Day well. He said he felt at home. Walking back to the dugout, Cabrera tipped his hat to the crowd and pointed up to the stands. He was motioning to his parents, who traveled from the Dominican Republic to watch him. “Honestly, I felt proud because my dream was achieved, which was to play in the big leagues,” Cabrera said in Spanish. “It was really a strong emotion.” Cabrera became the first pitcher to throw five-plus shutout innings in his MLB debut this season.
Team news
[SI] Jose Cabrera’s Remarkable Debut Was Massive for Depleted Diamondbacks – The Diamondbacks’ rotation is in trouble, to put it lightly. Zac Gallen is pitching at his worst career pace, as is Merrill Kelly. Michael Soroka and Ryne Nelson will be out for a large portion of time with respective injuries, and Brandon Pfaadt is not yet stretched out to pitch a full starter’s load. Arizona needed someone unexpected to step up. And Cabrera did just that. Though there may easily be some rookie growing pains coming, Cabrera’s 95-plus MPH fastball, deep arsenal and strong, confident mound presence were on full display Sunday. Even in the face of a loss, Cabrera’s debut can inspire hope for Arizona’s rotational interim.
[MLB Trade Rumors] Diamondbacks Designate Yilber Diaz For Assignment – After posting a 3.81 ERA over 28 1/3 innings (starting four of seven games) with the Snakes in 2024, Diaz’s big league work has been limited to a single relief appearance in each of the last two seasons. Diaz has been working as a full-time reliever all season in Reno, with mixed results. He has a 4.50 ERA and a garish 14.2% walk rate, but he is striking out batters at a strong pace (29.1K%). He has a minor league option remaining which might be of interest to another team in terms of a waiver claim, but it’s probably more likely that Diaz clears waivers and remains in Arizona’s organization.
[Cronkite News] Groover determined to make the most of MLB call-up – LuJames “Gino” Groover III needed only one word to describe his first 24 hours as a Major League Baseball player: “Surreal.” His parents were more nervous watching his MLB debut than he was playing. “I might’ve been a little bit nervous for him because I know how hard he worked to get to this point,” his father said. “I just wanted him to be successful, and come out and give the fans something that they’re looking for.” Throughout the game, Groover III was able to slow things down: “You remember it’s the same game. Just go out there and have fun, because that’s what makes it worthwhile.”
And, elsewhere…
[Fox 10] Buc-ee’s 1st Arizona location opening in Goodyear today – The 74,000-square-foot West Valley travel center, located near Interstate 10 and Bullard Avenue, has 120 fueling stations. The location also offers its signature food items, including Beaver Nuggets, beef jerky and smoked brisket. In addition to its first Arizona location, Buc-ee’s is also opening new travel centers in several other states. The Buc-ee’s parking lot is set to open at midnight on June 22. Doors open at 6 a.m., and there will be a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 8 a.m. Heavy traffic is expected in the area for the grand opening, with as many as 40,000 vehicles expected to pass through over the week.
[Denver Post] Patrick Saunders is hanging it up after 28 years at The Denver Post. A baseball writer looks back with gratitude – I covered the Rockies for nearly 20 years, and during that time, they had five winning seasons, made the playoffs four times, and made one magical run to the World Series in 2007. I’ve had to rewrite more deadline game stories than I can count. The adage in the Coors Field press box: “The Rockies blew another lead. And they blew another lede.” But, all in all, it’s been quite a wonderful ride. What follows are excerpts from some of my favorite stories I wrote for The Post. The common theme is people.
Companion (2025)
Rating: B
Dir: Drew Hancock
Star: Sophie Thatcher, Jack Quaid, Megan Suri, Lukas Gage
Strong Black Mirror vibes here, with a story of technology being manipulated, and coming back to bite the manipulator. I also found myself humming Don’t You Want Me to myself: “I picked you out, I shook you up and turned you around, turned you into someone new… It’s much too late to find, you think you’ve changed your mind. You’d better change it back or we will both be sorry.” Oddly appropriate lyrics for the Iris/Josh relationship, considering he literally made her into the woman she is today. It feels the film is trying to say something about this, though it’s light enough in touch for me not to be annoyed. It is definitely reflecting loneliness, a perhaps inevitable result of our terminally online culture.
