{"id":4134,"date":"2023-04-06T20:29:14","date_gmt":"2023-04-07T03:29:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/?p=4134"},"modified":"2023-04-06T20:29:14","modified_gmt":"2023-04-07T03:29:14","slug":"diamondbacks-dodgers-pregame","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/2023\/04\/06\/diamondbacks-dodgers-pregame\/","title":{"rendered":"Diamondbacks vs. Dodgers Pregame \u2014 Merrill Kelly vs. Dustin May"},"content":{"rendered":"

Diamondbacks vs. Dodgers Pregame \u2014 April 6, 2023<\/h2>\n

PHOENIX, Apr. 6 \u2014 It\u2019s the Diamondbacks<\/a>‘ home opener and, as often happens when playing against the Dodgers<\/a>, the game is officially a sellout. Prior to the game, both managers spoke with the press.<\/p>\n

Torey Lovullo, Diamondbacks Manager<\/h3>\n

Home openers, despite not being on the actual Opening Day, are still special, according to Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo<\/a><\/strong>. \u201cWe\u2019re super excited to play here in front of our home fans. We know there out there. And Opening Day always seems to be the best crowd of the year. We get super energized by it, so it\u2019s going to be fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked what the first six games showed, Lovullo responded, \u201cThat we\u2019re a good baseball team. And we’re going to give effort. We’re going to be prepared, and we’re going to be adaptable in any situation. That we’re going to keep moving forward in a very uncommon way. And that’s who we are every single day. We’re an exciting baseball team, loaded with athleticism, trying to capitalize on every key situation that we can.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lovullo said they\u2019ve probably only played one good baseball game of the first six but have managed to win three. Which game? The last one against the Padres. \u201cWe played our brand of baseball. A little sloppy in the first couple of innings. I don\u2019t think we were executing at a very high level defensively or with certain pitches in certain situations. But we figured it out. Our backs were against the wall against a really good starting pitcher in Yu Darvish<\/a><\/strong>, but we fought and got into their bullpen and won that game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fortunate Timing<\/h4>\n

Given the speed of this roster, the plan was to run and run often. This has been the case since drafting this group. But with the rule changes, the speed on the roster has become even more advantageous to the Diamondbacks. \u201cI manage the team that I have,\u201d Lovullo said. He added, \u201cI wouldn’t ask a slow team to run fast and wouldn\u2019t ask a fast team to run slow. So I want to find out where our strengths are, find out who we are, create an identity with what we\u2019ve already begun to create here, and continue to grow let that grow every single day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Several teams, given the disengagement limit, have begun to call pickoff attempts from the dugout. San Diego Padres manager Bob Melvin<\/a><\/strong> is one who does so. The Diamondbacks do as well, and it\u2019s controlled by bench coach Jeff Banister<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Drey Jameson<\/h4>\n

Drey Jameson<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s early success in long relief has made the team walk a tight rope. They want to use him as much as possible but don\u2019t want to overuse him and risk injury. \u201cWe have criteria we follow. It is put together by the medical team. And I follow that. I\u2019m not going to exceed limitations or usage. I have to be careful, because he has a very bright future with us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jameson had a two-inning save in the last game of the Padres series. This was, Lovullo explained, because they were \u201cextremely thinned out in the bullpen.\u201d There are other scenarios where Jameson could shoot for a multiple-inning save, but Lovullo concluded by saying, \u201cWe have very good relievers in the bullpen that probably will get other opportunities to close out games.\u201d<\/p>\n

Quick Hits<\/h4>\n

Corbin Carroll<\/a><\/strong> was dropped off at the game by his parents. \u201cDoesn\u2019t surprise me at all. Parking is going to be tough tonight,\u201d Lovullo joked when told about this.<\/p>\n

The team will still use matchups to determine who will pitch the eighth and ninth.<\/p>\n

Dave Roberts, Dodgers Manager<\/h3>\n

Third baseman Max Muncy<\/a><\/strong> had to leave the Saturday evening game against the Diamondbacks after taking a ground ball to the groin. Later it was revealed that he was not wearing a cup. Manager Dave Roberts<\/a><\/strong> said he now will have one at all times.<\/p>\n

This is David Peralta<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s first game back at Chase Field since the Diamondbacks traded him to the Tampa Bay Rays near the 2022 trade deadline. Roberts said Peralta adds \u201cenergy, professionalism, and talent.\u201d In addition, Roberts said, \u201cHe\u2019s a lot of fun. And he\u2019s infectious. He’s been very additive for our ballclub. It’s a lot better seeing him in a Dodgers jersey than a DBacks jersey for sure.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe plays every game like it\u2019s his last. There\u2019s a fire, an energy he brings. He\u2019s an intelligent baseball player who plays a game to win, but not for himself. He\u2019s a very unselfish ballplayer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Main Photo Credits:<\/h4>\n

PHOENIX (Apr. 6) \u2014 The Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Dodgers line up for the Star-Spangled Banner, which was performed on the trumpet by Dr. Jesse McGuire.<\/em>
\n(Photo by Evan Thompson\/Sport Relay)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Diamondbacks vs. Dodgers Pregame \u2014 April 6, 2023 PHOENIX, Apr. 6 \u2014 It\u2019s the Diamondbacks‘ home opener and, as often happens when playing against the Dodgers, the game is officially a sellout. Prior to the game, both managers spoke with the press. Torey Lovullo, Diamondbacks Manager Home openers, despite not being on the actual Opening […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":4135,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[39,41],"tags":[811,518,930,763,517,932,346,130],"class_list":["post-4134","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-diamondbacks","category-dodgers","tag-2023-mlb-season","tag-corbin-carroll","tag-dave-roberts","tag-david-peralta","tag-drey-jameson","tag-max-muncy","tag-torey-lovullo","tag-yu-darvish","pmpro-has-access","eq-blocks"],"yoast_head":"\nDiamondbacks vs. Dodgers Pregame \u2014 April 6, 2023 - Sport Relay<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Pregame manager comments from Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts for April 6, 2023.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/2023\/04\/06\/diamondbacks-dodgers-pregame\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Diamondbacks vs. Dodgers Pregame \u2014 April 6, 2023 - Sport Relay\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Pregame manager comments from Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts for April 6, 2023.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/2023\/04\/06\/diamondbacks-dodgers-pregame\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Major League Baseball\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/100088190202878\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/thompsontalks\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-04-07T03:29:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/04\/Diamondbacks-Dodgers-Pregame-20230406-1024x771.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"771\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Evan M. 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Thompson, Editor-in-chief","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/02\/cropped-Evan-on-field-120x120.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/02\/cropped-Evan-on-field-120x120.jpg","caption":"Evan M. Thompson, Editor-in-chief"},"description":"Evan is the owner and sole contributor of Thompson Talks, a website discussing the Big Four North American Pro Sports as well as soccer. He covered the Arizona Diamondbacks from 2019 to 2023, the Colorado Rockies in 2024, and has covered the Athletics since Spring Training 2025. He also is our National Writer. His first and biggest love is baseball. Evan lives in Gilbert, Arizona and loves history, especially of sports. He is a member of the Hemond Chapter of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR). He released his first book, Volume I of A Complete History of the Major League Baseball Playoffs, in October of 2021. His second book, Volume II of A Complete History of the Major League Baseball Playoffs (1977\u20131984) came out September 2024. Order Evan's books here. Follow Evan on Twitter: @evan_m_thompson Support Evan on Patreon: https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/user?u=81411994","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/thompsontalks\/","https:\/\/x.com\/evan_m_thompson","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@evanthompson8435"],"url":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/author\/evan\/"}]}},"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4134","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4134"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4134\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4138,"href":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4134\/revisions\/4138"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4135"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4134"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4134"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportrelay.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4134"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}