👋 GOOD MORNING

Happy Wednesday! We’re halfway through another week, and I sure hope yours is going well. Today I’ll take a look at the Diamondbacks’ 3-2 start — complete with a grand slam from Eugenio Suárez — but first here’s something I thought was kind of cool — Arizona women’s golfer Carolina Melgrati, and ASU women’s golfers Patience Rhodes and Beth Coulter, are representing their respective universities at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Tournament, which tees off today.

How cool is that?! The tournament is by invite only, and only the top amateur golfers in the world are included. Best of luck to all three athletes — you sure make State 48 proud!

On to the show!

Diamondbacks Off and Running — and Hitting — in 2025

Five down. 157 to go.

What do you make of the Diamondbacks’ first five games? For starters, not much — it’s far too early to tell. The great Sparky Anderson was a big believer in the 40-game gauge, roughly a quarter of the way through the season, so there’s a long way to go. For the sake of context: Arizona was 18-22 at that mark last season, 22-18 in its 2023 NL Pennant season, and, in a striking coincidence, 22-18 in its 2001 World Series Championship season.

So, I guess 22-18 is the mark to hit.

Pitching Marginally Better, Offense Humming Already

I (and pretty much everyone) talked about it quite a bit since the end of last year: Arizona’s pitching needed to be better after last year’s abysmal showing. Early returns are marginally better, but far from perfect, and certainly not championship caliber. The offense, meanwhile, has picked up right where it left off, led by Eugenio Suárez’s five home runs and 11 RBI, and Geraldo Perdomo’s .389 batting average. It doesn’t seem like baseball’s top offense from a season ago is missing a beat.

Editor’s note: The below stats do not include yesterday’s win over the Yankees, as league composite data was not yet available for games played on April 1.

• The pitching staff is tied for 20th, having allowed 21 earned runs
• The pitching staff ranks 17th with 34 strikeouts
• The offense ranks second in batting average (.329)
• The offense ranks fifth with 27 RBI.
• Suárez was named NL Player of the Week on Monday after notching four home runs and seven RBI in the Diamondbacks’ first four games.

My Take: There are no foregone conclusions, but I’m sure rooting for a 22-18 record at the 40-game mark. All jokes aside, it’s going to take a little bit for everyone to settle in as the 162-game grind kicks off, and perhaps what’s most important to remember (as cliché as it may be), is no team playing in October even comes close to resembling what it was in April. As the dog days of summer approach, the moves manager Torey Lovullo makes, along with that Diamondbacks’ ability to stay healthy, will determine their fate this fall.

By the way, game 40 this season comes on Saturday, May 10, against the L.A. Dodgers (who else?!)

Take a Deeper Dive: ​Instant reaction from Derek​ following Arizona’s 7-5 win in New York yesterday.

3 Days. 6 Picks. 100 Names.

It’s almost NFL Draft month!

What are the Cardinals going to do? Mock drafts have lacked consistency in terms of who the Cardinals may select, so the PHNX Cardinals team of Bo and Johnny, along with ALLCITY draft expert Fran Duffy, have made it their personal mission to keep you as well-informed as possible. Boy, did they ever come through.

• Check out the Top 100 prospects that can address the Cards’ needs.
• Don’t waste time cycling through mock drafts – it’s all in here!
• Impress your friends when comparing players like Kentucky’s Deone Walker to Jordan Phillips. Bo and Fran will let you take all the credit.
• Missing out? ​Become a Diehard​ today!

Catch Up:

• Bo and Johnny chat about the ​players ranked 51-100​.
• Bo and Johnny ​chat about the Top 50​ and the Cardinals’ Cam Skattebo conundrum.

Musings From Around (and Sometimes Beyond) The Valley

Suns Going Down: The Durant-less Suns fell 133-123 in Milwaukee last night, marking their fourth consecutive defeat. Phoenix is now 1.5 games behind Sacramento for the final postseason play-in spot with just six games left to play in the season.

Runnin’ It Back: The Roadrunners earned a key 3-2 victory over Calgary last night, leapfrogging Bakersfield for the final playoff spot in the Pacific Division with seven games left to play. Tucson holds a narrow one-point advantage, and with a two-game series against the Condors coming up this weekend, wins have never been more critical.

More Recognition: Katie Vahle and Anna Viglione were named Big 12 Lacrosse Goalkeeper and Midfielder of the Week, respectively, after leading the Sun Devils to their first Big 12 win over Cincinnati last weekend. ASU has yet to lose at home, and Vahle leads the Big 12 in saves (133) and save percentage (48 percent).

🧢 Tip of the Hat

U of A took a stunning, tough hit in the transfer portal. How will the Wildcats respond?