D’Backs hammer Yankees 12-2 in series opener

Source: FanGraphs

That was not a fun way to start the road trip. A bunch of pitchers who started the season in Triple-A — well, three of the four started the season in Triple-A, the other was in an independent league — let the Diamondbacks pull away in the middle innings of Monday’s series opener. The final score was 12-2 Arizona. West Coast night games get bullet point recaps, so let’s get to it:

• Bad Start, Bad Finish: In his MLB debut, Chad Green looked pretty good in the second, third, and fourth innings. The first and fifth innings were the problem. Green gave up a solo homer to Paul Goldschmidt in the first (it happens) and then had to strand runners on second and third. In the fifth, Mark Teixeira dropped a throw on a bunt, then Green gave up a walk, a three-run homer, and a double to end his night. He finished the game having allowed six runs (four earned) on eight hits and a walk in four innings. Get ’em next time, Chad.
• Two Token Runs: The Yankees did rally to tie the game 2-2 after the D’Backs jumped out to an early lead. A double (Teixeira), a single (Carlos Beltran), and another single (Chase Headley) scored a run in the third, though the Yankees were unable to scratch across any more because Green came up with the bases loaded and two outs. Lame. Then, in the fifth, Jacoby Ellsbury smashed a triple off the wall and scored when the throw to third hit him in the helmet and deflected into the stands. That’s all for the offense.
• Leftovers: Conor Mullee made his MLB debut in the sixth inning. He walked three and hit a batter. After all he went through in the minors (three elbow surgeries), tonight had to be pretty special for Mullee, regardless of the results … Teixeira went 3-for-4 with a double and seems to be starting to come around with the bat … Aaron Hicks had a loud 1-for-4. He hit four balls on the screws, including one to the deepest part of the park for a fly out … 14 of the final 16 Yankees to bat made outs.

Here are the box score, video highlights, and updated standings. Don’t miss our Bullpen Workload and Announcer Standings pages. The Yankees and D’Backs continue this series with the middle game Tuesday night. Michael Pineda and Zack Greinke is the scheduled pitching matchup.