Arizona Diamondbacks 2024 Season Review: April

The D-backs came into the 2024 season hot, but cooled at a concerning rate.

Arizona Diamondbacks Blaze Alexander (62) hits a single against the Colorado Rockies on Opening Day at Chase Field. / Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK

This is the third part of an eight-part series breaking down the Arizona Diamondbacks' 2024 season.

The D-backs came into the 2024 season with high expectations. Dampened a bit by a handful of injuries, including much-anticipated acquisition Eduardo Rodriguez, they still managed to burst onto the scene to begin the regular season.

Just a mere four days before April began, Arizona's opening series against the Colorado Rockies appeared to be a sign of the team's potential.

On Opening Day, the D-backs set a plethora of franchise records, banging out 13 hits for 14 runs in the third inning of game one, on their way to a 16-1 victory. A 3-1 series win, and Arizona was on their way to the meat of the 2024 season.

But April itself turned out to be a letdown from the explosiveness of opening week.

The D-backs found themselves facing a gauntlet early in the season, as the Yankees came to town to open the month. Although Zac Gallen delivered a six-inning shutout in game two, the D-backs found themselves on the losing end of a bizarre series with New York, culminating in one of the strangest games of the year.

The final game went into extra innings tied at two apiece. After the Yankees scored two in the top of the 10th, Arizona responded with two of their own. But a baserunning injury to Geraldo Perdomo, and multiple pinch-hitters necessitated relief pitcher Scott McGough taking the final at-bat of the game (and the first of his career), down 6-5 in the 11th inning.

McGough was rung up on a couple of unconvincing strikes, and the tying run was stranded, as the D-backs began an early slump.

The D-backs went on to lose five in a row, traveling to Atlanta, where they were walked off in game one, before blowing an early 6-0 lead in game two. They were swept by the Braves, and dropped the first of a three-game set in Colorado.

From there began a middling effort, as the D-backs swung back and forth between wins and losses. They took back-to-back series against the Rockies and Cardinals, before losing four of their next six at the hands of the Cubs and Giants. A Randal Grichuk walk-off double in extra innings prevented a sweep by Chicago.

But it didn't look much better from that point forward. The D-backs did pound out 17 runs in a blowout win over San Francisco in lefty acquisition Jordan Montgomery's first start, but the elation was relatively short-lived, as the D-backs lost four of their final six, and finished the month with a meager 14-17 record.

The final game of the month was the infamous "Bee Game" against the Los Angeles Dodgers. After the game was delayed by a swarm of bees behind home plate, the D-backs scratched Jordan Montgomery and went with a bullpen game. Christian Walker delivered a walk-off home run in extra innings, ending April on a high note.

Injuries

It was a brutal month for injuries, as the D-backs quickly became short-staffed from the onset.

Alek Thomas suffered a hamstring strain on March 31. This would keep him out until July, as he suffered multiple setbacks. Geraldo Perdomo had surgery on his meniscus, and was out until early June. In his place, unlikely hero Kevin Newman stepped up in a utility infield role.

RHPs Luis Frias and Miguel Castro were both sidelined with shoulder inflammation, LHP Kyle Nelson went down for Thoracic Outlet Surgery, and RHP Ryne Nelson was struck in the elbow with a comebacker, though he only spent the minimum time on the IL.

But none were quite so impactful as the injury to veteran starter Merrill Kelly. Kelly made four excellent starts to open the season, pitching to a 2-0 record and a 2.50 ERA, but was placed on the Injured List with a shoulder strain on April 23.

The injury ended up being more severe than anticipated, and Kelly wouldn't make his return to the D-backs' rotation until August. To make matters worse, ace Zac Gallen exited his final start of April early with hamstring tightness, beginning his injury issues for the season.

Player Stories

Corbin Carroll, poised to run back a NL Rookie of the Year campaign, got off to a dismal start. He slashed a measly .193/.292/.246 in April, with just a single home run since Opening Day. Of his 19 base hits, just four of them were for extra bases.

Eugenio Suárez began hot, but very quickly cooled off, hitting just .214 with one home run and 32 strikeouts for the month. He did sprinkle in a few multi-hit games, but looked largely like he was on his way to a disappointing season.

Lourdes Gurriel Jr. had a near-historic opening series. He hit .471 and slugged 1.118 with three homers against Colorado, good for a 1.644 OPS. He cooled off through April, along with many other D-backs bats, however, slashing just .219/.261/.314 for the month.

Ketel Marte began his season with a bang, beginning an MVP-caliber campaign right away. At April's conclusion, Marte was slashing .306/.357/.508 with five home runs and 10 doubles. He struck out just 22 times in 117 plate appearances, and never truly looked back.

Joc Pederson immediately went about vindicating general manager Mike Hazen's DH signing. He sported a massive .436 OBP to go with his .288 average through April.

Jordan Montgomery made his debut on April 19. He tossed six innings of one-run ball, then delivered a seven-inning Quality Start his next time out. For the moment, it appeared as though the D-backs had the version of Montgomery they signed up for.

With Paul Sewald beginning the year on the IL, Kevin Ginkel temporarily took over closing duties. He pitched to a solid 3.27 ERA and went 5-for-7 in save opportunities in April.

Rookie infielder Blaze Alexander made his MLB debut after making the Opening Day Roster. His first major league hit punctuated Arizona's 14-run inning against the Rockies, and he went on to an incredibly successful .315/.413/.574 month with three homers, though his defense at second base was anything but reliable.