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The 2013 Arizona Diamondbacks have won game one of 162.
The D-backs defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 6-2 at Chase Field last night, in the team’s first game in the post-Justin Upton era.
See also:
– Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers’ “Moneyball” Strategy Isn’t Madness
– Arizona Diamondbacks Opening Day at Chase Field (slideshow)
The Cardinals got on the board first, as Matt Holliday’s double of the D-backs’ Ian Kennedy scored one run in the first inning.
The Diamondbacks would respond with a series of hits against Adam Wainwright in the fourth. Miguel Montero and Paul Goldschmidt singled, and Jason Kubel doubled, scoring one. A.J. Pollock — filling in for injured outfielders Adam Eaton and Cody Ross — doubled in the next at-bat, scoring two more.
Martin Prado got his first hit as a member of the Diamondbacks in his third at-bat, in the fifth inning, and ended up scoring a run as he dove into home head-first on a throwing error, as Aaron Hill tried to run out a ground ball.
The Diamondbacks fifth and sixth runs came in the seventh inning, as Prado drove in a run with a double, and Montero got an RBI with a sacrifice fly.
The Cardinals’ second run also came off Kennedy, who was dominant, for the most part — he struck out eight and walked just one, while allowing five hits and two runs through seven innings.
Daniel Hernandez and Brad Ziegler came out of the bullpen for the D-backs in the eighth and ninth innings, respectively, to keep the 6-2 score final.
Meanwhile, in Atlanta, Justin Upton went 1-for-4 with a solo homer in his winning debut with the Braves. Erstwhile D-backs third-baseman Chris Johnson hit a single and double for the Braves in his debut.
