Record: 40-41. Pace: 80-82. Change on 2014: +7.
It's never good to lose players for extended periods, and last season, the Diamondbacks seems to be positively snake-bit in this area: not just Tommy John procedures, of course, but also the broken hands suffered by A.J. Pollock and Paul Goldschmidt. If there's anything good to come out of such lengthy absences, it's that when the players concerned return, it becomes a memorable moment, rather than - as tonight - a mid-season game between two teams, both below .500. I don't think anything will ever quite match the raw emotion of Daniel Hudson's return after two TJ surgeries, this game, on Independence Day, with a crowd of over 42,000 at Chase, must come close.