The sports world in Arizona is buzzing! The following is your weekly recap about what is going on throughout the Valley.
Baseball
After losing 100+ games two seasons ago, the Arizona Diamondbacks are back in the postseason!! They ended the season exceeding everyone’s expectations finishing in second place of the NL West with a 84-78 record. The D-Backs will be playing against the Milwaukee Brewers in the Wildcard round. Arizona won the regular season series 4-2.
Brandon Pfaadt got the start in game one and was 3-9 with a 5.72 ERA and 94 strikeouts in the regular season. The Brewers were the winners of NL Central, ending the season 92-70. Corbin Burnes will get the start for the Brewers here and was 10-8 with a 3.39 ERA.
On Oct. 4, the Diamondbacks beat the Brewers 5-2 to advance against the Dodgers in the Division Series.
Football
Well, the Arizona Cardinals faced the 49ers this past Sunday. The final score was 35-16 with Christian McCaffrey scoring three rushing touchdowns and ended the day with 106 yards. Joshua Dobbs ended with 265 yards and two touchdowns. Rookie Michael Wilson had his first two touchdowns and had a total of 76 yards.
Although the score was 35-16, at one point the game was only a 5 point difference but the defense was unable to get the stops the offense needed to stay in the game.
Notable Injury Updates
Adam Schefter reported on 9/30 that Kyler Murray wasn’t expected to come off the PUP list as he is eligible to this week. He is expected to remain on the list for “weeks” as he is not ready to play. There are three other eligible players to come off the PUP/IR/NFI this week, Myjai Sanders, Dennis Daley, and Garrett Wilson.
The Cardinals play the Bengals this Sunday at home.
Basketball
After a very very eventful off-season, the Phoenix Suns held media day this Monday. Throughout the day, we were able to hear from members of the front office including Mat Ishbia and James Jones where they both described the team as high competitors and possibly the best assembled team in the league.
Since being eliminated from the playoffs by the Nuggets, the Suns have been busy. We will be entering the 2023-2024 season with a new head coach, Frank Vogel, thirteen new players, and only one remaining player from the Finals run, Devin Booker.
Although there have been so many changes on the roster, it feels like every player entering training camp is bought in and truly is committed to trying their best to bring a championship to the city. As a lifelong fan of this team, I CANNOT WAIT TO SEE THEM IN ACTION!
The Suns start their Preseason this Sunday against the Detroit Pistons and their former head coach Monty.
