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D-backs not stressing slow start

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Jon Garland allowed just one run over his first six frames Friday. (Paul Connors/AP)

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By Steve Gilbert / MLB.com

04/15/09 3:45 AM ET

PHOENIX -- Clearly the D-backs want to play better, and they are less than pleased with the way 2009 has started for them.

But they are also realistic about just how early it is in the season, and they know all too well that how you start a season is not always how you finish it.

"What did a 20-8 start get us last year?" catcher Chris Snyder asked.

The answer was a big lead in the National League West standings, but one that had evaporated by the time the season ended, as the D-backs finished two games behind the surging Dodgers.

Again, it's not that the D-backs think starting slowly is better, it's just that they know it's a long season and they plan on playing all six months this time around.

Offense, or rather a lack of it, has been the biggest issue in the early going.

"We're only a week into the season and I doubt if the standings right now are going to be what they are when the season is over," outfielder Chris Young said. "Right now, it's still up for grabs. At the same time we have to find a way. We need to go ahead and step it up as much as possible and put some runs on the board."

That would certainly be a welcome sight for starter Jon Garland. The right-hander made a good first impression on his teammates when he beat the Dodgers his last time out. Garland, who was signed as a free agent this winter, allowed three runs on five hits over seven innings in that game.

"In Spring Training, he was probably the one guy that was working on stuff more than anyone else," D-backs manager Bob Melvin said of Garland, who added a cut fastball and worked at incorporating his changeup more. "All of a sudden, once the bell rang, you saw the ball jump out of his hand better, pounding the bottom of the zone. That's what veteran guys with track records do."

The D-backs showed some positive signs of breaking out of their offensive malaise in a thrilling 7-6 win in 10 innings against the Cardinals on Tuesday. Arizona got big hits from Justin Upton and Eric Byrnes, two players who had struggled at the plate to that point.

"Hopefully that's good for both of them going forward," Melvin said.

Pitching matchup
ARI: RHP Jon Garland (1-0, 3.86 ERA)
Garland won his first regular-season game in a D-backs uniform last Friday when he held the Dodgers to three runs on five hits over seven innings. The right-hander had allowed just one run over 6 1/3 innings before giving up a two-run homer to Casey Blake in the seventh on a sinker that stayed up a little more than he would have liked. Garland also drew a key walk during a five-run third-inning rally.

STL: RHP Joel Pineiro (1-0, 2.70 ERA)
One down, 30 or so to go, but in the early going Pineiro looks very good. He pitched a fine game in his season debut on Friday night against Houston. However, he's often pitched very well at Busch Stadium. Now he'll have to do it on the road, at a tough park for pitchers, in Phoenix. Still, Pineiro has been excellent since the start of Spring Training, and he and the Cards are confident that he can enjoy a better year in 2009 than he posted in '08.

Tidbits
Shortstop Stephen Drew has 79 extra-base hits since the start of the 2008 season, the most in the Majors by a shortstop. ... Tony Clark has homered from both sides of the plate in the same game on 10 occasions, one shy of the Major League record held by Eddie Murray and Chili Davis. ... "We're trying to win ballgames, it's not about me," Upton said when asked about his struggles at the plate. "I'm grinding in the cage every day working on what I need to work on and just going out and playing. It's one of those things where you can't be too frustrated about it. It's early in the season and playing baseball, you're going to have your time where you struggle." ... Conor Jackson's pinch-hit homer Tuesday night was the third of his career.

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Up next
• Wednesday: Off-day
• Friday: Diamondbacks (Dan Haren, 0-2, 2.08) at Giants (Jonathan Sanchez, 0-1, 9.64), 7:15 p.m. MST
• Saturday: Diamondbacks (Doug Davis, 0-2, 4.15) at Giants (Tim Lincecum, 0-1, 7.56), 1:05 p.m. MST

Steve Gilbert is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.