(Photo courtesy of AP Photo/Matt York)

The Arizona Diamondbacks weren’t the most exciting team to watch this year. With the team breaking a record for most consecutive road losses only two and a half months into their season, most fans tuned out the Diamondbacks from the start of summer. While the Diamondbacks won’t be heading into the postseason, there are still a few strong moments the team had in the 2021 season.

Here are the Diamondbacks top five moments of the 2021 season.

5. First win of the season

On April 4, Arizona chalked up its first win of the season against the San Diego Padres on the road. This moment was significant because the Padres were touted as the team to beat in the National League West this season, and the Diamondbacks did not have home field advantage for their opening series.

The Diamondbacks have a history of beating the Padres at Chase Field. In fact, before April 28 of this year, the Padres hadn’t won at Chase Field in over two years. So it wouldn’t have been a surprise if, even though the Padres were the talk of the MLB this season, the Diamondbacks had conquered them at Chase Field. The fact that the Diamondbacks attained their win in San Diego made it all the more noteworthy.

Arizona had a lead over San Diego the entire game, and the Padres didn’t score until the bottom of the ninth – a home run from Fernando Tatis Jr. The Diamondbacks won 3-1. 

4. Grand slam and seven-run second inning on Jackie Robinson Day

In arguably one of the most exciting first two innings the Diamondbacks have ever played, the team scored 10 runs against the Washington Nationals on April 15 – also known as Jackie Robinson Day. What started as two home runs in the first inning turned into three runs and a grand slam in just the second inning of the game. 

In the top of the first, Carson Kelly and Eduardo Escobar hit back-to-back home runs; at the time, it was Escobar’s fifth home run in his last seven games. The score at the end of the first inning was 4-3 Nationals.

This is where Arizona really started to heat up. After a few Nationals errors that allowed the Diamondbacks to score three runs, Andrew Young walked up to the plate. He hammered the 1-2 offering from former Diamondback Patrick Corbin into the right field bullpen for a grand slam, making the score 10-4 Diamondbacks.

They ended up with an 11-6 win over the Nationals, but no one could forget the excitement of those first two innings.

3. Two seven-inning shutouts including an unofficial no-hitter against Atlanta

On April 25, the Diamondbacks and the Atlanta Braves faced off in a doubleheader. Since 2020, doubleheaders have been shortened to two seven-inning games. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the official statistician for the MLB, no-hitters wouldn’t count during a doubleheaders because the game doesn’t last a full nine-innings.

That became a topic of controversy against the Braves.

During the first game of the double header, right-hander Zac Gallen tossed a complete game one-hitter. Hours after Gallen’s shutout, Madison Bumgarner twirled his infamous unofficial no-no to cap off 14 consecutive scoreless innings against Atlanta. 

While Bumgarner’s gem won’t go down in the record books, it still is a shining moment for the Diamondbacks this season.

2. Bumgarner breaks a lowest WHIP record

After an impressive first month for the Diamondbacks, things started to calm down in May, but for Bumgarner, the month was a successful one. Around the middle of the month, Bumgarner broke a record previously held by Pete Alexander in 1915 for the lowest Walk and Hits Per Inning Pitched (WHIP) by an NL pitcher over a five-start span in a season. He had a 0.47 WHIP over those five starts.

During that stretch, Bumgarner pitched a total of 30 innings, recording 34 strikeouts and two walks. Arizona fans were ecstatic to see Bumgarner pitching in vintage form like he did during his days with the San Francisco Giants. Since moving to Arizona, some fans have been disappointed with his performance. This WHIP record showed that he is not going anywhere anytime soon.

1. Tyler Gilbert’s no-hitter

After months of disappointment for the Diamondbacks, LHP Tyler Gilbert gave fans something to cheer for. 

In his first start in the Major Leagues on August 12, Gilbert tossed the first no-hitter in Chase Field history against the Padres. Gilbert just a year ago was working as an electrician to make ends meet following the cancelation of the Minor League season.

He is just the fourth player in history to throw a no-hitter in his first career start, with the most recent pitcher being Bobo Holloman in 1953, almost 70 years ago.

The Diamondbacks might have concluded one of their worst seasons in franchise history. Nevertheless, the team had some historic moments in 2021 that fans can take some time to cherish before next season comes around.

Contact the reporter at mrcole6@asu.edu.