The Arizona D-Backs are off to a good start to the 2010 season. They are 4-2 on the season as they have outscored the competition 41-25 so far. They have done that by whacking 12 homers already this season. They start a three game series in L.A. against the Dodgers tomorrow and they then travel to San Diego for the weekend. It will be interesting to see how well the D-Backs do against their N.L. West rivals this week.

The Diamondbacks are off to a 3-1 start this season as they have outscored their opponents 23-13 so far. The D-Backs are hitting .284 (.813 OPS) with 7 homers already this season as they are thumping the baseball. They are also pitching well as they have a 3.25 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP as a staff. The Diamondbacks are pitching so well because they are throwing strikes. D-Backs’ pitchers have only walked 6 batters while whiffing 35 in only 36 innings pitched showing what kind of stuff they have as a unit.

The Diamondbacks are sitting at 89-70 on the season which gives them a 1-game lead on the Padres for the N.L. West.  They also lead the Rockies by only 2 games and they open a 3-game set in Colorado tonight against a Rockies team that has won 11 games in a row!  Eric Byrnes should get a lot of MVP votes in the National League with the way he has played this season.  In 158 games, Byrnes is 178 for 619 (.288 avg, .817 OPS) with 103 runs scored, 21 homers, 83 RBIs and 49 stolen bases.  No one is more valuable to their team than Byrnes has been for the Diamondbacks.

The Arizona Diamondbacks are sitting in first place in the National League West with a 85-67 record, 1 game ahead of the Padres.  The Diamondbacks must keep playing well as the Phillies have gotten hot and they are only 2.5 games behind the Diamondbacks if the Padres overtake them in the division.  A big reason for the success of the Diamondbacks this season has been the pitching of closer Jose Valverde who has saved 45 of the Diamondbacks 85 victories (52.9%).  Valverde has worked in 62 games this season for the D-Backs and he is 1-4 with 45 saves, a 2.79 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP.  He has thrown 61.1 innings this season and he has allowed only 44 hits, walked 24 batters and whiffed 73.  The Diamondbacks knew that they would have a good starting rotation this season but Valverde and the rest of the bullpen has been a major surprise as they have saved a lot of close games because the D-Backs don’t score a lot of runs.

The Arizona Diamondbacks have won 7 of their last 10 games as they now sit on top of the National League West with an impressive record of 82-64.  That has them not only 2.5 games up on the Padres in the division but also 5 games up on the Phillies for the Wild Card.  The D-Backs must stay focused the last couple of weeks to get into the playoffs.