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1998-Present
2001
April 26 Luis Gonzalez hits home runs
No. 12 and 13, tying Ken Griffey, Jr. for the most homers in Major
League history for the month of April.
May 8 Randy Johnson ties the Major
League record for strikeouts in nine innings when he fans 20 Cincinnati
Reds at Bank One Ballpark. Johnson leaves after nine innings with
the score tied 3-3 and the Diamondbacks win in 11 innings, 4-3.
May 29 Diamondbacks outlast the Giants, 1-0, in an 18-inning marathon
at Pacific Bell Park.
June 30 Luis Gonzalez earns his second National League Player of
the Month Award for batting .417 with 12 home runs and 35 RBIs.
He also won the award in April.
July 10 Randy Johnson is the National League's starting pitcher
at the All-Star Game in Seattle. It is the Big Unit's second straight
starting assignment and his eighth trip to the Midsummer Classic.
July 25 For the third straight year, the Diamondbacks make a deal
before the trading deadline, acquiring starting pitcher Albie Lopez
from the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
Aug 23 Randy Johnson becomes the first pitcher in Major League history
to record four consecutive 300-plus strikeout seasons.
Sept 5
Curt Schilling becomes the Diamondbacks' first-ever 20-game winner.
Sept 27 Randy Johnson ties the Major League record for double-digit
strikeout games in a season as he records his 23rd of the campaign.
Oct 5 The Diamondbacks beat the Brewers, 5-0, to clinch at least
a tie for the NL West crown. The Giants fall to the Dodgers later
that night, giving the D-Backs their second division title in three
years.
Oct 14 The Diamondbacks defeat the Cardinals in Game 5 of the National
League Division Series to advance to the NLCS.
Oct 21 The Diamondbacks defeat the Braves in Game 5 of the NLCS
for their first NL pennant and trip to the World Series.
Oct 28 Randy Johnson hurls a three-hit complete game, striking out
11 Yankees as the Diamondbacks win Game 2, 4-0 and take a 2-0 lead
in games heading to New York.
Nov 3 After three dramatic losses in New York, the Diamondbacks
return home and beat the Yankees, 15-2, to set up a decisive Game
7.
Nov 4 Luis Gonzalez's soft single to left field scores Jay Bell
and caps a two-run ninth-inning comeback as the Diamondbacks beat
the Yankees, 3-2, to become the quickest expansion team ever to
win a World Series.
Nov 13 Randy Johnson wins his third straight Cy Young Award, and
and fourth overall. Teammate Curt Schilling finishes second in the
voting.
2000
April Randy Johnson compiles what might have been the best first
month in baseball history, going 6-0 with an 0.91 ERA, three complete
games and a pair of shutouts.
May 2 Tony Womack begins a 24-game hitting streak which would wind
up being tied for the longest in the NL in 2000 (Tony Eusebio).
May 4-13 Diamondbacks set a club record by winning nine consecutive
games.
May 31 Diamondbacks turn the first triple play in club history in
the fifth inning of their game against the St. Louis Cardinals with
Mark McGwire at the plate.
June 26 After hitting 35 home runs in 53 minor league games, Alex
Cabrera makes his big league debut and homers as a pinch-hitter
in the eighth inning. He becomes the 78th player in baseball history
to homer in his first career at bat.
July 5 Luis Gonzalez becomes the first Diamondbacks player to hit
for the cycle when he homers in the ninth inning at Houston.
July 11 Randy Johnson starts for the National League in the All-Star
Game in Atlanta, giving up one hit and striking out one in one inning
of work. Steve Finley enters the game as a defensive replacement
and singles home a run in his lone at bat.
Sept 10 Randy Johnson records the 3,000th strikeout of his career
in Miami.
1999
Feb 25 President Clinton visits the Diamondbacks at their spring
training facilities in Tucson, visiting with players and staff members
before accepting a team uniform jersey with his name and the numeral
1 on the back.
Feb 26 Tony Womack arrives from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange
for minor league outfielder Paul Weichard and a player to be named
later (pitcher Jason Boyd).
Apr 11 Luis Gonzalez cracks a seventh-inning homer off Atlanta's
Greg Maddux, beginning a hitting streak that will last through May
18. Gonzalez is the 37th player in major-league history to reach
the 30-game plateau.
Apr 19 Jay Bell is named National League Player-of-the-Week, becoming
the first Diamondback ever to win the award. Before the season ends,
he will be joined by Matt Williams (twice), Randy Johnson (twice)
and Steve Finley. Williams was also NL Player-of-the-Month for April
and Johnson was Pitcher-of-the-Month for July.
May 12 Matt Williams 2-run, game-winning homer caps a 5-run ninth
as Arizona comes from behind for an 8-6 win over Montreal. It is
the third straight night that the Diamondbacks beat the Expos with
a homer in their final at bat. Jay Bell was the hero on May 10,
with Luis Gonzalez doing the honors on May 11.
June 25 Bank One Ballpark plays host to its first no-hitter as St.
Louis' Jose Jimenez outduels the Diamondbacks' Randy Johnson, 1-0.
The game's only run scores on Thomas Howard's single in the top
of the ninth inning.
July 9 Arizona's bullpen is solidified with the addition of closer
Matt Mantei, acquired from Florida for pitcher Vladimir Nunez, pitcher
Brad Penny and a player to be named later.
July 11 Jay Bell's grand slam in the sixth inning wins $1 million
for fan Gylene Hoyle of Chandler, who predicted the player and the
inning before the game as part of Shamrock Farms Grand Slam Sundae.
As an afterthought, the Diamondbacks beat Oakland, 7-4.
July 13 Third baseman Matt Williams and second baseman Jay Bell
become the first Diamondbacks to start an All-Star Game. Pitcher
Randy Johnson and left fielder Luis Gonzalez also make appearances.
No team could boast more representatives.
July 21 Tony Womack legs out a ninth-inning, inside-the-park grand
slam off relief ace Billy Wagner to give the Diamondbacks a 7-4
victory in Houston. It is the first inside-the-park homer in franchise
history.
Sept 24 Matt Williams scoops up Doug Mirabelli's ground ball and
throws to first base for the final out of an 11-3 victory in San
Francisco that mathematically clinches the National League West
championship for the Diamondbacks. Arizona becomes the first expansion
team to reach the playoffs or win a division title in its second
year of competition.
Sept 26 An estimated 8,000 fans jam the Bank One Ballpark Plaza
to greet the Diamondbacks on their return home from their sweep
of the Giants.
Oct 3 The Diamondbacks notch win No. 100 of the year in the season
finale. Bernard Gilkey and Rod Barajas hit back-to-back home runs
in a 10-3 win over San Diego at Bank One Ballpark.
Oct 5 In the team's first post-season appearance, Arizona drops
an 8-4 decision to the New York Mets. Edgardo Alfonzo's ninth-inning
grand slam, his second homer of the day, makes the difference.
Oct 6 Todd Stottlemyre scatters 4 hits over 6.2 innings to help
the Diamondbacks notch their first post-season win, 7-1, Steve Finley's
two-run single in the third puts Arizona ahead to stay.
Oct 9 Arizona's season ends when Todd Pratt homers in the bottom
of the 10th inning to give New York a 4-3 victory in Game Four of
the NL Division Series.
Nov 11 The Diamondbacks earn their first Gold Glove Award when Steve
Finley is honored as one of the National League's top fielding outfielders.
Nov 16 After leading the major leagues in strikeouts, innings pitched
and complete games, Randy Johnson gives the Arizona franchise its
first major individual trophy by winning his second Cy Young Award.
1998
Jan 10 Single game tickets go on sale for Opening Day on March 31
against the Colorado Rockies. All tickets are gone before lunch.
Feb 13 Pitchers and catchers take the field at Kino Veterans Memorial
Sportspark in Tucson to inaugurate the Diamondbacks' first major-league
spring training.
Feb 27 In the Diamondbacks' first Cactus League exhibition game,
Edwin Diaz hits a ninth-inning sacrifice fly that scores Kelly Stinnett
with the winning run in a 6-5 victory over the Chicago White Sox
at Tucson Electric Park.
Mar 20 Jerry Colangelo and county officials break bottles of sparkling
water over the rotunda railings to highlight the official dedication
ceremony at Bank One Ballpark.
Mar 29 The final exhibition game of the season serves as a trial
run for Bank One Ballpark as 49,198 fans see the White Sox defeat
Arizona, 3-0.
Mar 31 With 50,179 fans overflowing Bank One Ballpark, the Diamondbacks
celebrate the first regular season game in franchise history. Colorado
wins, 9-2, but not before Travis Lee collects Arizona's first hit
(a first-inning single), first homer, first run and first RBI.
Apr 4 Arizona celebrates its first victory, a 3-2 win over San Francisco
that evens Andy Benes' record at 1-1.
July 30 Omar Daal pitches the franchise's first complete-game shutout,
scattering four hits in a 4-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs at Bank
One Ballpark.
Sept 4 A 3-1 win over Houston gives the Diamondbacks their seventh
consecutive victory, equalling the longest winning streak by any
expansion team in history.
Sept 13 Andy Benes comes within two outs of pitching a no-hitter
in a 5-0 win at Cincinnati, highlighting a September in which he
was 3-0 with an 0.47 ERA. Benes ends the season with a string of
27.1 scoreless innings.
Dec 1 Lefthanded pitcher Randy Johnson decides to pitch in his hometown
and agrees to a 4-year contract.
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