D-backs' top Opening Day moments

March 31st, 2021

PHOENIX -- There is something magical about Opening Day in baseball. Everything is fresh and new, and seemingly every team has hope for the season ahead.

Not every Opening Day game, though, is memorable. But in their 23 openers, the D-backs have had their fair share of them.

Here's a look at the Top 5 Opening Days in D-backs history:

1. April 1, 2002: Trophy Game
The most memorable moment of this game occurred during the announcement of the starting lineups. When manager Bob Brenly was introduced, he ran out onto the field holding the 2001 World Series trophy, which brought the sellout crowd to its feet.

Randy Johnson then went out and tossed a shutout, throwing a whopping 130 pitches as the D-backs beat the Padres, 2-0.

2. March 22, 2014: Down Under
The D-backs and Dodgers became the first Major League teams to play a regular-season game in Australia when they kicked off the 2014 season in Sydney.

Wade Miley got the start for the D-backs after scheduled Opening Day starter, Patrick Corbin, sustained a torn elbow ligament in his final spring tuneup. Miley pitched well, but Clayton Kershaw was better as the D-backs fell, 3-1.

3. March 31, 1998: First Opener
As far as the actual game went, it was a bit of a clunker with the D-backs falling, 9-2, to the Rockies. What makes this night so memorable was that it happened.

When Andy Benes delivered the first pitch to Mike Lansing, it was the culmination of years of lobbying by state leaders and the fulfillment of a dream for Arizonans who longed for a team to call their own.

4. April 2, 2017: Torey's Debut
It was the first game for Torey Lovullo as D-backs manager, and Chris Owings made sure it would be a memorable one.

After the Giants scored a run in the top of the ninth to go up, 5-4, the D-backs, down to their final out, tied the game when pinch-hitter Daniel Descalso singled home Jeremy Hazelbaker. After an AJ Pollock single moved Descalso to third, Owings delivered the game-winning single to right.

5. April 3, 2001: Gonzo and R.J.
In Brenly's managerial debut, Johnson threw 133 pitches and struck out 10 over seven innings while Luis Gonzalez delivered what would prove to be the decisive blow -- a two-run homer in the seventh -- in a 3-2 win at Dodger Stadium.

It was a preview of what was to come, as Gonzalez would hit 57 homers and drive in 142 runs while Johnson, that year's National League Cy Young Award winner, would go 21-6 with a 2.49 ERA for the eventual World Series champs.