Take a closer look at these early season Diamondbacks stats

My Sunday best … In the discussion of taxes, advanced calculus and bathroom scales, numbers are rarely enjoyable. In baseball? Arithmetical values can make us giddy. Yes, we’re only six games into a 162game season. No, that shouldn’t preclude a closer look at statistics from the Diamondbacks’ strong start. Remember, numbers are fun! One of the more intriguing statistics is the team’s 5-1 record vs. its 1-5 mark in quality starts.

For the unfamiliar, a quality start is when a starter pitches at least six innings and allows no more than three earned runs. It was created in the 1980s by longtime sportswriter John Lowe (who is now mentoring students at Arizona State’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication).

If you consider the ERA of Diamondbacks starters last year – 5.19, which ranked 29th out of 30 teams – that’s not surprising. The starters struggled to go deep in games.

This season, only twice have Diamondbacks pitchers hit the six-inning threshold: Taijuan Walker in his debut and Zack Greinke on Saturday. Obviously, not too much should be read into this so early, but it’s worth watching. The good news is the starters’ ERA is an improved 4.17.

So why are the Diamondbacks winning? They are hitting the you-knowwhat out of the ball, most often in mid- to late-game situations. Of the MLB-leading 45 runs they have scored, only one has occurred in the first three innings.

Their .322 average and 42 RBIs are also tops in the league. And although some statistics are impacted by the reality that some teams have played fewer games, this group clearly has its offensive mojo working.

Color me intrigued.

Questions for Fitz

Are you a high school athlete who has wanted to pick Larry Fitzgerald’s brain? Have you wondered who inspired him during his youth? Questioned what Kurt Warner is really like? Thought about his most memorable sports moment?

Now is the time to find out. I’ll be interviewing the Cardinals receiver during the azcentral.com Sports Awards on April 30 and asking some of your questions. Send them to azcentral.com sports on Facebook, azcsports on Twitter or azcsports on Instagram.

The event, at ASU Gammage, will be a fun evening and will honor the most elite athletes in the Arizona high school sports community. Go to sportsawards.azcentral.com for tickets and more information.

You bet

Do you consider yourself an NFL draft guru? Now is the chance to put your money where your expertise is: in Nevada.

For the first time, betting will be allowed on the NFL draft, which is set for April 27-29 in Philadelphia.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that the Nevada Gaming Control granted approval Thursday to offer prop bets.

Fans won’t be able to wager on who will be the first player selected, according to the newspaper, but can on the “total number of quarterbacks drafted in the first round, whether there will be more offensive players than defensive players drafted in the first round, and the over/ under of the draft position for the first kicker taken, to name a few.”

Ottawa additions

Ottawa University, the Surprise school that announced recently it was adding intercollegiate athletics, has hired its men’s basketball coach for its debut 2017-18 season.

Matt Keely comes from MidAmerica Nazarene University in Olathe, Kansas, where he was an associate head coach. He plans to recruit “local student-athletes that have energy to launch a new program,” he said in a release.

Ottawa will compete in the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).

Tweet of the day

“Actress Olivia Munn and boyfriend break up, according to reports trib.in/2oa81pn” – The Chicago Tribune, on the split of a power couple, which is funny because it didn’t name her former partner, Aaron Rodgers, the quarterback of the Bears’ NFC North rival Packers. It’s also amusing because the Tribune took heat in 2016 for a tweet that said, “Wife of a Bears lineman wins a bronze medal today in Rio Olympics” but didn’t name the Olympian, Corey Cogdell.

Quote of the Day

“Playing golf is hard. Writing articles is easy.” – Hey! … Two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson, to reporters, after missing the cut at Augusta.

Stat of the day 4.

The number of consecutive World Championships the U.S. women’s hockey team has after beating Canada in overtime Friday.