May 2nd, 2013 at 9:16 AM
By Andrew KimbroughPHOENIX — The Arizona Diamondbacks bullpen blew another late lead to the San Francisco Giants in a losing effort. The Dbacks offense showed up Wednesday night, and Arizona carried a two run lead into the eighth inning.
Fastballer David Hernandez got the call in the inning to spell Matt Reynolds, who pitched a perfect inning one frame prior. Hernandez walked two Giants hitters, including seventh place hitter, Gregor Blanco, who saw three no-brainer balls before Hernandez even challenged the strike zone, putting the relatively weak bat on base for free. Left handed hitter Brandon Belt then strode to the plate with two on and two outs. Belt has crushed the Diamondbacks in the season so far, to the tune of three home runs and nine RBI's. Belt was given a weak slider over the middle of the plate that he dispatched into the right field seats for a three run home run to give the Giants a one run lead.
Kirk Gibson gave Heath Bell the ball in the top of the ninth to try and hold the San Francisco lead to one. Bell walked two batters in the inning and gave up a long double to Pablo Sandoval that scored a run and was followed up by a Buster Posey sac fly. Bell was pulled after recording only two outs and Tony Sipp came on and quickly recorded the final out.
Read more... Join the Conversation... April 25th, 2013 at 10:47 AM
By Andrew KimbroughSAN FRANCISCO — Wednesday afternoon's rubber game between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the San Francisco Giants followed the script of the first two games. The starting pitchers in this game, however were nothing short of sensational for both sides. Ian Kennedy threw six shutout innings before finally being touched in the bottom of the seventh for the game's first run when Brandon Crawford drove in Gregor Blanco. Madison Bumgarner pitched 7 1/3 innings allowing only one run in the top of the eighth to AJ Pollock that tied the game. Brad Ziegler, who has been pitching very effectively this year, and Heath Bell combined to relieve Kennedy for two innings and allowed no runs. Giant reliever Jose Mijares gave up a go ahead run when Gerardo Parra singled in newcomer Didi Gregorius who doubled off of Mijares.
Read more... Join the Conversation... April 24th, 2013 at 7:56 AM
By Andrew KimbroughSAN FRANCISCO — On a chilly night on the bay the Arizona Diamondbacks came out to push Matt Cain farther, as the San Francisco Giants starter has struggled heavily out of the gates in 2013.
By the time the third inning came to an end the Dbacks had a 4-0 lead on the Giants, led by an RBI double by Paul Goldschmidt in the first and a two run home run by Goldy in the third.
Patrick Corbin was incredible again, not allowing a hit until Angel Pagan put a double down the line in the bottom of the fourth inning. Corbin collected seven strikeouts in 7 1/3 innings before turning the game over to the bullpen. David Hernandez finished the eighth to get the hold and JJ Putz came on in the bottom of the ninth following a blown save in his last outing. Putz finished the inning, but not before surrendering a game-tying two run home run to Brandon Belt, accounting for his second blown save in a row.
Read more... Join the Conversation... April 17th, 2013 at 9:26 AM
By Andrew KimbroughNEW YORK — Though not a first time interleague series between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the New York Yankees, the notion of playing in Yankee Stadium in April is a new concept. The Dbacks flew into New York on their off day Monday and took on the Yankees for their first interleague series this season on Tuesday. Despite both teams struggling to put together any offense, neither starting pitcher lasted past the fifth inning.
With 20 total hits in the game, six runs is nothing to get excited about for either team as the Diamondbacks left 14 runners on base while the Yankees stranded 17 on the bases. Miguel Montero was able to knock in a runner with a sac fly in the third inning, then Cody Ross quickly followed behind him with a single to left for his first hit and RBI as a Diamondback. That was the extent of the Arizona offense. AJ Pollock did continue his hot hitting with a pair of doubles each off of Yankee starter Ivan Nova.
Read more... Join the Conversation... April 14th, 2013 at 8:22 PM
By Andrew KimbroughPHOENIX — An out and out pitcher's duel took place Sunday afternoon at Chase Field as the Arizona Diamondbacks score a ninth inning run to take the game and the series against rival Los Angeles Dodgers. Josh Beckett threw the entire game, giving the Dodgers bullpen a day off, but came out on the losing end when Paul Goldschmidt drove in the winning run with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning.
Beckett pitched an impressive game, showing command on all of his pitches and striking out nine in 8 1/3 innings. He issued one walk and six hits. Trevor Cahill was equally impressive, though was not allowed as long of a leash as Beckett which proved to be the smart move on manager Kirk Gibson's part. Cahill pitched 7 1/3 innings and gave up six hits in that time. His strikeout pitch was down from previous performances, where he averaged more than a strikeout per inning, though he did fan four Dodger hitters on the day. After a rocky two starts, Cahill rebounded well against the Dodgers in an important early season game. Cahill trimmed his season ERA down to 3.50, a number that is closer to what Diamondback fans can expect from the young hurler.
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