D-backs blow one in ninth - brutal loss

Another should have won game for the D-backs today, as they blow one in the ninth against the Marlins. Brandon Lyon gave up a game-tying dinger to Hanley Ramirez and then the game ending single to Jorge Cantu. So, that's a loss and a blown save for Lyon.

But, my question is, why on earth did they pitch to Cantu in the first place. With a runner on second (Jeremy Hermida), and one out, they should have just walked Cantu to set up a potential double play ball to Josh Willingham coming up next. There is absolutely no reason at all to be pitching to Cantu in that situation. So, I blame Bob Melvin for that one, not Lyon.

It's too bad, because Dan Haren pitched a terrific game. He went seven full innings and did not give up and earned run, lowering his season ERA to 2.85.

This game was in the D-backs lap all afternoon, and to not come away with a win was brutal. Very similar to the game Chad Qualls blew in Boston last week. Now it's a long flight back to Zona, then four games with the Brewers - who have historically played very well at Chase Field. That is going to be one helluva long flight back for these guys.

Very nice Webb win over Fish

As I pleaded with the D-backs yesterday about turning back their mental clocks to April and start hitting again, they did just that in the sixth inning last night and pounded out five runs in that inning to easily beat the Marlins 6-2.

Brandon Webb was back to old self thank goodness, and it was very sweet to see. He went six innings, and gave up just two runs on five hits. He also had eight strikeouts and three walks. The Cruz/Pena/Lyon combo then came in and shut the door.

Chris Young and Mark Reynolds both had big nights at the plate. Reynolds went 2-for-4 (two doubles) with two steaks, and Young was 2-for-4 (double and a triple) with three RBIs. Another collar from Eric Byrnes with two strikeouts, lowering his average to an embarrassing .205. Something needs to happen with Byrnes. He's either hurt and shouldn't be playing (Alex Romero we need you), or he's been spending too much time on his TV show and not enough time just having fun and playing baseball. We need ya Byrnesie....snap out of it already.

That sixth inning reminded me exactly of how the D-backs would put together a large crooked number back in April. Greg Schulte also made reference to that during the radio broadcast. This game keeps Arizona one game over .500, and maintains their 2.5 game lead over the Dodgers.

Dan Haren goes this morning (10:10 AM local time) in the rubber game of the series. Maybe that sixth inning will propel the D-backs to some more consistency at the plate. Not counting on it....but one of these days it will come around.

Dismal offense once again dooms D-backs

So, if you were to say that the D-backs pitching would only give up four hits to the Florida Marlins, it's a safe bet that you could chalk a W up for them. But, this is the Arizona Diamondbacks. They did in fact give up only four hits, but with those four hits came three runs which were two more than the D-backs could muster up.

Micah Owings gave up all of the hits and runs in his four innings of work, but was pulled after suffering a tightened quad after covering on a play to first in the fourth.

"I was trying to compensate a little bit [after the injury]," Owings said. "I really like to fight through that."

As for Marlins started Ricky Nolasco, here's what O-dog had to say about him after the game:

"[Nolasco] threw a great game," said Hudson, who fouled a pitch off his foot in the eighth inning but played the rest of the way and was OK after the game. "He mixed in his cutter -- we've never seen the cutter from him -- threw a lot of curves, had control over it.

"He did a heck of a job today. He was on his 'A' game tonight. We had our hands full."

Hmm...another "Cy Young candidate" beats the D-backs. It's always that the other guy just had terrific stuff that night it seems. Eric Byrnes is still struggling mightily at the dish. He was 1-for-4 with two punchouts.

Come on guys...let's turn back your mental clocks to April, and start mashing again. And let's start that tonight against the Fish.

Back from vacation

OK, back from vacation now finally. It was a great time spent back east with family - now I'll be getting back to more normal business here - more to come.

As for the team while I was gone...let's just say it's a good thing that Orlando Hudson and Conor Jackson wear Arizona uniforms. I've never seen a team with more starting players hitting .230 and .240 in my life...and still in first place!! They are 26th in the majors in average at .245. There is no way this team is going anywhere hitting those kinds of numbers. Something has to give here.

Nice opening series win over Sox

Short Hops

Disclosure: Before the D-backs came into existence, I grew up a Red Sox fan :-)

Dan Haren pitched like a monster last night....seven shutout innings....to help right the ship and beat the Red Sox 2-1. The D-backs really needed this one and Haren delivered (watch the video).

Let's hope Doug Davis can semi repeat Haren's performance tonight and keep this mother going.

Tough night for Unit against Twins

If you take away the third inning tonight against the Twins, Randy Johnson pitched a pretty nice game. But, six runs in that inning killed any chances the D-backs had in winning this one, as they fall 7-2.

Once again the offense was not up to snuff, with the lone exceptions of Mark Reynolds who had a solo shot and two RBIs, and O-dog who went 3-for-4. Other than that.....zippo. How the D-backs still have a four game lead in the NL West is beyond comprehension. But, as a fan, I'm ecstatic that they've been able to pull off the smoke and mirrors.

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Also, I see that Max Scherzer just got put on the shelf (seven-day minor league DL) with shoulder fatigue. Please A.J. Hinch, take care of this boy and give him all the rest he needs!

Webb and D-backs shelled by A's

Brandon Webb looked like he was throwing BP last night to the Oakland A's. They were hitting him in every way possible in route to their 15-1 slamming of the D-backs at Chase Field.

So, what happened out there? Webb gave up seven earned runs on nine hits in 3 1/3 innings...are you kiddng me? Conor Jackson summed it up quite nicely:

"They were stroking the ball around," left fielder Conor Jackson said. "There was nothing we could really do about it. They were hitting everything we were throwing up there."

So, that's two straight bad outings now for Webby. Arm getting tired? Not as much movement on the sinker? They would seem to be likely candidates, but both Chris Snyder and Bob Melvin quickly dismissed.

"He was where he was in April and early May," Snyder said of Webb, who won his first nine starts of the year through May 15. "The velocity was back, the stuff was there. It was just one of those nights when you have that good of stuff [that] something like that shouldn't happen."

"Oddly enough, tonight he felt great," D-backs manager Bob Melvin said. "His velocity was back up. He may have had a little trouble harnessing the movement on his sinker at times, but it's one of those weird games."

No word from Webb after the game as he ditched the media before they could get to him.

Hmm...tipping pitches maybe?? Nick Piecoro from the Arizona Republic recently talked about Webb not having the same kind of movement on his pitches in the Mets series. Basically that he may have a bit of a "dead arm" right now. Could be the case. Maybe skipping a start or a couple of days more rest will get him back. Although would be better I guess if he were simply tipping pitches....but a tired arm seems more probable.

As for the D-backs offense....I won't even go there....let's hope Dan Haren can get some extra adrenalin tonight and smoke his former mates.

Diamondbacks brutal against KC

I didn't have much of a chance to watch the D-backs blow up this past weekend, and it's a good thing I didn't. Wow....I had unwittingly said earlier what better interleague series to have at home than against the Royals....brutal...absolutely brutal.

Yesterday's box score looks like a 12-year old Little League team taking on my son's t-ball squad. C'mon guys...managed to scratch out five hits and 12 punchouts? While the Royals pounded 14 hits for their eight runs...and they left a whopping 27 guys on base...#%^#@@#%!!

And the sad part is that the D-backs have a 5 1/2 game after all of that. The NL West is undoubtedly the NL Worst.

Once again, it's up to Brandon Webb to put the team on his shoulders tomorrow when they take on the A's.

Back to crappy interleague for D-backs against KC

Quick post from Buffalo....

Well...it's that time again...time for our favorite interleague action...and who better to kick it off than the Kansas City Royals. I did not realize that KC still had a franchise. But, what better team to have at home for a three-game series than them. Said Bo Mel:

"We're looking forward to Interleague Play again," said Melvin. "This is a team we don't know a whole lot about. We saw them in Spring Training some. Not a roster that is conducive to having history with. They've had spurts this year where they've been a very good club, and they've got some good young pitching."

They're currently in last place in the AL Central (26-41)...so now would be a great time for the D-backs to hammer them for a clean sweep and get the winning ball rolling again. BTW - very nice to get 2 of 3 from the Mets - I was able to see parts of the games here on the Mets TV broadcast...

Go Doug Davis tonight...

Out of town for a couple of weeks

Off for the next couple of weeks to go back east to see family :-) Should be fun....Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Toronto... Planning on taking in the Baseball Hall of Fame while there.

I'll be on and off the grid with sporadic updates...see ya soon!

Snyder goes yard in ninth for D-backs win

Chris Snyder smacked a solo shot (watch it here) in the top of the ninth off of John Grabow to break a 3-3 tie as the Diamondacks win it 4-3 in Pittsburgh. Snyder said afterward:

"I had to put a little bit more into that one than I did the first one," Snyder added. "It was a changeup out and over the plate. I'm trying to hit the ball hard and get on base."

That's a two-game winning streak...woohoo!

Once again Dan Haren had a very nice outing, but nothing to show for it in the W column. He went seven innings and gave up three runs on five hits. He also punched out six and only walked one.

"I've had really good stuff the last couple of starts, but today I really didn't have much," Haren said. "[I] got an early lead, which was really nice. I just tried to battle and they fought back. It's a tough team and a tough team to beat at home -- they play really well at this ballpark. I was fighting to keep us there and it's a really nice team win."

Nice to see Conor Jackson back in the starting lineup yesterday. He ended up going 1-for-4 with an RBI single in the top of the first. That was the first of three runs that Arizona spotted Haren in the first. Then a long drought until Snyder's homer in the ninth.

Doug Davis on the bump today at 10:35 AM local time to try to sweep this thing. Speaking of Davis, you've probably seen the TV commercials for his "49 Fund" to fight cancer. There's a link online for you to donate as well....

Once again Webb saves the day

Brandon Webb certainly knows how to get the D-backs back on track when needed. He quickly put the 3-game sweep by the Brewers behind them and threw an absolute game out there tonight, as the D-backs went on to win it 3-1 over the Pirates in Pittsburgh.

Webb went seven full innings and only gave up the one run on three hits, and he moved his record to 11-2 on the season. He actually had a no-no going through 4 2/3. This guy is money, money, money...

Thankfully the D-backs didn't need much offense, but three runs on six hits was plenty tonight. One of those runs was driven in by Webby. Orlando Hudson (1-for-2) and Chad Tracy (1-for-3) knocked in the other two runs.

Tomorrow it's Danny Haren taking on Tom Gorzelanny in another 4:05 PM start. I think Haren will blow them away tomorrow and make it two in a row.

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Eric Byrnes is now doing some agility drills in making his comeback from his hammy issues.

"At some point during this [Pittsburgh] series I may run," Byrnes said. "We did some agility work today and I moved around a little bit. It's the most movement that I've done in a couple weeks. It will be nice to finally start running again and hopefully run pain-free."

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Looks like Conor Jackson is a go to start tomorrow....sweet....

D-backs swept by the Brew Crew

The Brewers are on fire right now...playing about the way the D-backs played back in April. They swept the three-game series today by pummeling Arizona 10-1.

Micah Owings got the nod today on the hill, and it was not pretty. The Brewers were dialed into him big-time. Wonder if he was tipping pitches or something because he was drilled unlike anytime previously this season. He ended up going only three innings, and giving up five runs (four earned) on eight hits. Owings now falls to 6-4 on the year.

But then Edgar Gonzalez came in the game (he was introduced on the PA system as Juan Gonzalez :-) ), and his line looked just as bad as Owings' did. He went the same three innings and gave up five earned runs on six hits. That fine performance was topped off by an inside-the-park dinger by Corey Hart....

Another three errors today for the D-backs...their defensive was horrendous in this series...that will not get the job done. Another anemic day for the offense as well. Six total hits, and half of those came from Chris Burke. It's nice to see Burke getting some playing time now with Conor Jackson and Eric Byrnes out. He is starting to get it cranked up, and unfortunately for him, he'll be back to spot starting again soon.

So, as bad as the all-around game was today, Bob Melvin didn't sound terribly displeased about it.

"You've just got to keep moving on, keep grinding, keep playing," D-backs manager Bob Melvin said. "That's all we can do. It's not our best period right now, but the only way to get out of it is to keep playing and keep playing as hard as you can."

It's quite fortunate for the D-backs that the Dodgers are imploding as well right now. Both teams are 2-8 in their last ten. In fact, both the D-backs and Brewers are both 32-28 right now, and the D-backs are up by 3 1/2 in the West, and the Brewers are 6 1/2 back in the Central.

Thank goodness there's an off day tomorrow. Then it's off to Pittsburgh for a four-game series, followed by three games at Shea against the Mets. They better get it together or they'll be coming home out of first place.

Costly errors kill D-backs chance at win

Doug Davis pitched his typically solid outing last night, and really deserved to get a win, but it was not meant to be. Costly errors in the seventh and a homer in the eighth did the D-backs in as they lost 4-3 to the Brew Crew.

With the score tied at three in the eighth, Doug Slaten was brought in to do one thing: get Prince Fielder out. His night lasted exactly two pitches, the second of which was hammered to center field for the game winner. Slaten knew he made a mistake.

"That's the guy on that team and in that lineup that I'm going to be called on to face," the D-backs' left-handed specialist said of the left-handed-hitting Fielder. "I just threw a meatball up there for him."

A meatball is a good description of it.

But it was really the errors in the previous inning that cost Arizona the game. Chad Qualls throwing wildly to first....and the big two-run castrophic throw by Mark Reynolds to Chris Snyder with the bases loaded.

Not a whole lot to talk about offensively for the Diamondbacks, although Reynolds does continue to swing a hot bat, going 2-for-4, as he slowly raises his average up to .242 now. And Chris Snyder went 2-for-3 with a solo shot (watch it here) in the seventh to add a would be insurance run. After a horrendously slow start to the season for Snyder, he has really picked it up in the last few weeks and is now hitting a respectable .268.

That's now nine losses in the last 11 road games for the D-backs. As our boy Thom used to say...boy oh boy...The D-backs (32-26) lead in the NL West falls to 3 1/2 as the Dodgers won yesterday.

Got the 4-1 Big Unit going tonight. It's obvious he will get at least one strikeout to pass Roger Clemens for second all-time....that will be sweet. I think he'll also pick up career win 289 tonight as well.

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Conor Jackson took batting practice yesterday...very good sign. He most likely won't play again until Arizona takes on the Pirates this weekend while recovering from his quad strain, although Melvin did indicate there was a possibility that he could play against Brewers lefty Manny Parra on Wednesday.

Haren the man in back-to-back wins for D-backs

When this season started, it was the 1-2 punch of Dan Haren and Brandon Webb that everyone looked forward to seeing. Well, last night Haren completed the second half of the back-to-back tandem, and did it in style. He threw seven shutout innings, only giving up four hits on five strikeouts. From Melvin after the game:

"When teams look at us, they look at Webb and Haren," D-backs manager Bob Melvin said. "On those two days, you always want to try and give the bullpen a little bit of a break, knowing that they're going to give you some innings and performances similar to what we've seen these last two nights."

It was as nearly a dominate of performance from Haren as Webb had the previous day. That is something special to watch.

The three-run shot by Orlando Hudson in the first set the tone for the rest of the game, and it seemed obvious at that point the game was in hand. It was nice to see Chad Tracy quickly get his second homer of the year in the third, who went 2-for-4 on the day to raise his young season average to .300.

Justin Upton was out of the lineup with flu-like symptoms...guessing he'll be back tonight, but the long plane flight to Milwaukee may keep him on the bench for another game.

It's nice to see Alex Romero getting some playing time while Byrnesie is out. Romero can really swing it, as I've seen him play while he was down in Tucson with the Sidewinders.

D-backs start their three-game series with the Brew Crew today...time to do some road game damage...

Webby rescues sinking D-backs

Leave it to our boy Brandon Webb to throw the rest of the team a lifeboat and rescue the sinking ship that was the Arizona Diamondbacks. How sweet was that? A complete game shutout against the Nationals last night for his tenth win of the season. And he did it in 1 hour and 52 minutes...are you kidding me??!! Bo Mel was obviously impressed after the game:

"That's what you have guys like that for," said D-backs manager Bob Melvin. "We feel like any particular guy we run out there has got a chance to either stop the streak or at any time win a game for us, but that's our horse. Those guys step up and look forward to being able to step up to the challenge of stopping the losing streak. He was right on time for it."

So thankfully the five game skid has come to an end. The pitching of Webb and the resurgent power from the offense should propel the team to a nice winning streak here. All four D-backs runs came on solo home runs, and all four were off of Nats started Jason Bergmann. Mark Reynolds was on fire with two of the dingers...one in the second and the other in the seventh. Justin Upton, who continues to swing a recent hot bat, hit one and Chris Young added the last one in the eighth.

Speaking of Chris Young, when I look at his number right now, his pace for most stats are ahead or right in line with last year's. Runs (way ahead of pace), RBIs (ahead), and dingers (ahead) all look great. But that average of his, .238, is one point above last year's. I still don't understand why he can't elevate that average. Wait I do....it's his punchouts. He currently has 57 such at-bats...which is ahead of last year's miserable total of 141. I know he's a "home run hitter", but hitting at the top of the order he absolutely has to get on more....He does have a higher OBP (.327) than last year (.295), but it still needs to be higher. Anyway...enough of that rant. Young is an absolutely outstanding player, I just want to see him shorten up a bit in pitcher's counts and boost that average and OBP....

Let's see if the D-backs will continue that momentum today when Dan Haren takes the bump at 1:10 PM local time. The 5-4 Haren has been screwed a few times recently that have made his record look worse than he has pitched. I see him having a big game today to follow up Webb's.