I’ve decided on losing nights – especially in the middle of a 5 game losing streak – I’m going to do 3 things. Because, baseball is supposed to be fun, and dwelling on the negative doesn’t make baseball very much fun at all. So, here we go. On losing nights, I’m going to:

1. Limit the number of negative things I say to 3 or less.
• The team was 0-for4 with runners in scoring position.
• Team batting line: 2 runs on 5 hits; 1 walk and 13 strikeouts (including 6 consecutive to end the game)
• Essentially, the offense is still lacking an identity at the moment.
2. Come up with at least 5 positive things to say.
• Miguel Montero caught Michael Bourne stealing – raising his caught stealing percentage to 44% on the young season.
• Even though he got saddled with the loss today, Joe Saunders pitched a very solid game once he settled down. It was a quality start: 7.0 innings, 6H, 3R(2ER), 1BB and 5K. Four of his 6 hits and his only walk came in the first 2 innings. Unfortunately, the three runs that crossed the plate in the first three innings turned out to be an insurmountable challenge. He’s now 1-1 on the season with a 1.29 ERA on the season and  Diamondbacks fans should be very happy that he took a hometown discount to play for the Diamondbacks in 2012.
• David Hernandez: 3 batters face, 3 strikeouts. He was dazzling.
• Justin Upton was back in the lineup and he looked good. He went 1-for-4 and we hope that he still feels okay tomorrow morning.
• Jason Kubel has definitely started looking more comfortable at the plate. In the last 7 days, he’s hitting .313, with 3BB, 6H (a 2B and a HR), and 3RBI. Welcome to Arizona, Mr. Kubel.
3. Post a link to a randomly chosen youtube video. Tonight, we are going to listen to Jerry Seinfeld discuss SCUBA diving.

Score: 3-2, Diamondbacks lose (more one run games!); Record 7-8.

Conclusion: The rough patch continues. Hopefully the boys get off the skid soon. The season’s still very young and there’s a lot of time left, but baseball is more fun when there’s winning.

I am accepting any and all suggestions for future youtube videos to post during future loss posts. Hit me up here in the comments or via twitter (@mlbfangirl).

And, in case you missed it earlier, there’s a poll in the sidebar. Click HERE to read the post and cast your vote!

Your game recap, game 10/162. Back to the desert where, thankfully, the Dbacks finally got to play a game where it wasn’t snowing. Or raining. Or sleeting.

Gerardo Parra's home run went for a swim in the RF pool

1. Willie Bloomquist (SS) – He’s played 7 games this season with 8 hits, at a pace of slightly more than a hit per game. None of those hits came today as he went 0-for-the day following his 2 days of rest while John McDonald manned shortstop.

2. Aaron Hill (2B) – Again, the 2-hole seems to be magical. Aaron Hill launched a home run in the bottom of the first to even the score at 1-1.  He’s 7-for-34 this season, but he’s managed to keep his quad slash line very respectable, with his combination of power and plate discipline. 0.206 / .325 / .500 / .825 He also made a fantastic diving play in the top of the 9th. In fact, it was so impressive that when MLB.com posted the video, they got a bit ahead of themselves and called it the game-winning play, even though it was they first out of the 9th.

3. Justin Upton (RF) – He still seems to be having trouble finding his swing. It’ll come.

4. Miguel Montero (C) – 1-for-4 with a hit and a run scored and threw out the speedy Alex Presley attempting to steal 2nd; raising his season total to 3/5 potential base thieves.

5. Chris Young (CF) – There is nothing more to say about the amazing run that Chris Young is on. 3-for-4 on the night with 2 singles and a HR that led to 2 RBI. And, without further comment, I will present his quadruple slash line: .405 / .500 / .892 / 1.392

6. Paul Goldschmidt (1B) – He continues to show glimmers of plate discipline, going 1-for-3 with a walk. He’s still got a K/BB rate of 10/3, but its early and something to keep an eye on as the season progresses.

7. Jason Kubel (LF) – Still having a bit of trouble getting his rhythm as a Dback, he went 0-for-1 and walked twice before he was replaced with Gerardo Parra.

7b. David Hernandez (RP) – Pitched a solid 8th, 2Ks and 0 hits. And, was clearly glad to be back in the sun.

7c. Geoff Blum (PH) – Collected his first PH hit of the season in the 8th inning when he hit for David Hernandez.

7d. Brad Ziegler (RP) – Pitched a scoreless 9th, given a 5-1 lead. He was a little wild, but had one K, 2 groundouts and a walk in his inning of work, sealing the deal.

8. Ryan Roberts (3B) – 1-for-4 with an RBI and had a great at-bat in the 8th, eventually losing a 7-pitch battle, but he put up a heck of a fight. He also made some noteworthy plays in the field.

9.  Joe Saunders (SP) – He was the story of the game. At first, he didn’t seem to have his control, but he settled in nicely and ended up with a final line of 7IP, 6H, 1R, 2BB, 5K. He lowered his season ERA to 0.64 and collected his second quality start of the season. And, looked very smooth doing it. So far, so good for Bazooka Joe.

9b. Gerardo Parra (PH – LF) – Pinch hit for Joe Saunders in the bottom of the 7th and homered a 91 mph first pitch fastball into the pool [video here]. He then replaced Jason Kubel in left field. The outfield situation continues to get muddy, with Justin Upton continuing to play with a sore thumb and Kubel’s slow start. Right now, Gerardo Parra is a huge luxury for Kirk Gibson.

And, in other news, Stephen Drew worked out with the team today [click to watch the video].

Score: 5-1, Diamondbacks win; Record 7-3. The sun was shining and the bats came alive in support of a stellar effort (again) by Joe Saunders.

Conclusion: There’s no place like home.

And, it keeps raining in Colorado...

Your game recap, brought to you in the form of the starting line-up. Game 8/162.

This game snapped a 2 game losing streak and the Dbacks were able to make their early lead hold up – in spite of more of mother nature’s best efforts. The 2 competing stories of this day are Trevor Cahill’s great performance on the mound and Chris Young continuing to tear the cover off the ball.

1. Ryan Roberts (3B) – 2-for-5 on the afternoon.

2 Gerardo Parra (LF) – After a very strong showing last night, Parra got the start again in left, going 1-for-5 (with a force-out).  He scored 2 runs and collected two stolen bases on the afternoon.

3. Justin Upton (RF) – He seems to be braving a sore thumb well, going 2-for-5 with 2 runs scored.

4. Chris Young (CF) – More of the same with Chris Young. 2-for-4 with a walk, including a home run and 3 RBIs. So far, on the season, Chris Young is raking in a major way:  .364 / .475 / .818  / 1.293

5. Paul Goldschmidt (1B) – Went 1-for-4 on the day with a double. But, impressively, he seems to be more and more comfortable over at 1B every time we see him.

6. Aaron Hill (2B) – So, yeah, Aaron Hill went 1-for-2 with 2 walks and 2RBIs. That was great and all, but he also did this [click to watch the video]. He made a great running catch and then fired to first for an unconventional double play, taking advantage of a Colorado baserunning blunder.

7. John McDonald (SS) – Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to replicate his fantastic offensive game from yesterday, but as the cold rain continued to fall throughout much of this game, his sure hands in the infield with Trevor Cahill on the mound was of great value.

8. Henry Blanco (C) – He got his first start of the season (thanks to the day-game-after-the-night-game schedule). He called a solid game behind his starter today and did something he probably doesn’t do very often – reached base on an infield single.

9. Trevor Cahill (SP) – He had a much more relaxed start this time around – 7.1IP, 4H, 1R, 2BB, 6K. The only Rockie really able to figure him out was Jonathan Herrera, but nobody got further than second base. He got 12 ground ball outs and 6 strikeouts and generally was quite dazzling. Definitely the pitcher that Arizona thought they were getting – and who fit very nicely into a start at Coors Field. After he was pulled with a one-out double (to Jonathan Herrera) in the 8th (while it continued to rain/sleet/snow/etc), it was the start of the bullpen hoedown.

9b. Joe Paterson (RP) – Came in with one out in the 8th and induced a walk, a single and a force out, allowing his one runner inherited from Trevor Cahill to score.

9c. Brad Ziegler (RP) – Came in  with two outs in the 8th inning and Troy Tulowitzski promptly singled and drove in another run, sending Kirk Gibson back to his bullpen.

9d. Craig Breslow (RP) – Came in with two outs in the 8th inning and lost a 9 pitch at-bat to Jason Giambi, who took a walk.

9e. Bryan Shaw (RP) – Came in with two outs in the 8th inning, with the bases loaded and got the pinch-hitter Ramon Hernandez to end the inning with a ground ball. In reward for finally ending the 8th inning (and for being possibly the best rested member of the bullpen), he got to come out and collect the save in the 9th inning. He pitched a perfect 9th (fly out, ground out and swinging strikeout) in the elements.

Score: 5-2, Diamondbacks win (and avoid being swept by Colorado); Record 6-3. The weather – and the 8th inning – made this a lot closer than it should have been, but a win is a win and now the boys get to pack up and go back to the sun and warmth of Chase Field – or, at the very least, a roof over their heads.

Conclusion: It was wet and cold and miserable again. But the boys held on and kept this one from slipping away. 

Josh Collmenter (image c/o: Mark Winograd)

There was a brief delay to start this game, and then the rains continued to fall. The umpiring crew was clearly trying to force this game into “official game” territory, but had to give it up after 4 innings. When sure-handed Johnny Mac and gold glover Gerardo Parra are completely butchering plays they’d make every other day of the week and twice on Sunday, you know it was getting  a bit ridiculous.

However, there are 4 innings of baseball before a 1 hour and 11 minute delay and post-delay baseball (in the same pouring rain) to talk about, so here we go! Game 8/162.

1. Ryan Roberts (3B) – Back at his usual spot at 3B, he singled to start the game and drew a walk in his second at-bat. He reached on a force-out following the rain delay, but he continued to make solid contact.

2. Gerardo Parra (LF) – Getting the start in LF, he promptly singled immediately following Ryan Roberts’ leadoff single. He then got picked off of second base to end the inning. Following the rain delay, he hit yet another single to left field (his third in as many at-bats). In the 8th, he put down a beautiful bunt up the first base line, executing a safety squeeze and increasing the lead to 7-5.

3. Justin Upton (RF) – Struck out in both of his first two at-bats before the rain delay, leaving 4 men on base.

4. Miguel Montero (C) – Struck out on a pitch he didn’t like and walked. But, following the rain delay, he worked the count and blasted a 2-out, 3-run HR over the right/CF wall. The 2 potential double-plays that were broken up immediately prior to his at-bat loomed huge, as the deficit was cut from 5-1 to 5-4 with one swing of the bat.

5. Chris Young (CF) – Again, he continues to be on fire, driving home the game’s first run in the top of the first. Unfortunately, he popped out with the bases loaded and two outs in the 3rd inning, but he was only hitting around .400 and not 1.000 at the time, so it wasn’t entirely unexpected. He ended up going 2-for-4 with an RBI on the night. When you’re hot, you’re hot. And, Chris Young is still on fire.

6. Lyle Overbay (1B) – 0-for-2 with a strikeout going into the rain delay, he at least avoided leaving any runners on base.

6b. Paul Goldschmidt (PH-1B) – In the 7th inning, he pinch-hit for Lyle Overbay and lifted a sac fly into shallow RF. It was played really well by Michael Cuddyer, but Justin Upton charged hard and beat the throw, giving the Diamondbacks the lead for the first time in the ballgame. 6-5 Dbacks.

7. Aaron Hill (2B) – Unfortunately, he was part of the baserunning blunders prior to the rain delay and was thrown out (by a mile) attempting to steal second base in the second inning (as part of a strike ‘em out, throw ‘em out) after he walked in the second. He had some fleet-footed base-running following the rain delay to avoid a tag in the top of the 6th.

8. John McDonald (SS) – As per usual, not much was happening with the bat, but he made a couple of good plays (and, one that skidded off his wet and cold glove) before the rain delay. However, after the delay, Johnny Mac ripped his first hit of the year into left field and drove in Aaron Hill in the 6th to tie the game at 5-5. And, got his second hit of the season – another double, this one leading off the 8th inning, allowing him to be standing on third for Gerardo Parra to execute a safety squeeze.

9. Josh Collmenter (SP) – As in his last start, he never really settled in – leaving a lot of stuff up and over the plate and the Rockies took advantage – and making at least one fielding miscue. Going into the rain delay: 4.0 IP, 5H, 5R, 3BB, 3K, 2HR. It was a start where many people in the Diamondbacks baseball fandom were considering that Josh Collmenter was pitching for his spot in the rotation. But, after a solid year last year – including a post-season win – its unclear how long of a leash he really has at this point. It is highly possible that Josh Collmenter isn’t going anywhere for a good long while. But, if the pulse of the fandom is correct and he really was pitching to save his spot in the starting 5, he certainly didn’t do himself any favors tonight.

9b. Geoff Blum (PH) – Pinch hit for the pitcher (as he does) and took a lead off walk following the rain delay and broke up a double-play with a “I have been playing baseball longer than you have” hard slide into second base when Ryan Roberts grounded to the shortstop. (And, in the following at-bat, Gerardo Parra did exactly the same thing to break up another potential double play).

9c. Wade Miley (RP) – Carving a bit of a niche coming out in long relief of Josh Collmenter, he got 2 quick outs before giving up a triple to Michael Cuddyer. He made a couple of great plays in his first inning of relief, backing up a wayward throw to third on Cuddyer’s triple (he would have scored) and then covering first on a Tyler Colvin grounder. And, just like the last time he came in in long relief of Collmenter, he kept the opposing team at bay, pitching 3.0 innings of 2H, 1BB baseball. And, in the bottom of the 7th, he executed a swinging bunt for an infield single, in his quest to make himself indispensable to this team. Something that is going to create a bit of a situation when Saito is activated off of the DL.

9d. David Hernandez (RP) – Came in for his traditional 8th inning appearance. Unfortunately, he gave up a run, cutting a 7-5 deficit down to 7-6 going into the 9th inning.

9e. JJ Putz (CL) – Came in with the pouring rain. Let loose and hit Marco Scutaro. In conditions where no one can see and it was 38 degrees, this is not surprising. Unfortunately, that put the tying run on base. So, when Todd Helton laced a HR barely inside the RF foul pole, the Rockies walked off with the win.

Score: 8-7, Diamondbacks lose (and lose their first series to Colorado since 2010); Record 5-3. They got our hopes up, but man. That was a major letdown. But, with baseball, there’s always tomorrow. Hopefully, the sun will come out tomorrow.

Conclusion: It was wet and cold and miserable in Colorado. And, the weather was pretty terrible, too.

And, in case you missed it earlier, we have a shiny new feature here on the blog: THE 2012 HBP-o-METER. 

image from flickr user: paul hadsall (flickr.com/photos/paulhadsall/4854585169/)

Your game recap, brought to you in the form of the starting line-up. Game 7/162. Unfortunately, this game turned into the bullpen olympics, which is not something you want for the first game of the series. There was a lot of hitting in this game, but in what has becoming a recurring theme, the timely hitting wasn’t there.

In the 4th inning, the boys ended up with runners on second and third and nobody out and they couldn’t get any of the runs across.

The team went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left 9 men on base as a team. Individually, the hitters left 17 men on base and, unfortunately, they fell just shy of being able to keep step with the Rockies.

It was a cold night, the team is tired from their late getaway day and hopefully things look better in the morning.

1. Willie Bloomquist (SS) – Snapped his hitting streak by going 0-for-5 on the night.

2. Jason Kubel (LF) – 1-for-5 with three strikeouts.

3. Justin Upton (RF) – 2-for-4 with a walk. Notably, he bunted for a base hit. With his hand still hurting, this was a stroke of brilliance. When you run like him and no one is expecting it, it works. Also, there was a misplay of a flyball in the 3rd inning which led

4. Miguel Montero (C) – 2-for-4 with a walk. Hit a long homerun and hopefully this will be able to get him into the groove for the season.

5. Chris Young (CF) – 0-for-3 with 2 walks.

6. Paul Goldschmidt (1B) – 2-for-5 with one strikeout. Unfortunately, he made a catching error on an attempted pickoff move which allowed Tulowitzski to move from 1st to 3rd and score the unearned run that was the difference in this game.

7. Geoff Blum (3B) – 0-for-3 with one strikeout.

8. Ryan Roberts (2B) – 1-for-3 with a walk.

9. Daniel Hudson (P) – In probably the story of the night, this is not a performance that Daniel Hudson is going to be replaying again. 3.2 IP, 10H, 6R, 3BB, 3K, 2HR. His command was all over the place and he just never seemed to settle in.

9b. Brad Ziegler (RP) – Came in and pitched an inning and a third and, taking one for the team actually had to bat for himself and didn’t do too badly for a relief pitcher from the american league in – to the best that I can discover – his first plate appearance in his MLB career.

9c. Craig Breslow (RP) – Came in and pitched 2 innings of 1-hit, 2-walk ball and kept the Rockies at bay.

9d. Aaron Hill (PH) – Pinch hitter for Craig Breslow and went 1-for-1 on the day.

9e. Bryan Shaw (RP) – Took the loss in this battle for pitching the 8th inning. His record falls to 0-1 on the year, with an ERA of 0.00. Unfortunately, following a one-out single by Carlos Gonzalez, an attempted pick-off ended up with CarGo ending up on third and he scored on a ground-rule double. A hard luck loss on an unearned run.

Score: 7-6, Diamondbacks lose; Record 5-2

Conclusion: After struggling to produce runs in San Diego, the runs were plentiful – but for both teams. So far this season, each game has been decided by 2 runs or less. When the margin for error is so tiny, you’re really living on the edge.

Ian Kennedy (photo courtesy: Mwinog2777)

Your game recap, brought to you in the form of the starting line-up. Game 6/162. The team finally scored with runners in scoring position (but were still only 2-for-10), but still struck out 8 times and left 14 men on base as a team. However, they did enough to support the stellar efforts of Ian Kennedy.

1. Willie Bloomquist (SS) – Extended his hitting streak to 12 games. And, was erased when he was thrown out by a mile trying to steal second on the first pitch of the next at-bat.

2. Jason Kubel  (LF) – Moved into the 2-hole for the first time as a Diamondback. It seems to be a very unlikely assignment, but apparently Kirk Gibson had plans for him in that spot. He collected his first extra-base hit as a Diamondback, scoring Willie Bloomquist (the game’s second run) after he’d reached on an error. The 2-hole has been productive this season and it seemed to be good luck for Jason Kubel tonight.

3. Justin Upton (RF) – 0-for-3 with a walk and a couple of nice catches in the outfield.

4. Miguel Montero (C) – 0-for-4 with 2 strikeouts. But, he called a great game and made a number of good defensive plays behind the dish.

5. Chris Young (CF) – 1-for-3 with 2 strikeouts until the 8th inning. Where he hit a 97mph fastball over the left-field fence at approximately a billion miles per second. The solo HR was his 3rd of the season. He’s locked in (and, on fire).

6. Lyle Overbay (1B) – He’s had a fantastic start to his season and he’s been locked in. 1-for-2 with 2 walks. He just seems unflappable this season. It’s a pleasure to watch.

7. Geoff Blum (LF) – He’s got such a calm presence on the field. Had an okay night at the plate (0-for-3 with a walk) but had a good night on the field, making some fine defensive plays. His familiarity with the field at Petco was evident. And, helpful.

8. Aaron Hill (2B) – Aaron Hill was 0-for-15 until the top of the 5th when he singled up the middle, scoring Lyle Overbay and breaking an 0-for-17 skid with runners in scoring position. AND, breaking a 12-inning scoreless streak. He also doubled later in the game – but, was left stranded.

9. Ian Kennedy (P) – This didn’t start off as his best start, giving up a run in the first inning and had runners on 1st and 2nd with no one out before striking out the next three batters, but the damage was done. He settled down nicely and gave up another 2 hits over the following 5 innings while collecting one walk and 9 strike outs. According to Jack Magruder (twitter link), that was the 10th time in his career he’d struck out 9. Four times against the Padres, three of those times occurring at Petco. At the plate, he didn’t have his best performance, bunting into a double play and then striking out during an attempted bunt attempt in the 7th inning. But, it didn’t really matter. His team (finally) picked him up offensively and this game was a gem. 6IP, 1BB, 9K, 1R.

9b. Brad Ziegler (RP) – Came in to pitch the 7th inning and had a miscommunication with Lyle Overbay and ended up flinging himself into the path of the oncoming Orlando Hudson to apply the tag. He generally looked sharper than in his previous outing, but still ended up walking his second batter, but got a K and a groundout to end with a clean inning.

9c. Bryan Shaw (RP) – Since David Hernandez wasn’t available for the 8th inning after last night’s game, the 8th belonged to Bryan Shaw. Bryan Shaw has been nothing short of spectacular.

9d. Ryan Roberts (PH) – Came in to pinch hit for the pitcher in the 9th. He’d warmed up to hit for Kennedy in the 7th, but Kennedy was sent out to lay down a bunt (ultimately unsuccessfully). He flew out to LF – but at least he didn’t join in the strikeout parade.

9e. JJ Putz (RP) – Nailed down the Padres 1-2-3 in the 9th inning with his 4th save of the year.

Score: 3-1, Diamondbacks win; Record 5-1 and no one was hit by a pitch!

Conclusion: As far as episodes of the Ian Kennedy show go, this one was a sparkler. 

Your game recap, brought to you in the form of the starting line-up. Game 4/162.

1. Willie Bloomquist (SS) – When he was batting in the top of the 2nd, Ryan Roberts stole 2nd base. Willie almost got his head taken off on what was probably an out-of-control curve ball (but might have been a rather terrible pitch-out) – fortunately he was able to hit the deck quickly enough to avoid being, you know, killed. And, then in the bottom of the 2nd, he jumped approximately 87 feet in the air to snare a liner.

And, with his first at-bat of the game, Willie did this:

2. Gerardo Parra (RF)- His first hit of the season went about 4 feet up the third base line in the top of the 5th, but he hustled and beat the throw. He then proceeded to promptly erase himself when he got caught attempting to steal second. He never really seemed to get into a groove at the plate throughout the  game. He was starting in RF to give Justin Upton a day off, after he injured his thumb sliding into second base on Sunday.

photo credit: UCInternational

3.  Chris Young (CF) – It wasn’t his best offensive showing. He had gone 0-for-4 with 2 popouts. Until the top of the 12th inning – when he smashed a 2-run home run to left field. Chris Young has been seeing the ball so well since the start of spring training and, having gone 0-for-4 on the night, it almost seemed like it was a matter of time. His season to this point (and, yes, its a small sample size, but come on!): .313/.353/.813/1.165. (Post-game, according to Jack Magruder, it was revealed that CY went into the clubhouse, watched some video of himself, and came out and hit the home run. Hard core.)

4. Miguel Montero (C) – Broke his bat in a spectacular fashion with 2 outs in the first and hustled up the line. When Edinson Volquez didn’t cover first, he got the gift of a base hit and hustled around to score on Paul Goldschmidt’s 1st inning double. And, gunned down Will Venable trying to steal second base.

5. Paul Goldschmidt  (CF) – The Padres played him like a pull hitter and he crushed a ball into left-center with 2 outs, scoring 2 runs in the top of the first when then inning should have been over – but, the flying bat shards that kept Volquez from covering when Montero was hitting kept the inning alive. Also notable, he collected his first stolen base of the season. There was some running amok happening against Edinson Volquez.

6. Jason Kubel (LF) – In the 7th, Jason Kubel made up for his lack of defense with an outfield assist to nail Jason Bartlett trying to advance to second base. Fantastic.

6b. JJ Putz (CL) – Came in to close it down in the 11th. Started off by giving up a single, but the rally was short-lived. THUNDERSTRUCK!

7. Ryan Roberts (3B) – Showed fantastic plate discipline tonight, taking two walks and then stealing 2nd each time.

8. Aaron Hill (2B) – He didn’t have much action at the plate, but being stuck in the 8-hole tonight might spur on another offensive outburst for tomorrow.

the strike zone made the battle interesting.

9. Trevor Cahill (P) – He had a heck of a time finding the strike zone in the first 2 innings. In the second, he pitched himself into a bases-loaded jam by walking the bases loaded with 2 outs (the third walk was to his opposing pitcher), but somehow got out of it by striking out Cameron Maybin looking. He let in a single run and, while his final line wasn’t stellar, he calmed down and ended up with a quality start: 6IP, 2H, 1R, 6BB, 5K. All-in-all… could’ve been better, but could have been way worse. Hopefully some of the first-start jitters are out of the way.

9b. Geoff Blum (PH) – In his role as the official 6th-7th inning pinch-hitter for the pitcher, he struck out swinging in the top of the 7th.

9c.  Brad Ziegler (RP) – In a somewhat surprising move, he came in to start the 7th, surrendered a leadoff triple to Orlando Hudson, followed by a single to Orlando Hudson, which tied the game at 2 in the 7th.

9d. Bryan Shaw (RP) – He came in to relieve Brad Ziegler with 2 outs and a runner on third in the 7th, and got Will Venable to get strike out and keep the game knotted at two. He continued his relief appearance in the 8th, with a quick 1-2-3 inning.

9e. David Hernandez (RP) – He came in for the bottom of the 9th. And,also having to fight a very narrow strike zone, he walked a batter and gave up  single,  but escaped unscathed.

9f. Lyle Overbay (PH) – Not successful against the 10th inning pitcher for San Diego – Micah Owings.

9g. Craig Breslow (RP) – With a nice and tidy 12-pitch 10th inning, he kept the team in the game for another inning. It was a contest between he and Bryan Shaw being the only 2 Dbacks’ pitchers to not give up either a hit or a walk to the Padres, but due to the well-timed Chris Young homer, he collected the win today.

9h. Justin Upton (RF)- Came in as a defensive replacement (shifting Gerardo Parra to LF) and he was actually involved in a play.

Score: 4-2, Diamondbacks win!; Record 4-0 (for the first time in franchise history); Padres HBP counter = 1 (total =3)

Conclusion: When you’re hot, you’re hot. And, right now, Chris Young is on FIRE!

Bonus (brought to you by the night’s very small strike zone):

Your Dbacks’ game recap. Brought to you by the starting nine. And friends. Game 3/162.

1. Willie Bloomquist (SS) – Keyed the offense in the first inning with a single and a stolen base and was left stranded on third when none of his teammates could put the ball in play. He also doubled in the 3rd and was stranded again. And, in the 8th, he got Overbay caught in a rundown on a safety squeeze after mixing up his signs. Error count = 1.

2. Aaron Hill (2B) Clearly, no one expected him to have a repeat of yesterday. He did alright on the day, though. 0-for-the day with a very important walk and a run scored. Also, a slick double play in the 8th. Wasn’t able to come through with 2 out in the 8th. Error count = 1.

3. Justin Upton (RF) – 0-for-3 with a walk and 2K.

4. Miguel Montero (C) – 0-for-2 with 2 walks and 2 runs scored. Error count = 1.

5. Chris Young (CF) – 1-for-4 on the day with a run scored.

6. Ryan Roberts (3B) – He made a stunning heads- up play in the top of the 6th inning and then in the bottom of the 6th, he cranked a 2-run homerun to make the score a little closer (6-4). Error count = 1.

7. Lyle Overbay (1B) – As part of the offensive explosion in the 6th, he went back to back with Ryan Roberts, bringing the score to 6-5. He also drove in 2 runs with a double earlier in the game.

8. Gerrardo Parra (LF) Had a pretty uneventful day until he dropped down a decent bunt in the 8th. Error count =1.

9. Josh Collmenter (SP) – In his first start of the season, following a spring training full of questions, he never really settled in and was pulled for a pinch hitter in the bottom of the third. 6R(5ER),5H,1BB,4K,1HR. Following his exit, the Dbacks were down 6-0 after 3 innings.

9b. Geoff Blum (PH) – Pinch hitter.

9c. Wade Miley (RP) Coming in for mop-up duty in the 4th inning, down 6-0, threw 4 innings of shutout (no hit) ball with 4 errors behind him. If baseball gave out stars for the game, he would get the first one. Not a bad day for a kid expecting to be proving himself in the minors this season.

9d. Jason Kubel (PH) – He collected his first hit as a Dback as a pinch hitter, but was unfortunately erased when Willie Bloomquist hit into a force out.

9e. Paul Goldschmidt (PH) – K in the 8th against Sergio Romo.

9f. Craig Breslow (RP) – With David Hernandez having pitched 2 days in a row, the 8th inning was his – his first in a Dbacks jersey. His first pitch sailed over Montero’s head and his second buried into the dirt, but he then calmed down and pitched a solid 8th.

9g. Bryan Shaw (CL – today) – Recorded his first save of his major league career. It wasn’t pretty, there was a groundout, a flyout, a broken bat single, a hit by pitch to Sandoval, but he got Buster Posey to go down swinging in a very dramatic fashion.

Not to harp on it, but the HBP is probably going to stir up even more drama, considering that Sandoval and Bloomquist had exchanged words while Bloomquist was standing on 2nd, allegedly about watching signs. I’m personally feeling like a young, nervous first-time closer isn’t wanting to put the go-ahead run on base with Buster Posey coming to bat, but this is definitely fuel to the fire.

It wasn’t Buster’s best day, joining in on the error parade when he didn’t get his foot onto home plate for a force out at home.

In the end, the Dbacks were able to come back from a 6-0 deficit and win a sloppy contest with more errors than highlights. But, a.win is a win and today Wade Miley earned his win.

Conclusion: Miley’s 4 no-hit innings provided the opportunity for the Dbacks to take center stage in this comedy of errors. And, fittingly, he got the win.

Score: 7-6; Diamondbacks win; Record 3-0. HBP counter is at 3 (2-Dbacks, 1-Giants)

Ryan Roberts - image credit: Mark Winograd (WikiCommons)

1. Willie Bloomquist (SS) – In the lead-off spot had the first hit of the game in the bottom of the 1st. He also got on base again in the 7th with another single and was caught leaning the wrong way and picked off first by Guillermo Mota. Interestingly, there was a slo-mo analysis later in the inning that analyzed Mota’s pick-off move and, well, let’s just say that he’s going to have to be careful about who’s officiating when he pitches. That pick-off could have just as easily turned into a balk.

2. Chris Young (CF) – Batting in the second spot for the… first time under Kirk Gibson (he didn’t even play there during spring training) and only the second time in his career. He went 1-4, but he made it count. A long, 2-run home run in the top of the first. It might not be the last time we see CY in the 2-hole.

3. Justin Upton (RF) – 1-for-3 with a run scored, a walk and a strikeout. But, like Chris Young, he made it count. He ripped a ball into the LF corner that hopped into the crowd for a ground-rule double.

4. Miguel Montero (C) – 1-for-3 with a strikeout and a hit-by-pitch. That’s not going to do anything to calm the waters with an already heated rivalry. With Daniel Hudson pitching tomorrow, it’s probably for the best that Affeldt doesn’t come to bat.

5. Paul Goldschmidt (1B) – Number 5 agrees with him. In the first inning, he dealt the second big blow with a monster of a home run to LF. He went 1-for-3 with a walk, an RBI, and 2 runs scored. Good day.

6. Jason Kubel (LF) – He ended up going 0-for-3 on the night. He reached on an error (one of three by the Giants on the day) and had one strikeout. He was only really tested once in the field and it wasn’t a smooth play, but fortunately, even though Melky Cabrera ended up with a double, he didn’t come around to score.

6b. Gerardo Parra (LF) – As promised, Parra did make it into the game in the top of the 7th. He only had one ball hit his way – a routine grounder – and had one at-bat (a routine groundout). We’ll be seeing more of him in the next couple of days, I don’t doubt it.

7. Ryan Roberts (3B) – I made a joke on twitter that people should just start walking Ryan Roberts intentionally when he comes up with the bases loaded. And, it is a little hard to talk about a player being clutch. But, if anyone is clutch, its Ryan Roberts.

• With the bases loaded (15PA): 462 / .533 / .846 /1.379
• In the post-season (20PA): .350 / .350 / .700 / 1.050
• With a runner on third and 2 out (18PA): .400 / .500 / .867 / 1.367
• And, “late and close” (89PA): .347 / .455 / .542 / .996

And, he did it again tonight. He ground out and struck out in his first two at bats. But, when he came to bat with the bases loaded in a tie game in the bottom of the 6th, he picked a very good time for his first hit of the game. He went 1-for-4 (but reached on an error later in the game), but he was clutch tonight. And, as we saw at the end of this game, the Dbacks don’t win this game without him and his 2-RBI double.

8. Aaron Hill (2B) – Twice tonight (once on a throw from Justin Upton from RF and once while he was covering second), Aaron Hill had to practically levitate horizontally to stretch out and make a catch and save some runs. He may have gone 0-for-4, but he definitely saved a couple of runs in the 6th inning.

9. Ian Kennedy (P) – IPK wasn’t at his best today, but he harnessed it in and was able to pitch well enough to collect the W. 6.2IP, 9H, 3R/ER, 2B, 3K, 1HR. And, when you can collect your win, even when you’re not at your best, you must be doing something right.

9b. Joe Paterson (RP) – Joe Paterson came in with 2 outs, runners on first and second, and collected his first hold of the season after a 9 pitch duel with Aubrey Huff.

9c.David Hernandez (RP) – He owned the 8th inning last year and he owned it again tonight. He threw 9 pitches and collected 2 strikeouts and his curveball probably had more than a few people cursing on the San Francisco side of the field. And, its nice to see that the recent arrival of his second child might be keeping him up at night, but he hasn’t lost his edge.

9d. Geoff Blum (PH) – a brief pinch-hit strikeout in the 8th inning, but we’ll see more from him.

9e. JJ Putz (CL) – He came in in the 9th inning and made it more interesting than some Dbacks fans might have liked. He gave up 2 hits, 1 run, but closed it out, collected the save and started the Diamondbacks’ season off with a win and there’s no reason to complain.

Score: 6-5, Diamondbacks win; Record 1-0

Conclusion: Ryan Roberts – still clutch in 2012.

And, now we do it again tomorrow! See you then.

In celebration of today’s opening day of Diamondbacks’ baseball, let’s take a look back at opening day in the recent past.

• Since 2000: 5 Diamondbacks opening days have taken place on the road and 8 (including 2012) have happened at home.
• Catchers: 9 different people have started at catcher for the Diamondbacks since 2000. Damian Miller and Chris Snyder have each started 3 different opening days. This year, Miguel Montero (who started in 2010 and 2011), will join them.
• 1B: Since 2000, 8 different people have started at first base. Notably, Mark Grace (@dbacksbooth) started twice (2001, 2002), Conor Jackson started three times (2006-2008) and Lyle Overbay – who will be waiting to get into the game from the Diamondbacks’ bench – started for the Diamondbacks in 2003.
• 2B: 7 different people have started at second base in the last 12 years. Orlando Hudson started 3 years in a row (2006-2008) and is the leader. In 2010 and 2011, the starting second baseman was Kelly Johnson. Starting in 2012 will be Aaron Hill - who was traded to the Dbacks from the Blue Jays in 2011 for… Kelly Johnson.
• 3B: Mark Reynolds and Chad Tracy shared starting 3B duties on and off from 2006-2010. Last year’s starting 3B is also no longer on the roster – Melvin Mora.
• SS: Stephen Drew was the opening day SS from 2006-2010. Last year’s starting SS was Willie Bloomquist, who was filling in for Stephen Drew while he was suffering from abdominal pain. This year’s starting SS will be Willie Bloomquist, who wll be filling in for Stephen Drew, who is (as we all know) still recovering from a 2011 ankle injury.
• LF: Luis Gonzalez started every year from 2000-2006, Conor Jackson moved from first base to start LF in 2009-2010. 2012′s starting LF will be Jason Kubel. 2011′s starting left fielder, Gerardo Parra, will likely be sitting on the bench. Waiting. For his role to be determined.
• CF: CF has belonged to Chris Young since 2007. It is one of the most consistent positions on the roster, having belonged to Steve Finley for 6 seasons, starting in 1999.
• RF: RF has also been relatively consistent, with Danny Bautista from 2001-2004, and Justin Upton taking the reins in 2008, 2010 and 2011.
• Pitcher: From 1999-2004, Randy Johnson took the hill on opening day. And, from 2006-2009, opening day belonged to Brandon Webb. Dan Haren started in 2010 (to be traded mid-season) and Ian Kennedy took the hill in 2011 and will be taking it again in 2012. Let’s hope this is the start of another long tenure.

Alright. Let the count down to first pitch begin!