Sedona Red Fireworks: Because winning is fun.

There are hits! And runs! Lots and lots of hits and runs!

Yes, the Dbacks had 16 hits. And, yes, they scored 9 runs. (Check out the Box Score: HERE)

But, the story of the night was  - without a doubt – Wade Miley.

1. Going into the game, the line-up looked highly similar to last night. But, when it is the line-up that stops a depressing losing streak, it isn’t a surprise that Kirk Gibson didn’t want to mess with it.

2. The offense showed up – big time. Jason Kubel and John McDonald (yes, that John McDonald) both went 3-for-4 on the day. Both Justin Upton and Jason Kubel hit solo-HRs. And, every one of the starters reached base by hit or walk tonight.

3. Speaking of Jason Kubel – Yes, he occasionally takes slightly less-than-efficient routes to balls hit to left field, but he’s shown a surprisingly a strong arm in the outfield. He recorded his 4th assist of the season, firing a one-hopper to home plate, to save a run. He’s tied for the NL lead in assists. Jason Kubel: More than just a bat standing in left field.

4. Not insignificantly, that play at the plate also illustrated that Miguel Montero is, in fact, an immoveable force. Wow.

5. Jonathan Albaladejo (called up from Reno in place of Daniel Hudson) made his Dbacks debut and was solid. 1 innings, 2 hits, no runs. As was Brad Ziegler: 1 inning, 1 hit, no runs. And, coming in for the final three outs of the ninth, so was Craig Breslow (who has pitched 8.1 innings in relief so far this season, tied with David Hernandez for the most number of innings pitched by a reliever who is not Wade Miley).

6. Joe Paterson. He’s had a very shaky 2012. He was solid as solid can be in 2011, but 2012 has been very, very rough (screencap from: here). He came in to start the 9th. He faced 5 batters: single, double, single, home run, home run. The numbers speak for themselves. This was a good game, and there has been so much negative lately, that we’re going to stick with focusing on the positives.

7. And, speaking of positives: Wade Miley. What else can you say about Wade Miley? He’s made a career acting as the stunt double for Josh Collmenter (c/o @dbacksbooth for the appropriate description) this season. He has saved the Dbacks on more than one occasion and tonight, when called upon to spot start because of Daniel Hudson going down…. The Dbacks are treated to this: 6.0 IP, 2H, 1BB, 7K. He was – again – sensational. This win is completely on him.

Score: 9-5, Diamondbacks win! Record 9-8. It’s (almost) all good in the hood.

Conclusion: This was a very fun 8 innings of baseball. For the second day in a row, it was a good day at Chase Field. 

Johnny Mac - Flashing the leather.

The losing streak has come to end, courtesy of a fine game by Mr. Ian Kennedy and a great performance from the rest of the team. Game 16/162. And, possibly in an attempt to shake up the offense, the game started with a shake-up in the line-up.

1. Gerardo Parra (CF) –  He was the offensive performance of the day. In the bottom of the second, trailing by a run with 2 outs, John McDonald was intentionally walked to pitch to Ian Kennedy with the bases loaded. Ian Kennedy walked on 4 straight pitches. Which brought Gerardo Parra to the plate. He deposited his second homer of the season into the pool (for the second time this season). Grand slam and a 5 run inning! 5-1 Dbacks. He also collected another hit and a stolen base on the day.

2. Aaron Hill (2B) – He was 1-for-4 on the day, but it was a well-timed hit. He doubled in the bottom of the 7th to drive home an insurance run. 6-3 Dbacks!

3. Justin Upton (RF) – Went 1-for-2 on the day with a walk and was hit by a pitch. Unfortunately, he was hit in his same, already-injured hand. He was the second hitter plunked on the day. (Check in with the HBP-o-Meter to see where the season stands!) And, then – in a fit of rage – he was promptly caught attempting to steal second to end the inning.

4. Miguel Montero (C) – Wasn’t his strongest offensive showing of the season, 0-for-the day.

5. Paul Goldschmidt (1B) – Had a less-than-stellar day at the plate (0-for-3 with a walk), but he was defensive gold in the field today. Solid outing from the youngster. 3-6-3 double play! Smart, smart baseball.

6. Jason Kubel (LF) – 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored. And, most impressively, was the put-out he recorded from left field, to throw out Dan Uggla, trying to extend a single into a double. It was a laser-beam, perfectly placed strike and it beat Uggla to the bag by at least 5 feet.

7. Cody Ransom (3B) – He made the most of his start today. He looked immensely comfortable at the plate. He went 2-for-3 with a run scored and was a solid stopper at the hot corner.

8. John McDonald (SS) – John McDonald had great day. He was his usually defensive whiz (Exhibit A) and also stepped up at the plate. 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored.

9. Ian Kennedy (SP) – He had to battle all day, but he kept his head and kept his team in the game: 7.0 IP, 9H, 3R, 2BB, 5K. He also got an RBI by taking a 2-out, bases-loaded walk in the second inning. Exactly what you want from the ace of your staff.

9b. AJ Pollock (PH) -0-for-1 in his pinch-hit appearance.

9c. David Hernandez (RP) – 3-up, 3-down in his 8th inning appearance for his 4th hold of the year.

9d. Lyle Overbay (PH) – 0-for-1 in his pinch-hit appearance.

9e. JJ Putz (Cl) – He came in for the 9th inning with a 3 run lead.  A strike out, a solo HR (to Juan Francisco) and 2 fly ball outs en route to his 5th save of the season.

Score: 6-4, Diamondbacks win! Record 8-8. Back to .500 and it feels so good!

Conclusion: This is a solid team – from top to bottom – and, today, everyone chipped in to help get it done. A little shake up in the line-up and everyone came out swinging.

Update: The team announced after the game today that long man out of the pen, Wade Miley, is going to get the start tomorrow against the Phillies. Good luck, Mr. Miley!

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. 

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):

image by flickr user - BaseballBacks (flickr.com/photos/baseball-backs/6081656674/)

Your game recap, brought to you in the form of the starting line-up. Game 2/162

1. Ryan Roberts (3B) – He was 0-for-3 in his first few plate appearances and eventually singled in the bottom of the 6th and made a wicked slide into 2nd to try to break up the double play that immediately followed. He wasn’t successful, but the effort was appreciated.

2. Aaron Hill (2B) – Homered in the first inning (solo HR) and then again in the 2nd (this time, Daniel Hudson was on base as well). 3 RBIs. 2-for-4 with 2 home runs… exactly the number he wears on his back.

3. Justin Upton (RF) – A good day offensively and defensively for the Dbacks’ 2011 MVP. 1-for-3 with a run scored and a walk.

4. Miguel Montero (C) – Wearing a microphone, it was a treat to listen to him make fun of Aaron Hill’s lack of height following his first homerun. And, poking Madison Bumgarner when he came to bat – “Don’t worry, it’s a long season.” (ie: Yes, we’re lighting you up.) Going from first to second on wild pitch is probably not something we’ll see too often from Miguel Montero. Because, while he is a very good catcher, he is still a catcher. And, he runs like one.

5. Chris Young (CF) – Doubled in the bottom of the first to drive in the 4th run of the game. Doubled in the bottom of the 5th to drive in a second run. 2RBI. He was drilled on the right hand in the bottom of the 7th. Between today and Miguel Montero being hit yesterday, this is not helping ease tensions between the Dbacks and the Giants.

6. Paul Goldschmidt (1B) – He got a little respect in the bottom of the first when he was intentionally walked to load the bases with one out to bring up Jason Kubel.

7. Jason Kubel (LF) – Showed why he’s an “offensive weapon” in the top of the 4th. I try to be positive around here, so I will say this once and then not say it again – Gerardo Parra would have made that catch off of Aubrey Huff in the top of the 4th. 0-for-3 with an intentional BB on the day. I’m willing to be that he’s had better days. Many of which, I hope, are still ahead of him in Sedona red.

7b. David Hernandez (RP) – Double switch. The pitcher’s spot was due up. He might as well go ahead and scribble his name in sharpie in the 8th inning. He continues to be a rock star.

7c. JJ Putz (RP) – Two 5-pitch at-bats ending with a swinging 3rd strike on his splitter. And, then a grounder and a footrace to first base between JJ Putz and Brandon Crawford. Thunderstruck.

8. John McDonald (SS) – Johnny Mac can play baseball. Watching him run out to left field to cover Jason Kubel is a thing of beauty. He also made a (another) sparkling play, causing everyone watching to remember why he has a job – an important one. When they walked Jason Kubel intentionally with 2 outs to bring him to the plate, he nearly was able to put a ball through the middle, but for a pretty excellent play by Crawford that for a force out of Kubel at 2nd (though, it was a nice, hard slide by Kubel in an attempt to force an error from Crawford).

9. Daniel Hudson (P) – Started off the day 2-for-2 (1 LOOOOONG and 1 regular single), tossing his hat into the ring early for a Silver Slugger repeat. In his third at-bat, he smashed a liner back to the pitcher and hustled his way up the first base line and nearly beat the throw. #PitchersWhoRake: Live it, learn it, love it. He had a really good game going, until he was pulled at 97-pitches following 6 2/3 innings: 5H, 4R(ER), 2BB, 4K and 2HR. It was the long-ball that did him in today, but overall he looked really good. Its the difference of a few bad pitches, but they were ill-timed.

9b. Bryan Shaw (RP) – He came in with 2 outs in the 7th (immediately following the Brett Pill home run) to get Angel Pagan. Mission accomplished.

9c. Gerardo Parra (LF) – Double switch. Came in (for the second day in a row) as a defensive replacement (in the 8th inning) – to a rather warm reception. Flew out to CF in the bottom of the 8th. It will be something to watch and see what happens to his batting average, coming off the bench. He may require a period of adjustment.

Score: 5-4, Diamondbacks win; Record 2-0 (Hit by pitch counter = 2)

Conclusion: With 2 homeruns, maybe Aaron Hill should consider changing his jersey number… let’s start with 3.

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.

image from Adam Eaton's twitter profile (@AdamSpankyEaton). He'll be back in that uniform sooner than later.

Prior to yesterday’s Diamondbacks game against the Indians, I was looking around Diamondbacks’ stats pages and noticed that, somehow, Adam Eaton had weaseled his way into more spring training at-bats than a fair number of people expected to make the 25 man roster. Notably, Jason Kubel, Miguel Montero, Lyle Overbay, and Geoff Blum.

If you need a quick refresher on Adam Eaton, we previewed him in our spring training preview post. In summary, he’s a 2010 19th round pick of the Diamondbacks and played in every level from Rookie ball to AA last year and then continued his season by leading the Arizona Fall League in runs scored.

FYI: This is not the Adam Eaton you are looking for.  Although, the Dbacks’ Adam Eaton does get his paychecks occasionally. He’s fast (42 stolen bases with a 71% success rate), hits for average and power and he’s fearless. In summary: go read this story.

He’s the type of player I love and, even though he was optioned back to Mobile after yesterday’s game, he definitely made an impression this year. I’m going to make a bold prediction that he’s going to turn out to be the 5th outfielder waiting in the wings, in case of injury or trades.

At the start of the season, there was endless talk about what to do with Gerardo Parra. Now the Dbacks were going to be putting a gold glove on the bench. How could this be?! He must be on the trade block!

And, over and over and over again, we’ve heard that this isn’t the case and that he’s very much a part of this team.

Well, if it helps, it seems as though the coach staff is putting their money where their mouths are.

Currently, Gerardo Parra is 3rd overall on the team in terms of games played (23 – Eaton and AJ Pollock are tied with 24); he’s leading the team in at-bats (63 – Willie Bloomquist is next with 52); he’s also leading the team in plate appearances (67 – Paul Goldschmidt is next with 61).

And, in order to ensure that he’s playing well enough to stay off the bench, he’s leading the team in runs, hits, and stolen bases (granted, there are only 2, but still). All-in-all, it really doesn’t look like he’s going anywhere.

Even though this blog has talked about Miguel Montero over and over again (he wants to stay a Dback, but they’ve stopped contract talks, there seems to be an ongoing search for some depth at catcher and, if something happens to Montero during this season, there is very little depth at catcher), after yesterday, there is still more to say.

image from flikr user afagen (flikr.com/photos/afagen/3803285289/)

It seems as though, with a good season, Miguel Montero will likely price himself  of the small-market budget of the Diamondbacks. Jack Magruder of Fox Sports Arizona reported on the specifics yesterday. And, the quotes from Miguel Montero certainly didn’t do anything to calm the speculation.

“Who knows? It can happen. It’s part of the business. I’m here right now. I have to enjoy the moment here, because you never know where you are going to be tomorrow. It’s like everybody’s life. You are here today. You don’t know where you are going tomorrow,”

Will 2012 give the Diamondbacks the arrival of Adam Eaton? A true 4-man outfield? The departure of Miguel Montero?

162 games is a long time. Everything is possible. But, one thing IS for certain – I’ll be buckled in, waiting to find out and prepared for anything.

Sometimes, when I’m on the internet, I end up clicking on one baseball-related link, which contains another baseball-related link and I end up wandering down a twisty-winding path that is about a million degrees away from where I started.

I don’t even remember how I ended up on the Arizona Diamondbacks page for the All-Time Franchise leaders…. but, I did.

And, I’m a stat junkie, so I ended up spending more than a little time browsing through the numbers.

Unsurprisingly, its a list that’s comprised of more-or-less 2 names, with Luis Gonzalez leading the way for the offensive categories and Randy Johnson heading up most of the pitching categories.

So, inspired by the lack of variety on that list, I decided that I would construct a list of the “also-rans” (second place finishers) and the “active leaders” (leaders among the current Diamondbacks).

Today we’ll cover hitting. We’ll tackle the pitching leaders in the next post. Just in case you ever need to impress your friends at a party or something.

In order to put some of the raw numbers in perspective…. here’s a little background information on who has a leg-up on the competition, simply because of the number of times they’ve come to bat in a Dbacks uniform:

• Games Played/At-Bats  —Luis Gonzalez (1999–2006)- 1,194 // 4,488

• Also ran: Steve Finley (1999-2004) - 849 // 3049
• Active leader: Chris Young (2007 – ) – 784 // 2848 – 3rd place
• Noteworthy: Luis Gonzalez is the only Diamondback to play in all 162 games in a season.

• He did it twice: 2001 and 2002.
• In 2001, this was his quadruple slash line: .325 // .429 // .688 // 1.117

• No, seriously. His OPS was 1.117 (perspective: Jose Bautista led MLB with 1.056 in 2011)

Now, that being said:

» Continue reading “Dbacks Franchise Leaders. Or: Part One – Hitting Leaderboard”