Haren continues dominance with win over Reds

Dan Haren continued to make his case to start the All-Star game for the National League with a 7 inning four hit one run outing where he struck out nine and walked only one.

The Diamondbacks got on the board in the third and gave Haren a lead he would never relinquish. Haren started the top of the third with a double bout would later end up getting thrown out at home on a fielder’s choice. With two out in the inning Justin Upton would single and on a throwing error move to second and Stephen Drew moved to third. Mark Reynolds would knock in both Drew and Upton with a single and later score on a Gerardo Parro hit which gave the D-backs a 3-0 lead.

In the 6th inning the D-backs would extend the lead on back to back homers by Miguel Montero and Dan Haren. Montero hit a two run dinger and was then followed by Haren who hit his first solo shot. Montero went 3-for-4 on the night and Haren was 2-for-2.

Jon Rauch continued to show his recent dominance with a perfect 2/3 of an inning.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
ARI	0	0	3	0	0	3	0	0	0	6	12	0
CIN	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	2	6	2

Boxscore

After battling back behind the bats of Reynolds and Upton D-backs falter in 12

The Arizona Diamondbacks jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning after Justin Upton reached base on a fielders choice and then stole second base. On a passed ball Upton moved to third base, but Upton could have just stayed on first as Mark Reynolds homed with two outs.

The Rangers came back in the top of the third against Jon Garland. After the first two batters reached base Scott Feldman sacrificed both runner over to second and third.  Ian Kinsler then walked and loading the bases with one out. Garland would allow three runs to score before being able to get out of the inning. Garland would allow two more runs in the fifth and would have another earned run credited to him in the seventh and left the game trailing 6-3.

Justin Upton scored in the sixth inning and Tony Clark hit his third homer of the season in the seventh bringing the D-backs to within two after seven innings.  In the bottom of the eight inning Mark Reynolds and Upton would team up again and show why they are quickly becoming one of the most feared 3-4 combinations in the game. With Upton on Reynolds hit his second second dinger of the game and tying the score. Mark Reynolds came within a few feet of having his first three-home game of his career in the 10th inning with a rocket down the left field line that hooked foul.

Jon Rauch came in to start the 11th and while I have been a critic this year, Rauch has done a great job lately. With one out Rauch walked Omar Vizquel then on a wild pitch and a throwing error by catcher Miguel Montero, Vizquel moved to third. The Rangers best hitter Michael Young came to the plate and ripped a ball into left where Upton made a spectacular shoe string catch and fired the ball home preventing Visqual from scoring and keeping the score tied at 6.

In the top of the 12th the Rangers would jump all over the D-backs. With Esmerling Vasquez replacing Rauch Nelson Cruz doubled and with two out Chris Davis hit his 14th homer of the year giving the Rangers a 8-6 lead. David Murphy would follow with a solo shot and the Rangers jumped out to a 9-6 lead.

In the bottom of the 12th Stephen Drew lead off with a single and Justin Upton followed with a walk bringing the tying run to the plate. Mark Reynolds and Gerardo Parra were unable to do anything and Miguel Montero hit a blooper to center and made it a 9-8 game. Brian Roberts was unable to deliver and grounded to short and ending the threat.

Eric Byrnes was hit by a pitch and broke his left hand is out for 6-8 weeks.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	R	H	E
TEX	0	0	3	0	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	3	9	15	0
ARI	2	0	0	0	0	1	1	2	0	0	0	0	8	10	2

Boxscore

D-backs fall in pitchers duel

You couldn’t ask much more from Dan Haren tonight as he pitched seven strong innings striking out eight Texas Rangers and walking only one. Haren did allow two earned runs on only four hits, which was one more than fromer D-back Vincente Padilla allowed for the Rangers.

Haren got into a little troube in the second innnig after he hit lead off batter Marlon Byrd then walked Hank Blalock. Taylor Teagarden would double driving in Byrd and giving the Rangers a 1-0 lead. In the top of the third Texas would tack on one more run with Ian Kinsler leading off with a single and stealing second base. David Murphy would then drive in Kinsler with a single and give the Rangers a 2-0 lead they would not relinquish.

Felipe Lopez would knock in the only run of the night for the D-backs. Miguel Montero reached on blooper to left field and moved to second base on a Dan Haren sacrifice. Montero then scored when Felipe Lopez singed to center. Lopez was the only D-back to have more han one hit on the night and reached base three times going 2-for-3 with a walk.

Haren fell to 6-5 on the season despite having a league leading 2.25 ERA.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
TEX	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	4	1
ARI	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	7	1

Boxscore

D-backs win in homecoming behind Scherzer, Upton and Lopez

The Arizona Diamondbacks got off to a fast start in their return home tonight against the Texas Rangers. In the bottom of the first inning Stephen Drew singled with one out and Justin Upton followed with his 14th homer of the season giving the D-backs a quick 2-0 lead.

In the second inning Eric Byrnes lead off with a single and moved to second base on a Miguel Montero walk. Ryan Robers followed with a walk and loaded up the bases with no outs. After pitcher Max Scherzer struck out Felipe Lopez grounded a ball into left scoring Byrnes and Montero and the D-backs has a quick 4-0 lead.

The Rangers would get one run back in the third inning and one more in the fourth before the D-backs found the scoreboard again in the bottom of the fourth. Pitcher Max Scherzer  would sacrifice Roberts to second after Roberts reached base on a walk. Lopez would then knock in another run scoring Roberts on a single and later score on a single by Stephen Drew. Justin Upton would then show why he deserves a lot more consideration for the All-Star team as he lined a shot that scored Drew and put the kid on second giving the D-backs a 7-2 lead after four.

Lopez would also keep up his torrid hitting with a triple in the 6th inning. Lopez would score on a bizarre play I don’t think I have ever seen after the Rangers catcher overthrew the ball back to the pitchers mound.

Matt Scherzer pitched six innings allowing only two runs on seven hits and striking out seven. Scherzer got into trouble a few times early, but was able to get himself out of it with minimal damage. The pull pulled through for Scherzer with three shutout innings allowing only one hit.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
TEX	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	8	1
ARI	2	2	0	3	0	1	0	0	x	8	11	0

Boxscore

Heartbreaking loss for D-backs

It didn’t take long for the Arizona Diamondbacks to find out why Seattle Mariners starter Felix Hernandez is called “The King.” After a leadoff single in the first by Felipe Lopez, Hernandez cruised right through the next three batters.

In the second inning the D-backs looked like they had a chance to break it open, but were unable to score after loading the bases with no outs. Gerardo Parra singled to reach base then moved to second after Miguel Montero followed with another single off Hernandez. Tony Clark followed with the third single in a row and bases were loaded with no outs. Eric Byrnes hit shot to thirdbaseman Chris Woodward who retired Montero at third and threw Parra out at home. Augie Ojeda then struck out and the Diamondbacks were unable to score a run off Hernandez.

After allowing 4 hits in the first two innings Hernandez allowed only one more before the eight inning. With one out in the eight Justin Upton walked and Mark Reynolds followed with a 2-run homer giving the D-backs a 2-1 lead and knocking King Felix from the game.

Doug Davis pitched a gem for seven innings and was replaced by Scott Schoeneweis to start the 8th inning. Schoeneweis allowed a single to Mike Carp who then advanced to second on a throwing error by Felipe Lopez. Jon Rauch then came in to relieve Schoeneweis and Mike Sweeney singled moving Carp to third with no outs. Franklin Guitierrez reached first off a fielders choice and Carp scored from third tying the game 2-2.

In the bottom of the 9th Clay Zavada walked the leadoff hitter and Ichiro Followed with a soft ground ball to Stephen Drew at short. Drew made a strong throw, but with Ichiro’s speed he reached putting runners on first and second with no outs. Zavada then struck out Chris Woodward on a failed bunt and got Carp to ground out to first. With runners on second and third and two outs Mike Sweeney, hitting .240 this year, was intentionally walked. Closer Chad Qualls came in for the final out. A soft grounder to Reynolds was fielded cleanly and first baseman Tony Clark dropped the throw.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
ARI	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	2	7	1
SEA	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	1	3	12	0

Boxscore

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