Over the last month and a half Boston Red Sox starter Jon Lester has been one of the best in baseball going 8-0 with a 2.18 ERA. Today the Arizona Diamondbacks saw why he has been so successful. Lester pitched seven innings and allowed only four hits and two runs while striking out seven.
Rodrigo Lopez did not fair as well for Arizona allowing six runs on ten hits in seven innings in the 6-2 loss in Fenway. Sam Demel made his first appearance for the D-backs and looked impressive. Demel did not allow a base runner and struck out one in his inning. Demel thre 13 pitches, 9 of which were strikes.
For only the second time in the last ten games Justin Upton did not strike out. Upton, hitting in the seventh spot went 2-for-3 on the day with a walk and knocked in both of Arizona’s runs. With Chris Young on base in the second inning Upton hit a 2-run homer which at the time tied the score.
Chandler AZ resident and former ASU star Dustin Pedroia hit his ninth homer of the eyar and went 2-for-4 on the day.
The D-backs try to take one in Fenway tomorrow when they send Dan Haren to the mound.
]]>It was announced early Tuesday morning that longtime D-back and fan favorite Conor Jackson had been traded to the Oakland Athletics for minor league pitcher Sam Demel. Since his arrival in 2005, Conor Jackson has been a mainstay in the lineup for the D-backs from 2006 to 2008. With three seasons of 25 or more doubles, two 15 home run seasons and a respectable .277 lifetime batting average, Conor will certainly be missed by the fans. During the 2009 season, Jackson was overtaken by a mysterious illness, later diagnosed as valley fever as he would miss the majority of the season for Arizona. In an effort to make some changes in the bullpen, the D-backs would trade the outfielder who did show some signs of improvement for the 2010 season.
Sam Demel, a product of TCU, has pitched in 22 games so far this year in the minors and boasts a 1.26 ERA. The right hander is expected to give the D-backs relief staff some much needed assistance as the team tried to make the bullpen whole. In 2007 Demel would allow no hits in five straight outings and in 2008 he would rank second in the California League in saves. Demel is expected to join the team on Wednesday in Boston as the D-backs face the Red Sox in interleague play.
To cover Conor’s former spot in the outfield, the D-backs expect to have Abreu step in after returning from the disabled list but, Gerardo Parra is likely to get most of the playing time. Josh Byrnes hinted that there may be more moves to come as the team’s management takes an overall look at the organization on and off the field.
]]>In their first game of interleague play in the month of June, the Arizona Diamondbacks would face the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. The D-backs would arrive in Boston after winning the last two games and going six-for-four in their last ten. As the team prepares for a challenging interleague schedule, they hoped to get started on the right foot. The Red Sox, however, had other things in mind for the team as they arrived. In the first inning, the D-backs would score right away on a Adam LaRoche single that would drive in Stephen Drew to make the score one to nothing. In the bottom of the first inning, the Red Sox would score two runs and never look back.
In the bottom of the third inning, Boston would be able to drive in three more runs for the team as they would take a pretty good sized lead over Arizona. In the top of the fourth the D-backs would try to stage a comeback by chipping away at the score. The D-backs would score two runs in the inning as Montero and Young would cross the plate on a Justin Upton double. The Red Sox would be able to score one more run in the fifth inning as they were able to keep the D-backs from scoring for the remainder of the game. The D-backs will face the Red Sox, once again, as Rodrigo Lopez will go to work against Jon Hester.
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The Arizona Diamondbacks would face one of the National League’s toughest pitchers on Sunday. Chris Carpenter with a seven and one record, going into the game, would face Edwin Jackson and the Arizona Diamondbacks. The D-backs would get started right away in the first inning on an Adam LaRoche double that would score Kelly Johnson and Mark Reynolds. With Jackson on the mound, despite the zeros on the scoreboard, he had pitched himself into a number of tough spots throughout the game. Two times with the bases loaded, Jackson would be able to get out of the innings. In the bottom of the fourth inning, the D-backs would score once again as Chris Young would hit a solo shot to give the team a three to nothing lead over the Cardinals.
The Cardinals would begin to rally back as they were able to drive in two runs in the seventh inning. The D-backs would deliver two runs of their own in that inning Going into the ninth inning, the D-backs would maintain the lead before Chad Qualls would come into the game to let the Cardinals right back in it. Qualls would give up three runs, allowing St. Louis to tie the game before being removed from the game and replaced with Esmerling Vasquez. With the score tied, Vasquez would minimize the additional damage before the D-backs would get a chance to take the game in the bottom of the ninth inning.
In the bottom of the ninth, the D-backs would get two outs right away before Miguel Montero would single to get on base. With Chris Young at bat and two outs, after a called first strike CY would hit one to left center field sealing the fate of the Cardinals with a series victory walk off home run. With his twelfth homer of the season and his second of the game, Chris Young would make the score seven to five as the Diamondbacks win the game. The D-backs will begin Interleague play as they head to Boston to face the Red Sox.
]]>After dropping the first game of the series against the St. Louis Cardinals, the Arizona Diamondbacks were able to bounce back on Saturday with a solid victory. Dan Haren was on the mound as he would notch another victory for the team in his excellent all-around performance. From the mound, Haren would pitch for eight innings, striking out nine of the batters that he faced. Not only would Haren perform well on the mound, he would go two-for-three at the plate with one double. Dan Haren is second only to Roy Hallady for at bats for a pitcher but is now averaging an impressive .425 at the plate with 40 at bats.
In the bottom of the first inning, the Diamondbacks would score first on a double by Mark Reynolds that would drive in Stephen Drew. In the bottom of the third inning both Reynolds and LaRoche would hit a solo homer a piece to increase the lead to three to nothing. In the bottom of the fourth inning Chris Snyder would hit another D-backs’ home run for his ninth of the season. Dan Haren would then hit a double and be driven in by Kelly Johnson as he would hit a double as well. With the two-baggers still coming, Stephen Drew would knock in Kelly Johnson from second as the fourth inning came to a close.
In the fifth inning, the Cardinals would score their first run on a Ryan Ludwick RBI single that would score Matt Holliday from second. In the bottom half of the inning, Adam LaRoche would hit his second homer of the game as he launched another solo shot to right center field. In the Sixth inning, the Cardinals would score once more making the score seven to two. The Diamondbacks would hang on to win the game as they prepare for the third and final game of the series on Sunday. Edwin Jackson will be facing Chris Carpenter as the D-backs look to take the series before hitting the road to head to Boston for Interleague play.
]]>The Arizona Diamondbacks had to rally for five runs in the seventh and eight inning to tie the Atlanta Braves at 7-7. But the comeback effort was wasted in the top of the ninth as closer Chad Qualls coming off four solid outings in a row allowed five hits and four earned runs while only recording one out.
Dontrelle Willis got his second start of the year for the D-backs and continued to struggle with walks. Willis only lasted 4 innings allowing two runs to score on three hits and six walks. Willis threw 95 pitches in only four innings, only 49 of which were for strikes.
The D-backs made a run in the bottom of the ninth loading the bases with only one out. Braves closer Billy Wagner would close the door striking out Rusty Ryal and Chris Snyder giving the D-backs 16 strikeouts on the day.
Kelly Johson was 2-for-4 on the day with three runs batted in, but also struck out two times. Justin Upton, Adam LaRoche and John Hester each struck out three times stranding 10 base runners.
]]>Ian Kennedy was strong once again tonight for the Arizona Diamondbacks in his start against the Atlanta Braves. Kennedy went seven innings allowing only three hits and striking out six. Kennedy did allow five walks, but held the Braves scoreless. Since April 24th Kennedy has a 3-2 record with a 2.65 ERA over the ten starts. Chad Qualls earned his 12th save of the season and now has not allowed an earned run in his last four appearances.
If there was bad news for the D-backs in the 2-1 win it was they could not get any offense going off Braves starter Kenshin Kawakami who entered the game with an 0-8 record. Kawakami allowed only four hits over six innings and recorded a season high eight strikeouts against the D-backs lineup.
The D-backs allowed one run to score in the top of the seventh inning, but the 1-0 lead did not last long. In the bottom of the seventh Gerardo Parra hit a long fly to right-center field that lead to Braves outfielders running into each other. Mark Reynolds and Parra scored on the play giving the Diamondbacks a 2-1 lead which they would hold.
]]>Each of the four pitchers for the Arizona Diamondbacks allowed a run in tonight’s game against the Atlanta Braves. Edwin Jackson pitched a complete game shutout in his last outing, but tonight he allowed four earned runs on seven hits and three walks in six innings of work.
Jackson would be relieved in the seventh inning by Blaine Boyer who was recalled from the minors earlier in the day. Tied 4-4, Boyer would allow one run to score on two hits and a walk. Vasque and Gutierrez would each allow one run to score in the eight and ninth innings leading to the 7-5 loss.
Kelly Johnson continued his recent hot hitting going 3-for-4 with three runs batted in and is now hitting .375 over his last ten games. Johnson would be joined by Justin Upton and Mark Reynolds with homers on the night.
Despite hitting only .217 on the season Reynolds is now tied for second in the NL in homers and fifth in RBI’s only 2 behind NL leader Troy Glaus.
]]>The Arizona Diamondbacks were able to get to Atlanta Braves starter Derek Lowe scoring seven runs on eight hits and two walks in four innings earning the team their third win in their last four games. Dan Haren lasted 5.2 innings for the D-backs allowing three runs on nine hits striking out five.
Aaron Heilman would pitch strong again with his 5th scoreless outing in his last 6 appearances. Heilman came into the game with one out and bases loaded. He would hit a batter allowing a run to score before retiring the next two Braves. Chad Qualls would pick up the save in the 9th despite walking three batters.
Stephen Drew had a big night going 2-for-4 with four runs batted in including knocking in one run in the first inning and another three with a tripple. Mark Reynolds hit his 13th homer and knocked in his 42nd run in the 4th inning off Lowe.
]]>Dontrelle Willis got his first start for his new team tonight as they took on division rivals Colorado Rockies. Willis looked more like the 2003-2006 version of D-Train than he did the Detroit Tigers version.
Willis lasted six innings allowing five hits and three strikeouts. Walks have been an issue with Willis in recent years and tonight he did allow four in his outing. Carlos Rosa who had been one of the more consistent relievers for the D-backs this year almost blew the game allowing three runs to score on three hits and two walks in his .2 innings. Aaron Heilman did come in for Rosa in the seventh to get the last out of the seventh and would pitch the eighth getting the hold and Chad Qualls would have his first good outing in over a week getting the save.
Ryan Roberts would would pinch hit for Willis in the sixth and hit a two-run double scoring Chris Young and Conor Jackson. Kelly Johnson would then knock in Roberts giving the D-backs the 4-0 lead heading into the seventh.
The D-backs go for the sweep tomorrow when they send Rodrigo Lopez to the mound to face the best pitcher in baseball this year Ubaldo Jimenez.
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