azdad1978
Championship!!!!
By Jack Magruder, Tribune
Play the over. Judging by the first week of the season, the Diamondbacks will. The D-Backs hit four more balls over the fence against Los Angeles on Saturday, increasing their major league-leading home run total to 11, but they still could not put enough distance between them and a thin bullpen to avoid a second straight late loss to the Dodgers, this time 12-10 in 11 innings before 30,753 at Bank One Ballpark.
A day after losing a threerun lead in the ninth inning Friday, the D-Backs lost a four-run lead after five innings Saturday before rallying to tie it at 8 on Tony Clark’s triple and Chad Tracy’s RBI-groundout in the ninth.
The D-Backs seemed to take advantage of their reprieve by loading the bases with one out in the 10th, but Eric Gagne fill-in Yhancy Brazoban — included in one permutation of the Shawn Green deal — struck out Troy Glaus and Green on 97-mph fastballs to get out of the inning.
Jeff Kent, who opened the scoring with a two-run homer off Javier Vazquez four batters into the game, hit a threerun double in the 11th.
The D-Backs strung together three, one-out doubles in their half of the 11th to pull within two, but rookie Steve Schmoll got a doubleplay grounder for his first major league save.
"You can say you are feeling good’’ with a 7-3 lead, D-Backs manager Bob Melvin said.
"But the way the games have gone. We’ve scored runs, but our pitching has struggled.’’
Melvin was limited in his bullpen because Mike Koplove and Brandon Lyon were unavailable after working three of the first four games, but the D-Backs still seemed in control when they saw the Vazquez they had to have in the Randy Johnson deal.
After Vazquez gave up three runs (two earned) in the first two innings, the D-Backs asserted themselves off Scott Erickson with seven straight runs.
Clark, Chris Snyder, Green hit their first homers of the season — Clark and Green their first as D-Backs — and Glaus hit his third in as many games for a 7-3 lead after five innings.
Clark and Snyder homered in the second, Clark’s coming after Green was hit by a pitch, to tie the game at 3.
Green’s two-run homer in the third made it 5-3. It was his 15th at BOB. Before signing with the D-Backs, his homer total trailed only Barry Bonds (17) and Rich Aurilia (15) among visitors here.
Glaus hit a 426-foot homer into the second deck along the line in left for a 6-3 lead, and Alex Cintron’s sacrifice fly following singles by Green and Clark made it 7-3.
Glaus, who had 10 homers in his first 91 at-bats last season, is tied for the major league lead with his three homers (in 21 at-bats).
Vazquez, who gave up hits to 10 of the 15 batters he faced Monday, retired 11 straight after walking a run in the second. He tired in the sixth, giving up a two-run double to Ricky Ledee, before newly recalled Oscar Villarreal gave up an RBI-single.
Reliever Brian Bruney, who has pitched in four of the first five games, gave up two runscoring singles after Randy Choate walked a batter in the eighth, the Dodgers taking an 8-7 lead.
Michael Gosling entered in the 10th and took the loss, giving up three hits and two walks.
"We played hard. These are two very, very competitive teams,’’ Melvin said.
"If we keep playing like that, we are going to win a lot of games this year."
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=39341
Play the over. Judging by the first week of the season, the Diamondbacks will. The D-Backs hit four more balls over the fence against Los Angeles on Saturday, increasing their major league-leading home run total to 11, but they still could not put enough distance between them and a thin bullpen to avoid a second straight late loss to the Dodgers, this time 12-10 in 11 innings before 30,753 at Bank One Ballpark.
A day after losing a threerun lead in the ninth inning Friday, the D-Backs lost a four-run lead after five innings Saturday before rallying to tie it at 8 on Tony Clark’s triple and Chad Tracy’s RBI-groundout in the ninth.
The D-Backs seemed to take advantage of their reprieve by loading the bases with one out in the 10th, but Eric Gagne fill-in Yhancy Brazoban — included in one permutation of the Shawn Green deal — struck out Troy Glaus and Green on 97-mph fastballs to get out of the inning.
Jeff Kent, who opened the scoring with a two-run homer off Javier Vazquez four batters into the game, hit a threerun double in the 11th.
The D-Backs strung together three, one-out doubles in their half of the 11th to pull within two, but rookie Steve Schmoll got a doubleplay grounder for his first major league save.
"You can say you are feeling good’’ with a 7-3 lead, D-Backs manager Bob Melvin said.
"But the way the games have gone. We’ve scored runs, but our pitching has struggled.’’
Melvin was limited in his bullpen because Mike Koplove and Brandon Lyon were unavailable after working three of the first four games, but the D-Backs still seemed in control when they saw the Vazquez they had to have in the Randy Johnson deal.
After Vazquez gave up three runs (two earned) in the first two innings, the D-Backs asserted themselves off Scott Erickson with seven straight runs.
Clark, Chris Snyder, Green hit their first homers of the season — Clark and Green their first as D-Backs — and Glaus hit his third in as many games for a 7-3 lead after five innings.
Clark and Snyder homered in the second, Clark’s coming after Green was hit by a pitch, to tie the game at 3.
Green’s two-run homer in the third made it 5-3. It was his 15th at BOB. Before signing with the D-Backs, his homer total trailed only Barry Bonds (17) and Rich Aurilia (15) among visitors here.
Glaus hit a 426-foot homer into the second deck along the line in left for a 6-3 lead, and Alex Cintron’s sacrifice fly following singles by Green and Clark made it 7-3.
Glaus, who had 10 homers in his first 91 at-bats last season, is tied for the major league lead with his three homers (in 21 at-bats).
Vazquez, who gave up hits to 10 of the 15 batters he faced Monday, retired 11 straight after walking a run in the second. He tired in the sixth, giving up a two-run double to Ricky Ledee, before newly recalled Oscar Villarreal gave up an RBI-single.
Reliever Brian Bruney, who has pitched in four of the first five games, gave up two runscoring singles after Randy Choate walked a batter in the eighth, the Dodgers taking an 8-7 lead.
Michael Gosling entered in the 10th and took the loss, giving up three hits and two walks.
"We played hard. These are two very, very competitive teams,’’ Melvin said.
"If we keep playing like that, we are going to win a lot of games this year."
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=39341
