Diamondback Journal

PHOENIX — The playoff races are all settled and we are ready to begin post-season play starting Friday evening.

What happened yesterday will probably never happen again.  We had four teams tied entering the last game of the season, vying for two last playoff spots; one in the NL Wild Card, the other in the AL Wild Card.  Three of the four games were dramatic and went down to the last pitch, while the St. Louis Cardinals easily defeated the worst team in the majors, Houston, in an 8-0 romp.

Atlanta blew an 8 ½-game over the Cardinals as they fell to the Philadelphia Phillies in extras.  Boston held a 3-2 lead entering the ninth against Baltimore, but closer Jonathan Papelbon blew the save and the Red Sox life as he gave up the game winning hit to Robert Andino.

However, despite their loss, Tampa Bay at point was trailing the New York Yankees 7-0, but managed to come all the way back, tying it on a pinch-hit home run from Dan Johnson with two outs and a two strike count going against him.  Evan Longoria then ended things four minutes after Boston blew their lead, sending a playoff clinching home run to left field.  Both home runs just stayed fair and cleared the wall otherwise we might have had a one-game playoff to decide the AL Wild Card champion today.

Now as for what the NL West champs have to go through.  Their path is not easy by any means.  Arizona will open divisional play in Milwaukee against the Brewers on Saturday.  The Brewers play their best baseball at home (57-24) so game one will be interesting to see if Ian Kennedy can keep the BrewCrew in place.

If they are able to win that series, Arizona will most likely go against the Phillies, who they split their season series with.  The Yankees are always the favorite to reach the World Series and it does not appear to be a different story this year either.  However, that being said, how epic would it be to defeat the New York Yankees in the World Series again as Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson did ten years ago?

This actually appears to be a very interesting post-season with any of the eight teams capable of winning the championship and I will be tuned into as many games as I can watch.

PHOENIX — IT’S OVA!

The Arizona Diamondbacks have overcome the improbable.  With their magic number down to one entering Friday’s night game with second-place San Francisco Giants visiting, all Arizona needed to do was win one game this weekend.

As it is known by now, the D-backs have eliminated the defending champions from any chance of a division crown.  The only hope the Giants have left is to win out the rest of the season while both Atlanta and St. Louis lose the rest of their remaining games.  Things do not look good for the Giants as Atlanta just needs one win or Giants loss to eliminate San Francisco.

But, this is an Arizona blog, so let’s celebrate and talk about the things to come.

For starters, Arizona won the division after spending the past two seasons being the first NL West opponent to be eliminated from playoff contention.  Secondly, the division is Arizona’s fifth in the last 14-seasons.  Mathematically that is about one every three years.

The win itself was a signature victory as it came as most wins have come for the D-backs this year.  Their starter, Joe Saunders, stepped up big in the spotlight delivering a huge start for his club.  He pitched seven-innings as his only extra base hit allowed was a home run to left off the bat of Orlando Cabrera.  Otherwise, his six other hits allowed were all singles.  But despite his strong effort, he left the game with a possible loss to his record.

Arizona, has they have done all season, rewarded the great start that was dealt, scoring three runs through the seventh and eighth.  There was only one way to end this surprising division victory; J. J. Putz entered the ninth and closed the game out for the division championship against the more than likely, former World Series champions.

Trailing 1-0 entering the home half of the seventh, things were looking a little disappointing for the 42,606 in attendance.  However, Paul Goldschmidt played a key role in these final innings for Arizona, first starting off by taking a one-out walk in the seventh.  Chris Young then pulverized a shot to deep center field, just missing a home run, to drive in Goldschmidt to tie the game 1-all.

In the eighth, Ryan Roberts led-off with a double and advanced to third on Aaron Hill’s sacrifice bunt.  Cain then intentionally walked the NL MVP candidate in Justin Upton.  After Miguel Montero filed out to center, it was up to Goldschmidt to cash in for the D-backs with runners at the corners but two-outs already recorded.

With a 1-2 count, Goldschmidt reached out for the pitch from Cain, and it was a beautiful hit that flew into right field, bouncing away from Carlos Beltran’s out stretched glove that rolled all the way to the wall for a two-run triple.  Arizona was leading 3-1 with three outs left in the ninth to end things Friday night.

Chris Young who tied things in the seventh had to be on his toes as every out recorded in the inning was due to his attention in center.

Now, things are not quite to the point where Arizona can rest till the playoffs start.  They still have a chance to have home field advantage in the first round against the wild card victor if they can surpass the Milwaukee Brewers.  This decision though is up the D-backs managerial staff if they are satisfied with a division crown or if they want that home field advantage.

I think manager Kirk Gibson, who won the title in his first full season as manager and deserves an acknowledgement, will want that home field advantage.  Personally, as a few experts have stated, it would be in any teams favor to go up against the Philadelphia Phillies in a best of five, than best of seven with that pitching staff they possess.  Arizona could easily take one in Philly, and win their two home games where they have been dominant all season long.

All that I know is October will be a fun month that is a guarantee.

SAN DIEGO — The magic number can now be counted on one hand.  Arizona scored five runs to defeat the San Diego Padres and avoid the weekend sweep as the Diamondbacks’ are getting closer to their overall goal.

But, it has been a bumpy road for the D-backs since my last post.  Arizona has gone 3-4 since the 10 year Anniversary of 9/11, while the defending World Series champion San Francisco Giants have won eight straight.

It appeared a week ago that Arizona would cruse in for the division title, but San Francisco’s late run has postponed any kind of celebration in Phoenix for the moment.  I believed that the D-backs would have had this thing wrapped in their upcoming series with the Pirates, but it looks as if the series with Giants this weekend will play a major factor in NL West champ.

I cannot think of anything more heartbreaking than leading a team by 8 ½ through mid-September, to just blow the lead and division in the final days of the season.  Arizona currently has a five game lead over the Giants.  However, Arizona closes out the regular season with nine games at home where they have been dominant as of lately, so the odds seem to be in Arizona’s favor.  Maybe they should bring back the uniforms from the 2001 team.

A recurring theme for Arizona’s losses is the fact that they do not score runs despite strong efforts by their starters.  The good news being is that Ian Kennedy takes the mound for the D-backs against a struggling Pirates team.  Pittsburgh is the team to play as Kennedy seeks his 20^th win and Arizona looks to cut their magic number further.

Joe Saunders (12-12) returned to .500 as he came within one out of pitching a complete game.  San Diego hit back-to-back two out singles in the ninth and were threatening as a fielding error on Alberto Gonzalez’s single resulted in both runners advancing into scoring position.  J. J. Putz though pitched the final out, getting Nick Hundley to strike out swinging for his 41^st save.

The only mistake that Arizona made the rest of the game was in the third-inning.  Cameron Maybin led-off the inning with a single, stealing second and advancing to third on the throwing error from D-backs catcher, Miguel Montero.  Jason Bartlett’s RBI-groundout gave San Diego their lone run of the afternoon.

However, in the fourth, Montero backed up his error by tying the game with a leadoff solo blast to center.  Paul Goldschmidt broke the 1-1 tie by also sending a solo shot into right field, giving Arizona a 2-1 lead through six.

The D-backs doubled their run total in the seventh as Gerardo Parra took a walk to start things off.  A wild pitch with Aaron Hill batting allowed Parra to take second, and quickly Hill got himself an RBI, singling on a line drive to left and reaching third on a throwing error from outfielder, Kyle Blanks.  Goldschmidt then drove in Hill on another hit to Blanks in left for a 4-1lead.  Goldschmidt added his third RBI of the day on a sacrifice fly to give Arizona a final of 5-1.

PHOENIX — Six unanswered runs were not enough to come from behind as Arizona had its 15-game home winning streak snapped by the San Diego Padres on the 10^th Anniversary of 9/11.

San Diego got their third win this season at Chase Field as they piled on the runs early against Diamondbacks starter, Josh Collmenter.  He lasted just four-innings in which he allowed seven hits, surrendering six runs.

Nick Hundley got things going for the Padres as he led-off the second-inning with a double, advancing later on Anthony Rizzo’s groundout to first.  James Darnell then put San Diego on the board with his one-out RBI-single to right.

The very next inning, Wade LeBlanc singled and Cameron Maybin’s ground-rule double put the Padres in prime position to add more runs with runners in scoring position and no outs in the third.  Chris Denorfia then hit a grounder to the shortstop, but instead of being thrown out at first, Denorfia reached safely as LeBlanc was thrown out at the plate.  San Diego now found themselves with runners at the corners and one-out, with Arizona only needing a groundball to escape the inning.

Jesus Guzman kept the inning alive with a shot to left that scored Maybin, as Guzman and Denorifa both advanced into scoring position, avoiding any possible chance of a double-play for a time being.  Hundley’s walk loaded the bases, but also applied the force out at every base.  However, a second walk allowed a run to be walked in as San Diego took a 3-0 lead, and very quickly a 4-0 lead through three on Darnell’s sacrifice fly.

In the fifth, Hundley completed his 3-for-4 performance sending a two-run blast into the leftfield bleachers, putting the Padres up 6-0.  They would extend that lead a run further as Guzman’s two-out single brought in Maybin for a seven-run lead.

But, before the Padres could end the sixth, Arizona was right back in this game scoring five-run in the inning as they cut their deficit to two-runs.

Henry Blanco broke the shutout, hitting a solo home run to the fans in left.  Three of the next five batters reached due to singles and a walk to load the bases for Chris Young with two-outs.  Young brought a pair of runs home, doubling to leftfield.  Collin Cowgill followed by driving in another pair of runs on his single to center.

Blanco again came up big, leading off the seventh with a single and taking second after Geoff Blum was hit by a pitch.  Roberts force out groundball put runners at the corners with Justin Upton at-bat.  But, not even the MVP candidate could do anything more than an RBI-groundout.

Arizona did not get another hit the rest of the game as they dropped their third of their last sixteen.  With an 8 ½-game lead in the division, Arizona is just a win away from eliminating the Rockies and their magic number now sitting at 8.  The last weekend series of the season with the Giants may not have any significance as Arizona could be celebrating an NL West crown with their fans next week when they host the Pittsburgh Pirates.

DENVER — Arizona wrapped up their six-game road trip with a series win over Colorado, going 4-2 on their trip against divisional foes as the season slowly begins to wrap up.

The Diamondbacks, winners of 13 of their past 15 games, trailed the Rockies by a run midway through the rubber matchup.  But, the NL West leaders were not about to go down without a fight, rallying for three runs to win 5-3.

Earlier in the afternoon, San Diego defeated the defending champs 3-1, giving Arizona a 6 ½-game lead entering Wednesday night’s game.  However, with Arizona winning, the D-backs pushed the Giants seven games back while eliminating the Padres completely from playoff contention.

As of right now, ESPN has the D-backs percentage chance of making the playoffs at 98.9.  Atlanta, currently leaders of the Wild Card sit at a 96% chance of making the post-season.  It appears more and more that San Francisco will not be given the opportunity to defend their title.

Both starters gave average efforts for their respective club.  Saunders went six-innings, surrendering three runs on seven hits.  Colorado starter, Kevin Millwood, lasted just 5 2/3 innings, giving up four runs on ten hits.  Each starter threw 100+ pitches too.

In the third, it was all about the long ball for both teams.  Miguel Montero hit a two-run home run, giving Arizona a two run lead for the time being.  But, in the home half of the third, the Rockies used two solo shots to tie the game 2-all.  Millwood, the pitcher, and Carlos Gonzalez both went deep.

In the bottom of the fourth, Colorado yet again went deep on a solo home run, this time off the bat of Wilin Rosario for their first lead of the game, 3-2.

Despite having one of their weaker performances during this 15-game stretch, Arizona managed to find a way to win, maintaining their strong lead in the division.

Paul Goldschmidt led off the sixth with a single and scored the tying run on John McDonald’s two-out double.  Even Arizona’s starter, Saunders, got in on the fun, hitting an RBI-single to reclaim Arizona’s lead from earlier.

The D-backs lead was extended further as another home run left the park.  Justin Upton cracked a leadoff solo home run to increase Arizona’s lead at 5-3.

In the ninth though, a rarity occurred.  The Rockies literally got an extra out in the inning as Rosario struck out swinging on a wild pitch and reached first safely.  But closer, J. J. Putz like he has done all season recovered from an early mistake, retiring the next three batters he faced for his 37-save.  Arizona now leads by seven games with 19 games left in the season.  It is too early at the moment to be talking magic number, though I know a number of fans are counting down today.

SAN FRANCISCO — After dropping the first game of the series, Arizona took no time in bouncing back to avoid another losing skid after winning nine straight.  The Diamondbacks used a four-run eighth to rally against the defending World Series champion San Francisco Giants to take the series, pushing the Giants seven back in the division.

The Giants went back to their old ways, little offense and another loss in the record books.  San Francisco managed just three hits in the game, all coming against starter Daniel Hudson who pitched for his 15^th win of the season.

San Francisco’s lone run came on the second pitch from Hudson as Cody Ross cracked a leadoff home run.  Things seemed to be off to a good start for the Giants in this rubber match affair.  But as we know, San Francisco could not do anything more threatening the rest of the game besides Carlos Beltran’s two-out triple in the sixth.

Down a run entering the eighth, Arizona was quickly back in the game on Ryan Roberts’s solo home run that tied the game one-a-piece.  Gerardo Parra then singled and Geoff Blum followed by taking a one-out walk.  Willie Bloomquist would then triple to right field where Beltran was unable to corral the ball, allowing both runners to score for a D-backs lead of 3-1.  With Bloomquist at third, Aaron Hill’s single was enough to bring in another D-backs run, the fourth answered of the game.

J. J. Putz is now top five in the majors for saves.  He earned his 36-save after retiring the heart of the Giants lineup in order.

Arizona is now 20-games over .500 with the rest of the schedule in the D-backs favor.  They’re only quality opponent the rest of the season is San Francisco in late September.  Otherwise, every team is sub-.500.  The D-backs seem poised at the moment to just cruse the rest of the way to a division title as the Giants continue to fall farther and farther behind with less and less days to make a dramatic comeback.