Hopefully there will not be much excitement for the 9th... but I figured it'd be safe. Plus we can follow other game action around the league.

9th inning, let's nail this one down!!

Glad to see we need this one tonight! Let's keep up the great plays, boys!

5-2 Dbacks in the middle of the 6th...

EdGon just pulled by BoMel in the 6th.

Continue...

Not sure if anyone will really be up for this after the news today about Davis - yet, he's still pitching this evening. Can't help wondering where his head will be - or, indeed, how long he has known, before it became public today? But, if he can pitch, than we can still watch and cheer. Let's go D-backs, and in particular, Doug Davis.

Tonight's game is on TV, on Fox Sports AZ, as well as mlb.tv. I'm at The Sets for our open-mic comedy show, but if I lean back and squint, I can see the TV where the game is playing. Of course, I could just move seats across the bar, but to watch the game, I'd basically have to turn my back on comedians. Which would not be nice. But we'll see: if anyone else feels like commenting, have a thread. Tonight's lineup:

• Young, CF .238
• Jackson, 1B .326
• Hudson, 2B .355
• Byrnes, LF .344
• Snyder, C .370
• Reynolds, 3B .222
• Drew, SS .194
• Upton, RF .297
• Owings, P

Stats are the spring training ones so far. I think I'd be phenomenally happy with about five of those batting averages in the regular season. Young, Reynolds and - it seems almost inevitably - Drew, could do with pulling their socks up. But it basically looks like a full-strength lineup for the D-backs tonight.

Just in case there's anyone about: I'm listening to the game on mlb.com. Haren made his first start in a D-backs uniform and allowed one run on a total of five hits over two innings, though it doesn't seem many balls were hard-hit. However, Drew drove in Bonifacio with a sacrifice fly to level the game. Scherzer just replaced Haren and delivered a very nice 1-2-3 inning. Middle of the third, still 1-1.

---

Post-game update. Might as well convert this into the match report. The current headline at dbacks.com is "Haren looks sharp in loss to White Sox," though looking at the box-score, you might be forgive for wondering how five hits in two innings can be described that way. In his defense, he did strike out four Sox hitters, and there was about only one solidly-hit ball in his outing. He said afterwards, "I was throwing a lot of strikes, which was a goal of mine. I gave up a few hits, but that's part of spring training, figuring out how to get guys out with two strikes. Overall, I went out there and my arm feels great, which it doesn't always this early in spring training. It feels really loose and strong."

Scherzer following Haren up and allowed a long bomb in his first appearance facing major-leaguers. Max said, "I sat there last night thinking, Oh, here you are pitching to big league hitters.' But you know what? I've been to so many new teams over the years. This is just another new team." That was the only hit in his two innings - it was late on that things got ugly, with the White Sox scoring eight in the last three innings off our new arrivals. Qualls' second inning of work saw Chicago get two, while Gutierrez and Rosales were tattooed for three hits, a walks and three earned runs each. New closer Brandon Lyon was also hit hard, giving up four hits and two runs in his inning of work.

On the offense, Parra continues his hot hand, going 2-for-2 for the third consecutive day, and extending his hitting streak to six consecutive plate appearances. Emilio Bonifacio also had a great day at the plate, with three extra-base knocks. Stephen Drew made his first appearance of spring, having missed a few days for wisdom tooth extraction [SnakePit Jr. had the same thing a month or two back, so we can only sympathize with Drew] and drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in his first at-bat. More bits and pieces from the game can be found in the comments.

Off to Tucson tomorrow: Micah Owings is going to be the D-backs designated hitter for the game, so that will be a lot of fun to watch. Melvin is also looking at hitting Owings up the order, especially in home games. The story says, "If they are on the road and he has to hit in the top of the first it might make him rush his warm-ups a bit or otherwise throw off his routine." If they're thinking there's much chance of him hitting in the first, then this would suggest he's significantly higher than ninth. We'll see what happens tomorrow, but I imagine eighth will likely be the limit.

Full report on that game to follow when I come back. Must remember to charge the camera! I believe the expected pitchers are Davis, Medders, Roemer, Green and Fruto. It's a split-squad game, with half the team going down to Hermosillo to play there. As a result, expect even us diehards to be playing "Who's on first?" for Arizona by the end of the day.

Micah Owings (24, RHP, 8-8, 4.30)

Franklin Morales (21, LHP, 3-2, 3.43)

BaseballReference.com preview [opens in new window]

Smoke 'em if you got 'em, folks. We're calling on all the blessed saints and martyrs this evening, simply in order that we can see the dawn tomorrow. St. Penelope of the Cross, the Blessed Salma of Hayek, and the Very Reverend Milla Jovovich are all being invoked. Though since their boss appears to strongly favor the team we're facing, I'm not sure the entire pantheon will be sufficient tonight.

At the moment, it looks like we'll be going with Owings, and I can't argue with that. The problem has not been the pitching this series, it's the offense, and a credible bat in the pitcher's spot could be very helpful. Same goes with the news Cirillo will be replacing Ojeda at, er, second-base. We need more production than Ojeda can give us: though if Cirillo boots a ball, I am allowed to reverse my position entirely on this.

Remember, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step," as Lao-Tzu once said. And any historic comeback has to start with a win tonight. Focus on that, and we can then see what tomorrow brings. And if all else fails, we turn to the words of Dylan Thomas:

So, even if we can't win, a Peña fastball between Tulowitski's shoulder-blades will do. He can then at least teach Justin Upton the "right" way to take first-base. :-) Aroundness for me is uncertain: we have a concert at the Paper Heart tonight, but I'll be laptopping, all being well, so should be able to comment sporadically.

Livan Hernandez (32, RHP, 11-11, 4.93)

Josh Fogg (30, RHP, 10-9, 4.94)

BaseballReference.com preview [opens in new window]

Quote of the Day: "I'm sure you guys are all probably writing us off; I don't blame you," he said. "We haven't done a whole lot to make you guys think we're going to win this series. I think we're a good team. I also don't think the Rockies have outplayed us, because they haven't. Not even close. They've had a little luck go their way. Definitely the ball has bounced in their direction. They've been the beneficiary of some calls." -- Eric Byrnes

And so we move to not-so-sunny Coors, where it's looking pretty miserable as I write these words, going by the Webcam pics. The temperature is currently a frigid 42F - Arizona residents may be entirely unfamiliar with those digits, therefore, as a public service, this Scotsman would like to inform you that it's pretty fricking cold. And it's not going to get any warmer the rest of the night. Hard to say who that's going to effect more, but let's just say - I'm glad I got my NLCS attendance in last night, under the Phoenix skies, wearing a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. It is supposed to be the boys of summer after all.

We just spent the early part of this afternoon watching 11:59, a conspiracy thriller about a TV cameraman who becomes convinced that the media and judicial systems are conspiring to frame an innocent man for political ends. It's pretty good (out now on DVD), but the irony was, seeing the hero drive down a highway and see a sign that said, "Next Exit: Coors Field". Yep, the entire thing was filmed in and around Denver. What are the odds against that? I don't think I've ever seen a movie shot there before, and we find one the day of our first-ever playoff game there? I'm sure it's an omen of some sort: but I just don't know what.

Fighting words from Eric Byrnes above, even if the time is past for that: now, only action will suffice. We've gone from "like to win" to "want to win" to, now, if not quite "must win", then probably "really, really need to win." And who better to turn to in that situation than Livan Hernandez? Er, that's a rhetorical question folks, please do not answer by throwing a copy of the Baseball Almanac for 2007 at me. He is what we have, and does respond well to stress - simply by ignoring it entirely, and throwing the same damn game he always does. Arizona fans should stock up on soft, fluffy objects to throw at the TV, because they'll need them. Kittens, however, are not recommended, since they can cause smearing on larger screens.

That said, here's a somewhat staggering fact for you. Twenty-one pitchers have thrown more than a dozen innings against Colorado this year, including Brad Penny, Jake Peavy, Chris Young, Derek Lowe and Barry Zito: guess who's got the lowest ERA of the lot? Livan Hernandez: a solid 35 innings, giving up only six earned runs for a miserly 1.54 ERA. Admittedly, he only has a 1-0 record in that time, but if the regular-season figures hold up, it might not be the pitching side that's the problem today. Not that the pitching has really been the problem the first two games either: six earned runs in 20 innings is an ERA of 2.70. We'd have settled for that coming in.

No: today, it's the turn of the offense to wake the hell up and put some runs on the board. Clutch hits need to appear, and we need to get contributions from the likes of Reynolds, Young and Jackson, who are a combined 3-for-19 so far. Though a sneak peek at the lineup tells me Jackson is on the bench - since Tony Clark was about our best hitter in Game Two, I can't say that's any surprise. Montero will also be catching, as he always does for Livan, and it looks like Salazar is starting ahead of Upton. We've faced Fogg four times this year, with a credible 2.62 ERA. Taking advantage of walks might be the key, since he gave us 11 free passes in 24 innings.

Of course, this may all turn out to be moot, if the weather performs its worst. I believe, in that eventuality, we will then play tomorrow and Tuesday instead. That could be helpful, giving us a chance to use Webb in Game Four - either a must-win or leveling game, depending on how Game Three goes - on full rest. Admittedly, given how the Rockies have worked him over this season, not least the parade of bloopers, bleeders and seeing-eye singles inflicted in Game One, we might just want to go with Micah Owings in Game Four anyway, and let him take advantage of the Coors Effect, humidor or not.

Will be about for this one, if it happens, though will be multi-tasking since I've got two film reviews to write as well. But my main focus will be on the game, needless to say. If we win this game, we'll be right back in it, since I expected to be 2-1 down after three games anyway. At the moment, the Rockies think they're unstoppable, and it has proved that way so far: denting that feeling of immortality is going to be the first step in resurrecting our series chances. So, let's go D-backs, lift the Fogg early, and get this back to a one-game series.

Ubaldo Jimenez (23, RHP, 4-4, 4.28)

Doug Davis (31, LHP, 13-12, 4.25)

BaseballReference.com preview [opens in new window]

Here's to a better game last night, for all concerned - and, perhaps, that includes the umpires. Let's hope that has flushed the Arizona system of all misfortune and suck; it has to be said, this team has frequently demonstrated a resilience, and they do seem very good at letting yesterday be forgotten. They certainly need to bounceback in full force, otherwise we will be in serious trouble.

Jimenez has done a very good job of shutting Arizona down the last couple of times he's faced us: only four hits in 13 innings of work, with 16 K's. However, he didn't get the decision either time, and he can be hit - the Dodgers got nine off him in four innings on September 25th. Davis, meanwhile, has an ERA just above three against the Rockies this year, though all his starts came in April and May - which might work either way.

Going to be at this one, so I certainly hope for a more robust performance. We'll be in Section 110, row 30 should anyone [icecoldmo, who I believe is selling beer so has a license to roam!] want to swing by tonight. We'll also be in the Hard Rock Cafe, for about an hour from around 5:45 in my case. Just look for the SnakePit jerseys. I will, of course, also be stocking up on sharpened coins, blocks of concrete and darts, to lob at the umpires if things get boring tonight.

Speaking of which, they've released info on the four men arrested during last night's game. Curiously, it seems they were arrested for fighting, rather than throwing things; am forced to wonder which team they were supporting. Seems kinda unlikely D-backs fans would battle each other, but booze does strange things to some people. Me, I just become affectionate and get a strong urge for a doner kebab. :-) [That would be "gyro" for American readers...]

Livan Hernandez (32, RHP, 11-11, 4.93)

Rich Hill (27, LHP, 11-8, 3.92)

BaseballReference.com preview [opens in new window]

Okay, figured I might as well get thus up sooner, rather than later: that way, I can get everything out of the way, and kick back to relax what promises to be a fun game. Once again, all the pressure is on the Cubs: worst-case scenario for Arizona today involves us still holding a 2-1 lead, and knowing that we can still turn to Brandon Webb should it be necessary. Worst-case scenario for Chicago, involves the end of the 2007 season. I can't say I am ever confident with Livan on the mound, but I've seen very little to fear in the Cubs through the first two games. Which probably just means they will explode for sixteen runs this afternoon.

Mind you, according to Bleed Cubbie Blue, the wind will be blowing out a bit at Wrigley, so we might score sixteen runs too. We faced Hill there in July: he got a no-decision, with the win for Arizona coming on Drew's homer off the Cubs 'pen. Livan hasn't faced him as a Diamondbacks, but there are several opposing players who have excellent numbers lifetime: Ramirez (.385), Kendall (.355) and Floyd (.341), all with more than 25 at-bats. Livan will need to step it up: in his five September starts, he threw 27 innings, but allowed 41 hits and 12 walks, for an OOBP of .433 and an ERA of 6.67. That won't fly today, Mr. Hernandez - though in his defense he was unlucky, with a BA on balls in play of a hefty .368, so the balls were finding holes. Here's to that trend ending today.

Should be around for this one, needless to say: sitting in the same positions on the couch, drinking the same beer (Stella Artois) and with Mrs. SnakePit by my side. Might be slightly-late there, as we are dropping a present off at a grandchild's birthday party this afternoon. But needless to say, excuses will rapidly be being made for that, so we'll see if perhaps we can reach 1,000 comments: though as long as we sweep the Cubs out of the playoffs, that's the main thing. And tomorrow, they can hang a dead, skinned bear from Harry Carey's statue, rather than a goat...