With the early start this morning (and me being too busy to get this up before o'early thirty), I'll combine the news from today and tomorrow (since many articles are already online) into today's feature. Anything extra tomorrow we'll just post in comments, and if it's big I'll edit it in.
Bonus points for guessing the source of the title (without searching). It is apropos of our situation yesterday and today - yesterday our magic number stayed at 3, but today we only have three games left this regular season!! The win today reduces our magic number to 2. Two for three in Colorado... that's just taking the series. They've done that all year. After today's win, the guys should have some confidence back going to Denver.
Yesterday's loss was tough.. not pretty by any count. Hernandez says he didn't feel right after the rain delay, and Reynolds says they might be pressing. (Republic) Pittsburgh certainly showed up to play. (AP) The pressure is mounting (MLB.com) but there's still time for recovery. (Tribune)
And today's bounce back win was in typical Diamondback fashion - anybody, anytime. This time it was Micah Owings with the big game, 4 for 4 with 3 RBI and 6.1 shutout innings. (MLB.com) (All of today's recaps focus on Owings: AP, Republic and Tribune.) Stephen Drew points out it helped to get on the board early, and Eric Byrnes calls the win "absolutely huge" and even agreed to use the phrase "must-win."
Lots of other news today. Several articles about Webb being pushed back to start tomorrow in Colorado instead of lose him today in Pittsburgh. Cautious? Yes. Smart move? Yes. Webb's 1-3 vs Colorado this season (and 0-1) in Coors Field but I like the caution; better to play him for more innings tomorrow even if is numbers aren't great, because he's our Ace no matter what. And Owings gave us a strong win today anyway. Hopefully the late scratch won't mess with Webb's preparation. He thinks it should be fine. Brandon Medders feels he learned from his travails this season. And clearly the Hairston trade worked in favor of the Padres this year. (Hairston had a 3-run double in tonight's game in Milwaukee that, as of this writing, is the difference in the game.) But scouts still like Rosales and he could be up in the bullpen next season. Speaking of scouts, Mike Rizzo had a hand in 17 of the Diamondbacks playing in the bigs today. Talk about a big influence in team history..
Also today was, as expected, rookie hazing!! No photos found yet, but I'm on the hunt...
Other news around the league that affect the Diamondbacks: Diamondbacks go 0 for 4 in wild card coin flips. To further mess with your head, a 5-way tie is possible for the end of the season among the Mets, Phillies, Diamondbacks, Padres and Rockies. That's as of this morning, and it's looking less likely. Mets and Phillies are now tied for the NL East title, and the Diamondbacks have won, but if Colorado wins (looking likely) there's no way AZ and CO can tie. Further information on NLDS ticket sales was also released.
The rotation for the weekend seems to be lined up as Webb vs Francis, Gonzalez vs Redman, and Davis vs Jimenez. Conor Jackson and Justin Upton figure to start against the lefties.
Important Question: The Yahoo schedule says Saturday's game is not going to be on TV for Arizonans (and probably only local Denver). Anybody know if this has changed due to playoff potential? If it hasn't yet, I say we mount an email campaign..
Thanks for spotting this, Jim! According to the Republic: