Diamondbacks 6/5, White Sox 4/Angels 2: Double W

Record: 7-6-1. Change on 2013: +1.

Diamondbacks 6, White Sox 4

Another solid outing from Brandon McCarthy, who was charged with two runs over five innings, on six hits and no walks; he struck out two. He got into a heap of trouble in the third inning, as the first four Chicago batters got hits, scoring twice and putting runners on the corners with no outs. However, a huge TOOTBLAN led to a strikeout and caught stealing of home, and McCarthy escaped further damage. J.J. Putz allowed two runs on three hits and a walk in the sixth, while Joe Thatcher had a perfect seventh, and Will Harris faced the minimum in the eighth, despite allowing two hits. Marcus Mateo got the save, striking out two in a hitless ninth.

The offense struck early at Camelback Ranch, scoring three times in the first on a Shelley Duncan sacrifice fly, and a two-run Andy Marte double. A.J. Pollock had his first home-run of the season in the fifth, a solo shot to left, and the D-backs struck late, breaking a 4-4 tie in the ninth inning, with Tuffy Gosewisch doubling home a pair of runs. Pollock and Gerardo Parra each had two hits, with Marte also reaching twice, with his hit and our only walk of the afternoon. Mateo made an error on a pick-off throw, but there was good defense from Tuffy, as he nailed two attempts to steal a base by White Sox base-runners.

Diamondbacks 5, Angels 2

Archie Bradley's second start might have been a tad less dominant than his first one, with just three of the 14 batters that he faced striking out - though that did include getting Albert Pujols to look at strike three to end the first. There was also a bit more wildness, with two walks and a hit batter, but the end result remained just as scoreless, with 3.1 innings of two-hit ball. Bradley had runners on the corners with two outs in both the second and third, but escaped damage, first with Miguel Montero picking a runner off first, and then getting Pujols again, this time on a ground-out to short.

Most of our other pitchers also had pretty good days, with the exception of Matt Stites, who retired only two of the six batters he faced, walking two and giving up two hits and two runs, both earned. Eury de la Rosa struck out both Angels he saw, stranding the runner inherited from Bradley, and fellow lefty Joe Paterson also had a pair of strikeouts, getting the save with a 1-2-3 ninth inning. Adam Russell also had a solid afternoon, with a perfect seventh, including one K.

The offense did a much better job of handling Garrett Richards than when he blanked them at the start of the week, tagging him for eight hits and five runs in his four innings of work. Didi Gregorius got things started for the Diamondbacks, doubling in two runs in the third, though got himself caught in a rundown. A Paul Goldschmidt double later in the inning, made it 3-0, and Arizona added two more the next time up, the runs being driven in by an Alfredo Marte triple and Ender Inciarte single. Marte was the only hitter to reach safely more than once, with two hits. Good crowd of 9,580 at Tempe Diablo for that one.

Tomorrow, it's back to Salt River Fields, with Bo Schultz getting the start against San Diego. Since we (and a few others, I believe!) will be attending, consider this advance warning that the recap might be a little late!