Arizona Diamondbacks 13, Miami Marlins 11: The Hunt for Sedona Red October....

Record: 89-65. Pace: 94-68. Change on 2016: +25.

Still not quite there yet, but close, closer every day to that game on October 4th.

It’s amazing that we have an opportunity at all to play in October after hitting rock bottom this time last year. What a difference a year makes, right? Just last year the D-backs looked like they’d never win a series ever again, much less make it to the playoffs. Now we actually look like a dangerous team, albeit one that must make it through that one-game-playoff.

Still got a couple more series to go before we can really delve in to that game though, just like this one......

Beer 1: Northeast Mode IPA by McFate Brewing

• A long and stressful work week at an end and I’m thrilled to sit down with friends and a good pint to watch some baseball
• Here I thought Grienke dodged a bullet with Staunton. Nope. Ozuna crushes one to dead center. 0-2 Miami.
• So much for an easy game with our "ace". Let’s hope our bats start to awake from their slumber.
• Lord Goldy, blessed be his name, doubles and now it’s Just Dingers turn.....
• .....who walks...I’ll take it. Iannetta then puts on his best JD impression and proceeds to give us the lead as he golfs one to left field. 3-2 Dbacks.
• Greinke is apparently not feeling it today, and certainly not in playoff form. Single and a double makes it tied at 3 in the 2nd. uggggghhhhh

Beer 2: Dirty Hop Water by Arizona Wilderness

• The suck continues as he allows a ground rule double. 3-4 Miami and blessedly they have much beer here with which to distract me.
• Lamb and lefty pitching. He just can’t figure that out, at all, in any meaningful way. Marte though is cool with it, as he gets a double and Greinke drives him home with a double of his own. Redemption is a thing. 4-4 tie in the bottom of the 2nd.
• Freight Train makes it taco night right after that. Pretty sure this game is gonna be a barn burner. 5-4 Dbacks.
• JD, now standing for Just Doubles, makes it 6-4. Yup this will be a barn burner. God help me.... so many beers.
• Now 7-4 and I’m feeling good, no that’s not just the beer speaking.

Beer 3: Mega Blazing World red IPA by Modern Times

• Yup, starting pitching still a mess for us. Greinke and Iannetta aren’t on the same page at all or something. Just as I’m struggling to type that in my phone Grienke gives up a 3=run blast resulting in another tie. 7-7....FML.
• By the grace of Buddha he gets out of the 3rd. THE 3RD!!!!!!! This is truly crazy. Never would I have thought of such a game.
• Apparently scoreless innings do exist, as we’re unable to drive anyone in the 3rd. 7-7 and I’m wondering just how long I can keep my writing going.
• Grienke though embraces mediocrity. 7-8 after another HR. What. Is. Happening?!?!???
• Another no run inning for the DBacks. JD is human after all, as he grounds in to an inning ending double play. Still 7-8 going in to the 5th.
• Make that 7-9. So much for good pitching.

Beer 4: Hop Chowder New England IPA with fresh lemon and lime by Goldwater Brewing

• Going in to the bottom of the 6th and this strange game seems destined for disaster. At least this find ales are made of win. yay me.
• Walker mad! Walker smash! 1st HR of the year, and this game gets more interesting. 8-9
• Peralta gets on and Goldy gets on, followed by JD (Just Dangerous?) reaching on an infield hit. Excitement abounds as Iannetta comes up.
• Iannetta, with both anger and grace, crushes a grand slam to center field. Majestic. Beautiful. Glorious. 12-9 Dbacks.

Beer 5: Fruitalica IPA by Stone Brewing

• Good things happened in the last frame. Sure would be swell if we had our pitching do SOMETHING this frame. Just saying.....
• Yay!!!!! Pitching does a thing in the 7th! After how this game started.......
• Hitting teases in the bottom of the 7th, but at this point in my beer adventure I’m too content to care. 12-9 Dbacks going in to the 8th.
• Bradley is human after all: he allows 2 runs in the 8th and despite our many runs they just keep on keeping pace. 12-11 Dbacks.
• JD power level is over 9000. 9000!!!!! Yet another later-tater for some much needed cushion on this game. 13-11 Dbacks
• Bases juiced but cant add on more runs. Now it’s up to Rodney. Uggghhhhhh. Lord help us.
• That anyone swings at his pitches at all is truly a sign of divine intervention.

Bells and whistles, by Jim

Dear god, that was a game and a half. No, literally: 24 runs on 32 hits and nine walks, with the sides using sixteen pitchers between them. I sent a concerned text to Turambar in the later innings, just a wellness check, and got back the reply, “Death is only the beginning.” Which seems entirely appropriate, I’d say. Iannetta ends the night with three hits and eight RBI while Martinez gets three hits. With nine days left, has already tied the franchise record of 13 for home-runs in a month, set by Luis Gonzalez in April 2001. All this, and Rodney picking up his 300th save as well. That’ll do. Magic number for a playoff spot is 2: a win tomorrow and a Cardinals loss will do it.

Quite the Gameday Thread for a Friday night! Present were: AzRattler, Cumulus Choir, DORRITO, DeadManG, Diamondhacks, Greinkeschmidt, GuruB, Imstillhungry95, Jackwriter, Jim McLennan, JoelPre, LamparT, Makakilo, Michael McDermott, MikeMono, MrMrrbi, Oldenschoole, PaulGoldsmith, Sprankton, Steven M. Taylor, asteroid, coldblueAZ, edbigghead, hotclaws, kilnborn, onedotfive, piratedan7, rustynails77, since_98, smartplays and soco. Comment of the night to DeadManG:

And, mercifully, stranded in the on-deck circle when Rodney got the final out. Would NOT have wanted to see him with the bases loaded! Zack Greinke is the first D-backs pitcher ever to allow eight earned runs, in a game the team won. The previous high was seven, done on 12 occasions, most recently by Zack Godley, last August 22. We will reconvene tomorrow at Chase, in what could be a post-season clincher, with Taijuan Walker starting for us. It surely can’t be as dramatic as this one.