AZ Snake Pit - Game #21: Diamondbacks @ GiantsAn unofficial Arizona Diamondbacks community and bloghttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/47033/azsnakepit_f.png2013-04-25T03:27:16-04:00http://www.azsnakepit.com/rss/stream/40258512013-04-25T03:27:16-04:002013-04-25T03:27:16-04:00D'backs 3, Giants 2: Deja Vu All Over Again
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<img alt="It's all good, man, we got this." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/hZmspFaFabGHG5lDMLlyx-0cISo=/0x140:2660x1913/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/12111439/20130424_sal_bs4_042.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>It's all good, man, we got this. | USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>The end of the first long road trip of the season is upon us. After losing two of three to both the Yankees and the Rockies, finally we went into getaway day with the chance to win a series! And who better to send to the mound than Ian Kennedy?</p> <p><span>Ian Kennedy</span> was saddled with the loss in Colorado while only giving up three hits. Well today, he nearly did one better, giving up just two hits until the 7th inning came along. While he also walked two and hit a batter, putting the lead-off Giant on base in four of the first six innings, he managed to avoid getting into serious trouble.</p>
<p>Kennedy didn't give up a hit until the 5th inning, a single to <span>Brandon Crawford</span>. (Of course, it was right after I noticed it, but I did not say it aloud!) <span>Marco Scutaro</span> doubled in the 6th inning, but after an infield fly, Kennedy struck out <span>Hunter Pence</span> and <span>Brandon Belt</span> to strand Scutaro at second.</p>
<p><span>Madison Bumgarner</span> was handling the <a href="https://www.azsnakepit.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Diamondbacks</a> with just as much ease. The Diamondbacks had their biggest scoring threat early, in the 2nd inning. With one out, <span>Alfredo Marte</span> singled and <span>Didi Gregorius</span> doubled down the left field line, putting runners at second and third. But <span>Cliff Pennington</span> struck out (his ninth of the road trip), and Ian Kennedy hit a slow roller to strand both runners.</p>
<p>After the 2nd inning, MadBum went to work. He was efficient with his pitches and seemed to get a lot of groundouts or low line-outs (whereas Kennedy got a lot of outs in the air, which excited the crowd because they were either deep fly balls or high pop-ups in this warm April afternoon). Bumgarner sat down all 12 Diamondbacks he faced in the 3rd through 6th innings. After a leadoff walk to <span>Cody Ross</span> in the 7th inning, he struck out the side.</p>
<p>The general feel in the gameday thread and the stadium was that the first team to score would win. And with both pitchers keeping the opponents off-balance, it could go either way. Or, put it another way, which manager would leave his starter in just a bit too long?</p>
<p>Ian Kennedy blinked first. After <span>Gregor Blanco</span> singled to right to lead off the frame, Kirk Gibson decided not to go to <span>Brad Ziegler</span>, who had been warming in the ‘pen. Brandon Crawford provided the first run of the game when he doubled to deep center field, easily scoring Blanco. Then Gibson brought in Ziegler, who got three outs on six pitches.</p>
<p>Arizona was able to tie it up the next half inning. With one out, <span>Eric Hinske</span> doubled to... well, to <span>Santiago Casilla</span>, actually. The ball was clearly fair down the left field line, but the ball headed right to Casilla and he caught it! Which, if he were a fan, would've gotten him ejected. In fact, Kirk Gibson tried to convince home plate umpire Eric Cooper to award Hinske third base, but, c'mon, it's Eric Hinske. He would have gotten to second anyway, yes, but there's no way he gets to third even if Casilla doesn't interfere. While Gibson argued, <span>Gerardo Parra</span> pinch ran for Hinske, and then A.J. Pollock's single brought in Parra to tie the game up.</p>
<p>After a scoreless frame from <span>Heath Bell</span> (ERA watch: 4.50!), <span>Jose Mijares</span> came in to pitch the 9th inning for San Francisco. With two out, Didi Gregorius doubled to center. Rather, he hit a ball that should have been caught but for poor communication in the outfield, and because he had run fast all the way (possibly because he was upset, thinks Steve Gilbert), he ended up at second base. So, then Cliff Pennington was intentionally walked to Mijares could face Parra. Yes, you read that right. Cliff pennington, who was 1-for-22 on the road trip at this point... was intentionally walked for the second him in his career. And yes, Gerardo Parra made Bruce Bochy and the <a href="https://www.mccoveychronicles.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Giants</a> pay by singling just over the head of Crawford at short to score Gregorius and re-take the lead.</p>
<p>So here we go, bottom of the 9th inning, and... oh, it's not like the back of our bullpen has had any trouble on this road trip with saves... it was David Hernandez who made the appearance today. With one down, here came Crawford, who deposited a pitch into the right field arcade. [Collective Snakepit reaction not suitable for print.] Just like that, the Giants, and the crowd, was back into the game.</p>
<p>It just wouldn't be a getaway day without extra innings. Thankfully, it also wouldn't be a getaway day without a victory. With one out in the 10th, <span>Paul Goldschmidt</span> walked and Cody Ross doubled to put runners on second and third. <span>Miguel Montero</span> was intentionally walked to bring up <span>Eric Chavez</span>... er, <span>Wil Nieves</span>... who hit a sacrifice fly deep enough to score Goldschmidt from third and put the Diamondbacks ahead.</p>
<p><span>Matt Reynolds</span> was given the chance for the save in the 10th, and of course he allowed a two-out double to Brandon Belt to make things interesting, but <span>Joaquin Arias</span> grounded out to shortstop to end the game - a getaway day victory for the Diamondbacks (7-0 now) and an extra-inning victory (5-0 now) at that!</p>
<p align="center"><iframe style="border:1px solid black;" width="450" height="450" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" src="http://www.fangraphs.com/graphframe.aspx?config=0&static=523838&type=livewins&num=0&h=450&w=450&date=2013-04-24&team=Giants&dh=0"></iframe><br><span style="font-size:9pt;">Source: <a href="http://www.fangraphs.com/livewins.aspx?date=2013-04-24&team=Giants&dh=0&season=2013">FanGraphs</a></span></p>
<p align="center"><b>Awesome:</b> G Parra, +37.7%<br><b>Pretty Good:</b> C Ross, +17.4%, M Reynolds +16.6%;<br><i>WTF Mate?:</i> D Hernandez, -33.4%</p>
<p>Quite a busy thread for a day game that wasn't televised! There were 42 people stopping by today making over 700 comments. TolkienBard, JoeC and benhat were your three leaders. All present were: 4 Corners Fan, AJV19, AzDbackfanInDc, AzRattler, Brendan Porter, Britback, BrokeNBattleX, Clefo, Dallas D'Back Fan, DbackCardsFan, Fangdango, Gildo, GuruB, Incomplete Translation, Jake6233, Jim McLennan, JoeCB1991, Majabe, Marc Fournier, Muu, Paper Clip, RedBirds, The so-called Beautiful, TolkienBard, Zavada's Moustache, asteroid, azcougs, azshadowwalker, benhat, blank_38, coldblueAZ, dbacks79, dbrowell, ford.williams.10, frienetic, hotclaws, imstillhungry95, onedotfive, piratedan7, rd33, snakecharmer, and txzona.</p>
<p>It seems the plane has successfully landed back in Arizona, much to the relief of the players, I'm sure. (Also, probably to everybody; since I'm so late with this recap, it better have made it there by now!) Time to face those Colorado Rockies again this weekend, this time on home turf. The games are back to their 6:40 start times for Thursday and Friday evenings.</p>
https://www.azsnakepit.com/2013/4/25/4264340/diamondbacks-3-giants-2-deja-vu-all-over-again-ian-kennedy-brandon-crawfordsnakecharmer2013-04-24T19:38:14-04:002013-04-24T19:38:14-04:00Diamondbacks 3, Giants 2 (10 innings)
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<img alt="Parra singles home the go-ahead run in the ninth. " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/UiRZbKtolNRVxsdRQLcAmNhTzSI=/636x628:3999x2870/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/12096003/167352977.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Parra singles home the go-ahead run in the ninth. | Ezra Shaw</figcaption>
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<p>The Diamondbacks came in to today's game unbeaten in series finales and unbeaten in extra inning games. After blowing their third save in as many nights, both streaks looked in jeopardy. But a Wil Nieves sacrifice fly proved decisive, and the road-trip ended 4-5. </p> <p>It has now been 11 games since a D-backs starter got the win, despite the team having five victories and eight quality starts in that time. Today's unlucky no-decision went to <span>Ian Kennedy</span>, who matched zeroes with <span>Madison Bumgarner</span> into the 7th. He ended up pitching 6.1 innings, allowing one run on four hits and two walks with four strikeouts. It looked grim, as the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.mccoveychronicles.com/">Giants</a> took the lead in the seventh, but <span>A.J. Pollock</span> tied things up with an RBI single in the eighth, and an inexplicable decision to walk <span>Cliff Pennington</span> intentionally in the ninth, allowed <span>Gerardo Parra</span> to give Arizona the lead in the ninth with another RBI single.</p>
<p>The D-backs turned to David Hernandez to close things out, but he had no better luck than <span>J.J. Putz</span> the night before, allowing a solo homer to <span>Brandon Crawford</span> with one out. But the never-say-<a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.azsnakepit.com/">Diamondbacks</a> took the lead again in the 10th, on a <span>Wil Nieves</span> sacrifice fly. After zero saves in his first three seasons, <span>Matt Reynolds</span> was called upon for his second save on consecutive nights, and after a two-out double, got a grounder to <span>Didi Gregorius</span> for the win. <span>Paul Goldschmidt</span> reached base safely three times (SnakeLines count: 5), and Gregorius had two more hits.</p>
<p>Arizona are now 7-0 in series finales, and 5-0 in games beyond regulation. They come home to Arizona, and will start a four-game series against Colorado tomorrow night. 'charmer will be back with the full recap, once she makes her way home from the park.</p>
https://www.azsnakepit.com/2013/4/24/4263024/diamondbacks-giants-recapJim McLennan2013-04-24T14:12:54-04:002013-04-24T14:12:54-04:00Preview, Game 21: Diamondbacks @ Giants
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<img alt="Obese Raccoons can't run. " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/G5M_r21_Xqrj9DEkH6OCaJMWEpA=/0x0:3999x2666/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/12078795/20130423_jla_bs4_931.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Obese Raccoons can't run. | USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Can the Diamondbacks continue the momentum from last night's extra-inning victory? Or will they be plum tuckered out? It's an afternoon game at AT&T Park, finishing the series against the Giants. No TV for this one though. </p> <p>
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<br><span>Ian Kennedy</span><br>RHP, 1-2, 5.47</h4>
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<br><span>Madison Bumgarner</span><br>LHP, 3-0, 2.05<br>
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<h4>D-backs line-up:</h4>
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<span>A.J. Pollock</span>, CF <br>
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<span>Martin Prado</span>, 3B <br>
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<span>Paul Goldschmidt</span>, 1B <br>
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<span>Cody Ross</span>, RF <br>
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<span>Miguel Montero</span>, C <br>
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<span>Alfredo Marte</span>, LF <br>
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<span>Didi Gregorius</span>, SS <br>
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<span>Cliff Pennington</span>, 2B <br>
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<p>I was wondering what the team record was in contests <i>after</i> extra-inning games: did the euphoria of such a victory carry forward to the following night? And conversely, did a defeat under such circumstances lead to any hangover the following day? It's probably something that needs more study - ok, considering my "study" consisted of two minutes looking at last year's schedule, it could hardly be any <u>less</u> study - but the results were kinda surprising. Of the seven extra-inning games played by the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.azsnakepit.com/">Diamondbacks</a> last year, all but one had the REVERSE result the next day. If we won in extras, we usually lost the next game; but if we lost, we usually won.</p>
<p>The only exception was the Sep 4 games against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.mccoveychronicles.com/">Giants</a> in San Francisco, where we won 8-6 in 11 innings (itself coming on the heels of a 10-inning defeat the previous night), and followed it up with a 6-2 victory over the Giants the following day. I don't generally believe in omens, but it seems a strangely similar pattern to this series. Walk-off loss, extra-inning victory, and the finale in both cases takes place on a Wednesday with the home team sending Bumgarner to the mound. I'd take the win, which would roll the road-trip record to a respectable 4-5, and head back home to take on the (suddenly vulnerable, it appears) <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.purplerow.com/">Rockies</a>.</p>
<p>Lett-handed line-up, though Didi, as a treat for his 11th-inning hustle last night, gets to start against a left-handed pitcher. Montero is, at least, not batting clean-up, though the fifth spot still seems to high for someone below the Uecker Line, who hasn't shown any power this year either. Marte comes in to replace <span>Gerardo Parra</span>, which seems a bit of a double-edged sword. Parra can't hit left-handers of course (3-for-25 against them this year), but Marte can't seem to hit anyone to date, and is 3-for-19 against southpaws, hardly much of an improvement. Can we get Adam Eaton and <span>Jason Kubel</span> back soon, please?</p>
<p>Finally, a quick rant against the schedule makers. It's a day game today, before the D-backs make the arduous trip back the 653 miles to Phoenix from San Francisco. But when we were in New York, because (one presumes) it was the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/">Yankees</a>, who love money, they got a <u>night</u> game, before we made the 1,631 mile flight from there to Denver, arriving at about 5 am. It's something that needs to be sorted, I think. Simply mandate compulsory day games before any flight of more than X miles. Whatever X might be.</p>
https://www.azsnakepit.com/2013/4/24/4261500/diamondbacks-giants-previewJim McLennan