AZ Snake Pit - Game #157: Diamondbacks 6, Twins 2An unofficial Arizona Diamondbacks community and bloghttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/47033/azsnakepit_f.png2014-09-22T23:53:04-04:00http://www.azsnakepit.com/rss/stream/65947262014-09-22T23:53:04-04:002014-09-22T23:53:04-04:00ARI 6, MIN 2: 99 problems, but 100 L's ain't one
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<figcaption>Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Josh Collmenter was solid, Mark Trumbo hit a home-run, and Didi Gregorius had three extra-base hits. One of these things was probably less expected than the other two. </p> <p><b>Record: 63-94. Pace: 65-97, Change on 2013/2010: -17/-1.</b></p>
<p>In the early going, the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.azsnakepit.com/">Diamondbacks</a> seemed to have the better chances, with a light sprinkling of runners on base in each of the first three innings, but nothing significant happening. The very start of the game was their best opportunity in the early going, as <span>Ender Inciarte</span> and <span>A.J. Pollock</span> singled to get things going, with Inciarte stealing second. However, <span>David Peralta</span> hit into a double play, and <span>Mark Trumbo</span> struck out to waste the chance. Instead, it was the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.royalsreview.com/">Royals</a> who got on the board. <span>Josh Collmenter</span> put the first two on in the third, and after retiring the next two, allowed an RBI single, with Peralta's throw home sailing to the backstop.</p>
<p>Collmenter struck out the next hitter to end the threat, and neither side managed a hit in the fourth inning. That all changed in the fifth, however, as the Diamondbacks took full advantage of some wildness from Rickie Nolasco. Jake Lamb and <span>Chris Owings</span> each singled, and <span>Didi Gregorius</span> then got around on a pitch, driving it just fair down the right-field line for an RBI double. Inciarte then grounded out to the right side of the infield for an RBI, and a wild pitch by Nolasco brought Gregorius in and made it 3-1 to the Diamondbacks.</p>
<p>With one out, Pollock then got his second hit of the game, banging the ball back up the middle, and proceeded to steal his 13th base of the season, not once, but twice. The reason he needed to do that, was because on the first attempt, the catcher's follow-through hit Peralta - he was called out for catcher's interference,. and Pollock had to go back to first. Undaunted, he stole the base again on the very next pitch. Pollock's 87% SB% has been beaten by only two D-backs with 15 or more attempts: <span>Eric Byrnes</span> was 24-3 (99%) in 2006, and <span>Gerardo Parra</span> was 15-1 in 2011 (94%, apparently before he forgot how to run the bases).</p>
<p>Of course, in this case, Trumbo then rendered it irrelevant, hitting what looked at first glance to be a shallow pop-up to right-center. I'm not sure it has come down yet. That's now four home-runs and 11 RBI over Trumbo's last seven games. Sure, it's a small sample size, but Imma gonna extrapolate that and confidently predict 93 home-runs and 255 RBI for Trumbo next season, based on that. You heard it here first, folks. Less sarcastically, I don't mind too much if he ends the season solidly, because we're going to be relying on him delivering the much-touted power next season, if the Diamondbacks are going to rebound.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Collmenter was delivering another solid start on the mound. He got a bit of help in the fifth, after a leadoff single, when the runner was eventually called out, after a review, when he tried to steal second. But outside of the third inning mentioned above, he was rarely in trouble through the sixth. He allowed a double to leadoff the seventh, and one out later, after 109 pitches, he was done. <span>Oliver Perez</span> allowed the inherited runner to score, leaving Collmenter with a final line of 6.1 innings of work, with two runs allowed on five hits and a walk, with five strrkeouts. For me, he should certainly be in the 2015 rotation, almost regardless of off-season signings.</p>
<p>That was pretty much it in terms of excitement here, although the Diamondbacks did deliver tacos in the eighth inning. <span>Aaron Hill</span> got a lead-off double, stole third with one out, and came home on an infield chopper by Owings, However, his dive headfirst into homje-plate was an awkward one, and when he went into the dugout, he headed immediately down the tunnel holding his right hand. It seems he dislocated the tip of his right pinky finger: the club lists him as "day to day", but I would be very surprised if he's in the line-up tomorrow, and depending on what happens, that may be it for the season. We don't exactly need to force the issue.</p>
<p><span>Evan Marshall</span> bailed Perez out, then worked a scoreless eighth, then <span>Will Harris</span> followed up by closing the door, as Arizona ended the six-game losing streak. Didi Gregorius led the offense with three hits, all of them doubles; A.J. Pollock also had three hits, while there were two apiece for Ender Inciarte, Owings and Hill, as we outhit the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.twinkietown.com/">Twins</a> by a 14-7 margin. The victory guarantees the Diamondbacks will no longer finish with 100 losses on the year. The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.lonestarball.com/">Rangers</a> also won, so in the Tankapalooza standings, we remain one-half of a game ahead of them: Texas need to lose two more games over their remaining six games, than we do in our five.</p>
<p align="center"><a target="_blank" href="http://www.fangraphs.com/livewins.aspx?date=2014-09-22&team=Twins&dh=0&season=2014"><img alt="Chart_medium" class="photo" src="http://cdn3.vox-cdn.com/assets/5050664/chart_medium.png"></a><br>[<i>Click to enlarge, at fangraphs.com</i>}<br><b>Pork-chop on a stick: Didi Gregorius, +22.4%</b><br>Corn dog: Josh Collmenter, +12.6%<br><i><b>Walleye: David Peralta, -15.2%</b></i></p>
<p align="left">250 comments in the thread, but 60% of those were down to the top three commenters, who were SongBird, GuruB and Paulnh. Not many others beyond them, with the attendees here being: Diamondhacks, Jim McLennan, Makakilo, TheGoldenSombrero, asteroid, onedotfive and preston.salisbury.. The most-rec'd comments went to TheGoldenSombrero, but it's too long to include here. Hopefully, he'll re-create it as a Fanpost as I suggested, but until then you can <a target="_blank" href="http://www.azsnakepit.com/2014/9/22/6831137/gameday-thread-157-9-22-twins#260261176">see it here</a>. So Comment of the Game goes to the other Sedona Red one, from SongBird.</p>
<p align="left"><span class="user_actions"><span class="cactions mod "><span class="mod_actions"> </span> </span> </span></p>
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<h2 class="title collapse_toggle ">I really like Josh Collmenter</h2>
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<p>He seems fun, he’s a funny guy. I’m glad he’s been successful this season.</p>
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<div class="meta">by <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/SongBird" class="poster" target="_blank">SongBird</a> on <a href="http://www.azsnakepit.com/2014/9/22/6831137/gameday-thread-157-9-22-twins#260265518" class="date">Sep 22, 2014 | 6:57 PM</a> <span class="user_actions"> <a href="http://www.azsnakepit.com/2014/9/22/6831137/gameday-thread-157-9-22-twins#" class="reply_link" title="reply to this comment">reply</a> <span class="cactions mod "> <a href="http://www.azsnakepit.com/2014/9/22/6831137/gameday-thread-157-9-22-twins#" class="rec_link recommended user_recommended"> unrec <span class="rec_count"> (4) </span> </a> <span class="mod_actions"> <a href="http://www.azsnakepit.com/2014/9/22/6831137/gameday-thread-157-9-22-twins#" class="actions_toggle">actions</a></span></span></span>
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<p align="left">We will be back at Target Field for the second game tomorrow, with the same start time, 5:10pm. <span>Andrew Chafin</span> gets the start for the Diamondbacks.</p>
https://www.azsnakepit.com/2014/9/22/6831567/diamondbacks-twins-josh-collmenter-mark-trumboJim McLennan2014-09-22T23:28:41-04:002014-09-22T23:28:41-04:00Diamondbacks 6, Twins 2
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<figcaption>Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Josh Collmenter continued his run of solid outings, and a five-run fifth inning was enough for the Diamondbacks to snap their six-game losing streak as they opened a series in Minnesota</p> <p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.twinkietown.com/">Twins</a> got on the board first, with a two-out RBI single in the third inning. However, <span>Josh Collmenter</span> did a very solid job of shutting them down otherwise, and pitched into the seventh inning. His line would have looked better, save for <span>Oliver Perez</span> doing a poor job of stranding the runner he inherited, but even so, Collmenter still ended up being charged with two runs in 6.1 innings, on five hits and a walk with five strikeouts. After Perez retired one of three batters faced, <span>Evan Marshall</span> and <span>Will Harris</span> finished things off with zeroes in the eighth and ninth innings.</p>
<p>The offense largely consisted of one inning, which opened with back-to-back-to-back hits by <span>Jake Lamb</span>, <span>Chris Owings</span> and <span>Didi Gregorius</span>, the latter an RBI double. A groundout and wild pitch scored two more runs, and later in the inning, <span>Mark Trumbo</span> clubbed his 12th home-run of the season, and third in the last two games, to right-field. Gregorius had three doubles on the night, with three hits for <span>A.J. Pollock</span> as well, and two apiece for Ender inciarte, Owings and Aaron Hill. However, Hill left the game in the eighth, injuring his hand as he slid in to score the taco'th run in the eighth. Word is he dislocated the tip of his right pinky, and he is "day to day". But I'm betting tomorrow is not that day.</p>
https://www.azsnakepit.com/2014/9/22/6831889/diamondbacks-twins-scoreJim McLennan2014-09-22T19:00:02-04:002014-09-22T19:00:02-04:00Preview: Collmenter vs. Tankapalooza
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<img alt="Josh and his Jedi mind tricks could play havoc with Tankapalooza 2014" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/2VG3cNnykAgRW0ZBR8p_cRMc2W8=/0x260:3030x2280/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/39545546/455564942.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Josh and his Jedi mind tricks could play havoc with Tankapalooza 2014 | Ralph Freso</figcaption>
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<p>The final road series of the year starts in Minnesota, with Tankapalooza 2014 enemy #1, Josh Collmenter, taking the mound for Arizona.</p>
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<td valign="middle" width="10%"><img src="http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/2572695/ari.png"></td>
<td valign="middle" width="40%">
<h5>
<span>Josh Collmenter</span><br>RHP, 10-8, 3.60<br>
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<td valign="middle" width="10%"><img src="http://cdn3.vox-cdn.com/assets/5049122/min.png"></td>
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<span class="sbn-auto-link"><span>Ricky Nolasco</span></span><br>RHP, 5-11, 5.34</h5>
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<td class="td-last td-name">
<span>Ender Inciarte</span> - LF</td>
<td class="td-first td-name">
<span>Danny Santana</span> - SS</td>
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<td class="td-last td-name">
<span>A.J. Pollock</span> - CF</td>
<td class="td-first td-name">
<span>Chris Herrmann</span> - LF</td>
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<td class="td-last td-name">
<span>David Peralta</span> - RF</td>
<td class="td-first td-name">
<span>Trevor Plouffe</span> - 3B</td>
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<td class="td-last td-name">
<span>Mark Trumbo</span> - 1B</td>
<td class="td-first td-name">
<span>Kennys Vargas</span> - DH</td>
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<td class="td-last td-name">
<span>Miguel Montero</span> - C</td>
<td class="td-first td-name">
<span>Oswaldo Arcia</span> - RF</td>
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<td class="td-last td-name">
<span>Aaron Hill</span> - DH</td>
<td class="td-first td-name">
<span>Kurt Suzuki</span> - C</td>
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<td class="td-last td-name">
<span>Jake Lamb</span> - 3B</td>
<td class="td-first td-name">
<span>Chris Parmelee</span> - 1B</td>
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<td class="td-last td-name">
<span>Chris Owings</span> - 2B</td>
<td class="td-first td-name">
<span>Aaron Hicks</span> - CF</td>
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<td class="td-last td-name">
<span>Didi Gregorius</span> - SS</td>
<td class="td-first td-name">
<span>Doug Bernier</span> - 2B</td>
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<p>These last six games will see a pair of starts from Collmenter, who has easily been the best member of the team's rotation over the past month, as the table below shows, with the figures for all our starters (whether starting or not in the case of Delgado).</p>
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<thead>
<tr style="display: table-row;">
<td data-stat="ranker" class="tooltip ranker sort_default_asc show_partial_when_sorting" align="center">Rk</td>
<td data-stat="player" class="tooltip sort_default_asc show_partial_when_sorting" align="left">Name</td>
<td data-stat="W" class="tooltip" data-filter="1" data-name="Wins" align="center">W</td>
<td data-stat="L" class="tooltip" data-filter="1" data-name="Losses" align="center">L</td>
<td data-stat="IP" class="tooltip" data-filter="1" data-name="Innings Pitched" align="center">IP</td>
<td data-stat="H" class="tooltip" data-filter="1" data-name="Hits" align="center">H</td>
<td data-stat="R" class="tooltip" data-filter="1" data-name="Runs Scored" align="center">R</td>
<td data-stat="ER" class="tooltip" data-filter="1" data-name="Earned Runs" align="center">ER</td>
<td data-stat="BB" class="tooltip" data-filter="1" data-name="Bases on Balls" align="center">BB</td>
<td data-stat="SO" class="tooltip" data-filter="1" data-name="Strikeouts" align="center">SO</td>
<td data-stat="earned_run_avg" class="tooltip sort_default_asc hide_non_quals sorttable_sorted sort_col" data-filter="1" data-name="Earned Run Average" align="center">ERA</td>
<td data-stat="whip" class="tooltip sort_default_asc hide_non_quals" data-filter="1" data-name="Walks & Hits per IP" align="center">WHIP</td>
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<tbody>
<tr style="display: table-row;" data-row="3">
<td align="right">1</td>
<td align="left">Josh Collmenter</td>
<td align="right">2</td>
<td align="right">1</td>
<td align="right">35.2</td>
<td align="right">21</td>
<td align="right">5</td>
<td align="right">4</td>
<td align="right">4</td>
<td align="right">20</td>
<td align="right">1.01</td>
<td align="right">0.701</td>
</tr>
<tr style="display: table-row;" data-row="5">
<td align="right">2</td>
<td align="left"><span>Randall Delgado</span></td>
<td align="right">1</td>
<td align="right">1</td>
<td align="right">15.2</td>
<td align="right">18</td>
<td align="right">4</td>
<td align="right">4</td>
<td align="right">4</td>
<td align="right">12</td>
<td align="right">2.30</td>
<td align="right">1.404</td>
</tr>
<tr style="display: table-row;" data-row="10">
<td align="right">3</td>
<td align="left"><span>Vidal Nuno</span></td>
<td align="right">0</td>
<td align="right">3</td>
<td align="right">32.2</td>
<td align="right">27</td>
<td align="right">14</td>
<td align="right">14</td>
<td align="right">6</td>
<td align="right">25</td>
<td align="right">3.86</td>
<td align="right">1.010</td>
</tr>
<tr style="display: table-row;" data-row="9">
<td align="right">4</td>
<td align="left"><span>Wade Miley</span></td>
<td align="right">1</td>
<td align="right">3</td>
<td align="right">26.1</td>
<td align="right">34</td>
<td align="right">14</td>
<td align="right">14</td>
<td align="right">14</td>
<td align="right">20</td>
<td align="right">4.78</td>
<td align="right">1.823</td>
</tr>
<tr style="display: table-row;" data-row="0">
<td align="right">5</td>
<td align="left"><span>Chase Anderson</span></td>
<td align="right">2</td>
<td align="right">2</td>
<td align="right">27.0</td>
<td align="right">28</td>
<td align="right">16</td>
<td align="right">15</td>
<td align="right">9</td>
<td align="right">29</td>
<td align="right">5.00</td>
<td align="right">1.370</td>
</tr>
<tr style="display: table-row;" data-row="1">
<td align="right">6</td>
<td align="left"><span>Trevor Cahill</span></td>
<td align="right">0</td>
<td align="right">4</td>
<td align="right">22.0</td>
<td align="right">28</td>
<td align="right">23</td>
<td align="right">23</td>
<td align="right">15</td>
<td align="right">27</td>
<td align="right">9.41</td>
<td align="right">1.955</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>Normally, an ERA of one would get you a win more often than not, shall we say - just not for Collmenter, who received a total of six runs of support in the three other games. His last two starts came against a likely playoff contender in the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.mccoveychronicles.com/">San Francisco Giants</a>, so the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.twinkietown.com/">Twins</a> will probably provide a little bit of an easier challenge. So, we'll probably need our offense to be at their flailingly incompenent worst, like they were on that road-trip through California. It's likely Tankapalooza 2014 will give them only a couple of runs to play with.</p>
<p>Naturally for this time of year, we'll be scoreboard watching, in particular the game in Arlington where the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.crawfishboxes.com/">Astros</a> open a series against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.lonestarball.com/">Rangers</a>. That one gets under way at almost the same time as ours in Minnesota, so I'm sure we'll be updating scores in the Gameday Thread. Interesting to see Aaron Hill being used as DH in this game. We face two more right-handed pitchers the next couple of days, so we'll see if Hill remains DH; wonder if we might see Miggy in the role, perhaps for Wednesday's day game.</p>
https://www.azsnakepit.com/2014/9/22/6830473/diamondbacks-twins-previewJim McLennan