Collmenter Leads D-backs To Series Win Over Braves

New Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Josh Collmenter only has two starts under his belt, but both of them are wins. After pitching six scoreless innings, Collmenter and his 0.59 ERA helped the D-backs to a mini-series sweep of the Atlanta Braves at Chase Field.

Collmenter has been very impressive in the brief start to his Major League career. He has allowed only two runs in 26 innings pitched, including 21 straight scoreless innings and a franchise-record 12 straight scoreless innings as a starter. His record now stands at 3-0.

His fast start has been a welcome respite for the Snakes, who have had major issues with the end of their starting rotation, having sent Barry Enright to Triple AAA Reno and designated Armanda Galarraga for assignment in the past month. While Collmenter was called up to replace Enright, it is anticipated that former D-backs pitcher Micah Owings will get Saturday's start in lieu of Galarraga.

But, as has become the norm this season, there were no issues with the bullpen. J.J. Putz got his tenth save in ten attempts, while Sam Demel, Joe Paterson, and Esmerling Vasquez helped with two scoreless innings. Putz allowed the only Braves run, though it was unearned off a fielding error from Justin Upton.

The Braves loss was Jair Jurrjens' first in seven starting stints this season. The team had been on a four-game winning streak before being swept by Arizona.

Diamondbacks Rolling Now, Face Braves With Chance To Win And Sweep Series

The Arizona Diamondbacks have now won two-straight games for the first time since Saturday and Sunday's wins over the Dodgers. But a win Thursday night would make it three-in-a-row for time since April 17 through 20. As crazy as this season's been and as bad as the starting rotation can be, the D-backs (19-23) are just four games behind the first place Giants (23-19). Go figure.

Josh Collmenter will take the mound in his second start with the big club. He's already pitched 20 innings and have an impressive 0.90 ERA. Only David Hernanez (20.2 IP) and the other starters have more innings. We'll need several more starts to figure out if Collmenter is for real or if this is just another case of a pitcher who the league hasn't seen before having some success before the scouting reports catch up with him.

The Braves will throw Jair Jurrjens(5-0,1.66 ERA) who's been impressive this season. 

Game time is 6:40 p.m. and will be broadcast on Fox Sports Arizona with the live game thread at AZ Snake Pit.

Diamondbacks Farm Round-Up: May 18th - AZ Snake Pit

Reno took the night off, but Mobile took up the offensive slack, in the best of today's games for Arizona's farm teams. Zach Duke also made his first rehab start, as he heads back from his broken hand. Our affiliates outscored the opposition 29-13 all told. Snakelet of the Day: Dan Kaczrowski (Double-A): 4-for-5, 2B, 3 RBI, 2 R, .326 avg.

SnakePitFest v4.1: Tickets Now On Sale - AZ Snake Pit

I am delighted to announce that SnakePitFest 4.1 will take place at Chase Field on June 18th, when our Arizona Diamondbacks take on the Chicago White Sox. We'll be occupying our usual bullpen reserve seats for the game, and the first 15,000 fans get a free D-backs trucker cap, courtesy of KTAR. Woo-hoo! If you're already sold on the concept click the button below to buy your tickets - for the rest of you, there are more details after the jump. Buy now, while stocks last!   

The Dashing "Tat"-Man That Saved Gotham, Er, The Diamondbacks

That would be Ryan Roberts, he of the myriad of tattoos, and he is dashing because that was the best word to describe his electricity on the basepaths of Chase Field Wednesday night. 

Roberts dashed home from second base on a wild pitch in the seventh-inning to force a 3-3 tie, then raced in from third on a meek grounder by Justin Upton in the 11th with... the winning run in Arizona's wild 5-4 win over the Atlanta Braves.

The Diamondbacks snapped Atlanta's four-game winning streak and, lo and behold, moved into a tied for third place with the L.A. Dodgers just four games back of leading San Francisco. 

There are times when the D-backs are atrocious to watch, but it's clear that this team, where it might lack in overall depth and talent, plays pretty hard on a consistent basis. Wednesday night was one of those times where battling paid off in the end, and Roberts might as well be the poster boy for that mentality on this team. 

"That's the whole thing we talk about all the time, trying to play hard," Roberts told the Associated Press. "Trying to run everything hard, trying to do everything hard and giving 100 percent and things like that pay off."

Robert also got everyone fired up when he screamed and pumped both fists after scoring on the wild pitch. It was a moment of spontaneity that brought fans out of their seats.

The Diamondbacks took a 2-0 lead on Justin Upton's home run in the first, then a fourth-inning single by Roberts that drove in Juan Miranda. For a while it looked like Joe Saunders might actually get his first win of the season in his ninth start, especially in the sixth when Gerardo Parra, another one of those Roberts-type hustlers, threw out two Braves at third base, the first time any D-back has ever gotten two assists in the same inning. 

Parra fist-pumped the air, too, and got all kinds of love in the dugout.

Saunders was done after six innings and led 2-1. But Esmerling Vasquez gave up two runs in his inning of work and Atlanta led 3-2. 

Roberts led off the seventh by walking, taking second on a sacrifice and scoring on Scott Proctor's wild pitch. The Braves went ahead 4-3 on a two-out RBI pinch single from Diory Hernandez and sent in closer Craig Kimbrel for the save. 

Russell Branyan singled with one out, took third on Roberts' hit and scored the tying run on a Kelly Johnson single. Then Upton hit the grounder that was fielded and thrown home, but Roberts was in there easily.

Arizona Diamondbacks Host Atlanta Braves For Two-Game Series, Make Moves

The Arizona Diamondbacks (18-23) open a two-game home series against the Atlanta Braves (25-19). The D-backs also made a series of roster moves designed to either improve the team, confuse us, or both.

Starting pitcher Armando Galarraga was essentially fired for his inability to keep the ball in the park and/or runners of the bases. In another move that's yet to be fully explained, Melvin Mora was put on the bereavement list. A player on the bereavement list must miss a minimum of three games and a maximum of seven games.

To replace Galarraga and Mora, the D-backs reactivated Willie Bloomquist from the 15-day disabled list and selected infielder Sean Burroughs from Triple-A Reno. Here's more on Burroughs who entered baseball life as a child star:

Sean Burroughs: The Legendary Story Has A New Chapter - Baseball Nation
Son of former major leaguer Jeff Burroughs, who hit 240 home runs and was AL MVP in 1974, the younger Burroughs led his team to Little League World Series titles in 1992 and 1993. By the time he was 18, he was nearly his dad's size at 6-2, 200, and when he was selected ninth overall in the 1998 draft, he turned down an offer to play college ball at USC to sign with the Padres.

[...]Perhaps the Sean Burroughs story will have a happy ending. He appeared on David Letterman's show after the Little League World Series triumphs

The series against the Braves will feature Joe Saunders (0-5, 5.48 ERA) against a 20-year-old prospect making his second major league start, Julio Teheran (0-1, 5.79 ERA).

Wednesday's game starts at 6:40 p.m. and will be broadcast on Fox Sports Arizona with the live game thread at AZ Snake Pit.

Series Preview #15: Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Atlanta Braves - AZ Snake Pit
But there is a renaissance of sorts occurring in Atlanta right now, as an influx of talented young players has already begun to flow onto the Braves' roster.  SP Tommy Hanson and RF Jason Heyward led the charge, and they have been followed by 1B Freddie Freeman and now SP Julio Teheran.  And these are the players who represent the core of the Atlanta Braves for years to come. 

Who'll Replace Armando Galarraga In The Diamondbacks Rotation? - AZ Snake Pit
Lost in all the noise of the past 48 hours, is the irony in the title of the book written by Armando Galarraga and Jim Joyce - which hit book-stores the exact same day as the former's little dust-up with the media. The cynical may view this as some kind of masterful sales ploy. But as the dust settles over one of the more remarkable falls from grace in recent baseball history, dawn rises on a Diamondbacks team which suddenly finds itself in need of a fifth starter.

Diamondbacks Farm Round-Up: May 17th - AZ Snake Pit
I don't know what's in the water at Reno, but whatever it is, should get bottled and shipped to Phoenix, stat. Eleven more runs for the Aces today, as they improved their record to 25-15. Three of the D-backs farm teams won, outscoring their opponents 24-12 in total. Snakelet of the Day: Sean Burroughs (Triple-A): 5-for-5, 3 2B, 3B, 4 RBI, 2 R