Trevor Bauer Extensive Interview Includes Being Sued For Throwing Baseballs

Arizona Diamondbacks Go Cold, Fall 8-1 To San Francisco Giants

The Arizona Diamondbacks failed to secure their first sweep of the San Francisco Giants since 2008 as the Giants pounded the D-backs for an 8-1 victory. The Diamondbacks still won the series 2-1, but they now fall one game behind the Giants after moving into a tie following Tuesday's Game 2.

The Diamondbacks struggled on offense all game and mustered only two hits through the first six innings. The Giants, meanwhile, had offensive eruptions in the third and fifth innings, when they scored four runs in each to take a commanding 8-0 lead.

Arizona's two newly acquired pitchers both got playing time on Wednesday as Jason Marquis started and Brad Ziegler came in to relieve him. Unfortunately, neither had very good outings. Marquis surrendered eight runs off of 10 hits in fours innings.

Ziegler came in to replace him in the bottom of the fifth inning and allowed only one hit to Cody Ross, but unfortunately the double secured the Giants' final two runs of the game. Ziegler was replaced by Zach Duke, who gave up only one hit and no runs over the Giants' final three innings.

Though the Diamondbacks lost today, they did well in the series by taking the first two games. Arizona entered the Bay Area two games back of the Giants, and after this series they leave only one game back. A huge loss surely won't help the Diamondbacks' psyche, but they have to feel good about beating the Giants by a combined eight runs in their other two encounters. If this series is any indication, the NL West race could go right down to the wire.

The Diamondbacks are now 61-50, and they face the Los Angeles Dodgers next at home. Game 1 is set to start at 6:40 p.m. on Friday.

Goldschmidt, Upton, Hudson Help Pull D-backs Into First-Place Tie With Giants

Yes, Diamondbacks fans and fans of old-school baseball and good underdog stories... the Snakes have a stake of first place in the NL West.

Arizona, no-hit by San Francisco starter Tim Lincecum until the fifth inning and afforded two walks until that inning Tuesday night, jumped ahead on a Ryan Roberts single and young Paul Goldschmidt's first major-league home run, deep into the seats under the big Coke bottle in left field at AT&T Park. Then the Diamondbacks played add-on and bashed their way to a 6-1 win.

That was more than enough for Arizona starter Daniel Hudson, who turned in another solid outing as his season only keeps getting better.

The same can be said of the surging Diamondbacks, who came to the Bay down two games in the standings and with back-to-back wins on the road, have forced a tie. Both teams are 61-49.

That's 110 games played each. Fifty-two to go, and no indication that this race won't go down to the wire, as the Diamondbacks continue to find ways to win.

But back to the game. The D-backs got the longball again at a crucial moment, Justin Upton going deep to left for a two-run shot at that provided Arizona and Hudson with enough cushion to score a resounding victory.

Think the Giants aren't shell-shocked by having AZ come in to their house and punk them twice, against pitchers Matt Cain and Lincecum in successive nights? Think again. The Giants normally dictate games with their pitching. In this series, it's the Diamondbacks pitchers who have shown resolve in getting behind in the game early but showing enough resolve to silence the Giants' bats thereafter while the offense gets in gear.

Sellout crowds at AT&T Park are glum as D-backs president Derrick Hall is shown on TV giving his fellas a standing ovation from the expensive seats. You can almost hear Daron Sutton and Mark Grace smiling through your TV, especially when hard-nosed players like Gerardo Parra slide hard into second base to try and force a mistake. 

That's Kirk Gibson-style ball, and it's working for the Sedona Reds.

On Tuesday, the Giants disintegrated when Arizona took the lead. Reliever Ramon Ramirez surrendered Upton's blast, his 22nd of the season, and Javier Lopez uncorked a wild pitch and surrendered an RBI double to Roberts in the eighth. These were two relievers with miniscule under-2.50 ERAs.

Upton and Goldschmidt weren't just offensive stars. Upton started a double play with a leaping catch of Carlos Beltran's deep fly ball to right in the sixth, then Upton getting the ball back in to double off Jeff Keppinger at first.

Goldschmidt, the kid with so much promise, flagged down a ground ball from Beltran to his right and threw to pitcher Bryan Shaw for the first out of the bottom of the ninth. The Giants' anemic offense is still troubling them as they have lost five games in a row, while Arizona has won four straight.

In a sense, the D-backs are playing with house money. Out of first place since late June, they send newly-acquired Jason Marquis to the hill Wednesday afternoon against Ryan Vogelsong. A win equals a sweep and first place alone; a loss leaves them a game back having won the series and already with a ton of confidence. And Arizona will have its late-inning relievers, David Hernandez and J.J. Putz, well-rested after they were not needed Tuesday. 

Wednesday's game will be televised (it was originally not scheduled for TV) on FSN Arizona at 12:30 p.m.

Baseball in August matters in Arizona once again, and these are the Diamondbacks in August, when games really start to mean a lot more for teams in the chase for the playoffs. 

Paul Goldschmidt, The Next Next Big Thing

Kennedy, Arizona Start Series Off Right, Snag 5-2 Win To Near First Place

The Arizona Diamondbacks have had no shortage of struggles against the National League West-leading San Francisco Giants, having won just two of their nine games against them this season. But behind eight good innings from ace Ian Kennedy, the D-backs took the first game of an important late-season series with big playoff implications.

Things did not start out well, with Kennedy giving up a home run to Cody Ross to open the first inning. But Kennedy kept the Giants scoreless through the next six innings until Aubrey Huff added his own homer in the seventh. Kennedy stepped out to finish the eighth and got himself into a jam, with two men on before newly acquired Carlos Beltran grounded into a crucial double-play to end the inning and Kennedy’s night.

J.J. Putz came out to to snatch his twenty-fifth save, but not before giving up two straight hits with two outs and adding a little late-game drama.

Arizona managed five runs, all in the sixth inning, without any home runs or extra base hits. The inning featured single RBIs from Miguel Montero, Ryan Roberts, Gerardo Parra, and Willie Bloomquist. Giants pitcher Matt Cain, having an off-night, was chased out of the game midway through the sixth.

The win was Kennedy’s fifth straight, and he’s now tied for the NL lead in wins with Philadelphia Phillies ace Roy Halladay and Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw. The loss is San Francisco’s fourth in a row and allowed the D-backs to get within a game of the division lead. The two teams face off on Tuesday evening with Daniel Hudson and Tim Lincecum on the mound.

For more D-backs coverage, check out SB Nation's blog, AZ Snakepit.

Paul Goldschmidt Gets First Hit In Major League Debut Against Matt Cain

The suspenseful buildup for Paul Goldschmidt's first major league at-bat has been going on for the entire 2011 season. After Brandon Allen was traded to Oakland in exchange for reliever Brad Ziegler, the path was finally clear -- Goldschmidt had a spot on the big league roster of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Goldschmidt met up with the team on Monday in San Francisco, hours before a huge series between the Giants and Diamondbacks was slated to begin.

Manager Kirk Gibson slotted Goldschmidt in the 7th spot in the batting order, right behind Ryan Roberts and in front of Gerardo Parra. 

Goldschmidt's first big league at bat took place in the top of the second inning, with two outs and Miguel Montero on second base.

Facing Matt Cain, Goldschmidt wasn't phased. He knocked a single into right field, pushing Montero to third and allowing the D-backs to threaten early against Cain.

While Parra was unable to drive home any runs, Goldschmidt still showed what he was made of, and D-backs fans can be excited that their future franchise first baseman is already getting comfortable in the major leagues.

For more on Goldschmidt and the Diamondbacks, check out AZ Snake Pit.

Diamondbacks Series Showdown With Giants

The Arizona Diamondbacks (59-49) have managed to hang around the NL West leading San Francisco Giants (61-47) despite plenty of punditry that would suggest otherwise. Just two games back, the teams open a three-game series in the bay on Monday that will decide the fate of the NL West...at least for the next few weeks.

The Giants and their fans at this point certainly can't be too worried about the D-backs. "Sure," you can hear them saying, "it's a nice story and maybe someday they will challenge, but eventually that Arizona team is going to fade. They weren't even supposed to be a .500 team this season and even more telling is the head-to-head record."

The Giants have won seven of nine meetings this year against the Diamondbacks and if Arizona really wants respect (and a chance to win the division) they are going to have to take at least two of these next three games. It won't be easy with the way the pitching rotations match up but it should be great fun.

• Monday (7:15 p.m. PT) Ian Kennedy vs. Matt Cain
• Tuesday (7:15 p.m. PT) Daniel Hudson vs Tim Lincecum
• Wednesday (12:45 p.m. PT) Jason Marquis vs Ryan Vogelsong