Dbacks Defeat Rockies 6-1 Behind The Arm Of Miley And The Bat Of GoldSchmidt

A steady output of scoring early on and and effectiveness of Wade Miley's left shoulder propelled the Diamondbacks to a 6-1 victory over the Colorado Rockies in their series finale from Chase Field in front of a crowd of 23, 069.

Wade Miley retired the first 13 batters he faced, as the left-hander carried a perfect game into the fifth inning on this way to his seventh victory of the season. Miley (7-2) went eight strong innings, allowing one run on three hits and striking out five Rockies.

"He's been a rock for us," said Kirk Gibson about Miley. "He's not afraid to pitch to contact and he makes quality pitches, he trusts his catcher, and he makes it easy on himself," said Gibson.

The only downer for Miley was that his team-high eight-game hitting streak ended tonight.

"I was just throwing strikes, I felt pretty good, I was just going after guys," said Miley. Miley only threw 102 pitches over eight innings including 71 for strikes.

"I feel like all of the starters are able to go as long in games as we need to go," said Miley. "We try to go as deep as we can and save the bullpen as much as possible."

Arizona only had to use two pitchers on Wednesday, compared to the five that Colorado used. David Hernandez relieved Miley in the ninth inning, walking a batter and getting two strikeouts in a scoreless ninth.

Miley got plenty of support early on as Arizona put up five runs in the first three innings. First baseman Paul Goldschmidt got the scoring started for the Diamondbacks when he doubled home Ryan Roberts in the first inning.

Rookie A.J. Pollack, who played in Triple-A last night for the Reno Aces, singled home Gerardo Parra with a two-out line drive to right field in the second inning.

The Diamondbacks broke the game open in the third inning when they put up three runs to extend the lead to 5-0. Goldschmidt, Aaron Hill and John McDonald all had RBI doubles in the third inning.

Goldy wasn't done there as the young first baseman deposited a pitch from Rockies reliever Adam Ottavino into the right field bleachers to lead off the seventh inning.

"I was just able to get a good pitch to hit both times," said Goldschmidt about his two doubles early in the game. "Obviously when you are hitting home runs and hitting the ball hard it is a good thing," said Goldschmidt.

Kirk Gibson is happy to see the Goldschmidt that had great success as a rookie in 2011.

"He's pretty locked in right now," said Gibson. "He''s got a good head on his shoulders and he's much more relaxed."

Goldschmidt finished the game 3-4 with three RBI's and two runs scored.

With their victory tonight, the Diamondbacks have now won four of their last five games and have won two series in a row for the first time since the middle of April.

Up next for Arizona is an off day tomorrow followed by a three game interleague set with the Oakland Athletics. All eyes will be on the Saturday matchup when Trevor Cahill faces Jared Parker.

Diamondbacks Defeat Rockies 6-1 In Series Finale

Wade Miley was dominant Wednesday night for the Diamondbacks as they defeated the Colorado Rockies 6-1 in the series finale from Chase Field. Miley went eight innings, only giving up one run on three hits and striking out five. Miley retired the first 13 batters he faced.

Paul Goldschmidt got the scoring started early for the Diamondbacks as in the bottom of the first inning Goldy doubled into left-centerfield, scoring Ryan Roberts from second base.

In the bottom of the second, rookie A.J. Pollack, who played in Triple-A Reno last night, extended the Diamondback lead to 2-0 with an RBI single with two on and two outs. Pollack drove a 3-2 pitch from Josh Outman into right field, scoring Gerardo Parra from third base.

The Diamondbacks erupted for three runs in the bottom of the third inning. Paul Goldschmidt, Aaron Hill and John McDonald all had RBI doubles in the third, as Arizona built a 5-0 lead, behind Miley.

Colorado finally got on the board in the top of the fifth. Jason Giambi broke up Miley's perfect game with a one-out double. Two batters later, Wilian Rosario knocked Giambi in with a two-out RBI single.

A Paul Goldschmidt opposite field solo home run in the seventh extended the Diamondbacks lead to 6-1. Goldy went 3-4 on the night with three runs batted in.

A.J. Pollack, Aaron Hill and Goldschmidt all had multi-hit games for Arizona as the offense continued its recent success. After behind shutout in the series opener, the Diamondbacks scored 16 runs in the final two games to get the series victory.

Arizona is off tomorrow before hosting the Oakland Athletics for a three game series at Chase Field beginning on Friday.

Dbacks Vs. Rockies: Upton Sits Again, Starting Lineups

Justin Upton will sit out his second consecutive game tonight as the Diamondbacks and Rockies play the grudge match of their three-game series. Manager Kirk Gibson has benched Upton the last two games of the series in hopes of getting the 24-year-old slugger's mind right.

"Hopefully he'll (Upton) will have a productive day today," said Gibson. "He's a very important part to our team, we all know that, and we are going to try to get him back on track."

Gibson said that Upton his available to play tonight if the situation suffices.

The Diamondbacks will also be without Jason Kubel, as the outfielder gets the night off tonight. Starting in left field will be rookie A.J. Pollack. Pollack was just called up today when the Diamondbacks put Lyle Overbay on paternity leave this afternoon.

Veteren John McDonald gets the call at shortshop tonight, and third baseman Ryan Roberts is hitting in the No. 2 spot, right behind Pollack.

Wade Miley (6-2, 2.72 ERA) will be on the bump tonight for the Diamondbacks as they try to get a much needed series victory. Miley is opposed by left-hander Josh Outman (0-1, 5.63 ERA) for the Rockies. Outman is making his second start of 2012 tonight.

Full Starting Lineups:

Colorado Rockies (24-31)

1. Dexter Fowler CF
2. Marco Scutaro SS
3. Carlos Gonzalez LF
4. Michael Cuddyer RF
5. Jason Giambi 1B
6. Jordan Pacheco 3B
7. Wilin Rosario C
8. D.J. LeMahieu 2B
9. Josh Outman P

Arizona Diamondbacks Roster Moves: AJ Pollock Called Up, Lyle Overbay On Paternity Leave

For the second time in as many weeks, an Arizona Diamondbacks player is having a baby...well, his wife is. Arizona placed first baseman Lyle Overbay on paternity leave so he could be with his wife for the birth of their fourth child on Wednesday. He will miss at least Wednesday's game, and can be absent from the roster no more than three days.

Jason Kubel missed a game last week for the birth of his second child.

To replace Overbay for now, and just as he did last week, outfielder A.J. Pollock was recalled from Triple-A Reno. He is starting Wednesday night against the Colorado Rockies.

With Kirk Gibson sitting Justin Upton and the Rockies starting a left-hander in Josh Outman, the D-backs wanted a right-handed hitting outfielder in the lineup.

Pollock did not play last week when he was up.

Overbay will be back at the latest on Saturday.

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Kirk Gibson Finds Some Humor In Tommy Lasorda's Mild Heart Attack

Josh Collmenter Misses Opportunity To Feel Like J.J. Putz And Log Save

Justin Upton Frustrated With Play, Sitting, Has No Comment About Being 'An Enigma'

Arizona Diamondbacks managing partner Ken Kendrick had some interesting comments about Justin Upton in the radio interview he did that also called out shortstop Stephen Drew. He called Upton an "enigma" and suggested that he should be playing more consistently at age 24.

Kirk Gibson also said in a radio interview that Upton might sit three to five days to try to get him going again.

He was not in the lineup in the 10-0 win the D-backs had over the Colorado Rockies and might not be playing on Wednesday.

When asked about the owner's comment, Upton didn't have much to say. "That's his opinion. To be honest, I don't have a comment. He's going to say what he needs to say."

He said that he was "absolutely" upset about not being in the lineup on Tuesday. "I want to be on the field every single day," he said. "But at the same time, none of you are all blind. Parra deserves to play, so whatever they need to do, they do."

As for playing tomorrow, Upton expressed what was the most interesting comment of the night. "It's hard to expect anything around here," he said. "I'm going to come in tomorrow and wait until the lineup pops on the screen just like everybody else."

Before the game, Gibson suggested that he hope that Upton wouldn't do any work, as he had been doing a ton of working and grinding and taking swings trying to get right.

He didn't seem to agree that it was the best way to do things. "I thought today was pretty unproductive," he responded. "I sat here and really didn't do much, and I'm still pissed off about the way I'm playing, and not playing, so I don't know if it was productive or not."

He understands that he is not playing well right now and that Gerardo Parra is (Parra had four hits on Tuesday). Fellow outfielders Jason Kubel and Chris Young each had multiple hits in the game as well. "I'm not playing well, Parra's playing well," Upton explained. "He deserves to play and I'm not holding my weight right now."

Many believe that Gibson is about to lose Upton and that he could become a cancer in the locker room. The comment about not being able to expect things "around here," though, was more about someone whose pride is hurt.

Could he become a problem? Perhaps. But there are a couple of things that will solve this. One is winning and the other is his coming out of his slump.

This will only become worse if he is either playing poorly or not playing AND the team is struggling.

While his body language on Tuesday wasn't great, it isn't that big a thing...yet. He is struggling and that upsets him because he wants to succeed and always has his entire life in baseball. He is working hard and not getting results -- that is frustrating. He wanted to play and didn't -- that is upsetting (even when he understand why). He was approached about criticism by his boss -- which is never good to hear.

These things are normal.

How does he respond now? Does he still support his teammates? Will he find ways to contribute? Or does he become aloof and more upset?

It is too early to say that this is an issue. he does need to be more consistent. The team is counting on him in the lineup, fair or not.

But, thus far, while this has raised concerns, it is a case of someone that is just frustrated and isn't quite sure what to do because he has been trying everything he knows.

We will see what happens in the days to come -- whether he even plays and, if he does, how he performs.

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Kennedy Fans Twelve As Kubel Leads D-Backs Offense In 10-0 Drubbing Of Rockies

One night after being shutout 4-0, the Diamondbacks came out and returned the favor with a 10-0 victory over the Rockies Tuesday evening. Ian Kennedy had perhaps his most impressive 2012 start thus far allowing only five hits over six innings while tying his career-high in strikeouts with 12. Jason Kubel lead the offensive charge with five RBIs and three runs.

The ballgame started off with two towering two-run home runs, one from Aaron Hill in the second and another from Kubel in the third to put the D-backs up 4-0. The offensive onslaught would continue from there with Arizona getting three more runs off Rockies starter Jeremy Guthrie (3.1 IP, 7 ER, 11 H) before he could make it out of the fourth inning alive.

With Kennedy at his best, it seemed like he was destined to get to that elusive 13th strikeout after getting to 12 Ks twice before in his career (Aug. 26 2010 vs. SD and Sep. 19, 2011 vs. PIT). But alas, his pitch count was at 103 after the sixth frame and manager Kirk Gibson elected to go to the pen for Josh Collmenter. Collmenter would go on to pitch two nearly flawless innings of his own, allowing only one hit and striking out three.

In the eighth, the D-backs would take on three more thanks to a Gerardo Parra solo shot (his fourth hit of the night), a Kubel RBI-triple and a Miguel Montero sacrifice fly.

With the win, the Diamondbacks move to only four games under .500 (26-30). Wade Miley (6-2) heads to the bump to take on Josh Outman (0-1) Wednesday evening as the Diamondbacks look to take their second straight series against a divisional opponent.

D-backs Vs. Rockies: Justin Upton Sitting, Starting Lineups

After a day of a bit of noise in the media about some of the problems the Arizona Diamondbacks are currently having, they are set to send Ian Kennedy to the mound to try and lead the team to a win and even the series against the Colorado Rockies. A player that is conspicuously absent from the starting lineup is rightfielder Justin Upton, who is batting only .243 with five home runs this season.

Earlier in the day, manager Kirk Gibson said on a local radio show that he might sit Upton for three, four or even five days to try and get his head right.

When asked about it, he said, "It's day by day right now. He's not playing today. He might not play tomorrow. We have an offday the next day. I knew today I wasn't going to play him."

Was the day off to work on things or just to sit back and rest? "I hope he does no work today," Gibson answered. "He's struggling with the bat and it's not because he hasn't taken enough swings."

Gibson knows Upton has been pressing and feeling frustrated.

"I think he's overthinking," he continued. "I think he's overtrying and things aren't coming naturally for him. He's tried a lot And he's a little lost in who he really is. And he's very frustrated as you can see."

Owner Ken Kendrick went as far as to call him "an enigma" on the radio, saying that at age 24, the team needs him to be that guy in the lineup.

Gibson was a little more understanding, yet did not understate the need for him to be successful. "You hate to put so much importance on a guy," he said. "He's obviously very important to our success."

Could Gibby give some personal advice about coming out of a slump? "There's no clear cut answer," Gibby explained.

"People like to play their way out of it. Some people take breaks. Some people have been sent to the minor leagues. People have gone on the DL because certain things miraculously show up."

For now, since Upton has been working really hard, it looks like down time is what they are going to try.

Here are the starting lineups for Tuesday's game:

Rockies:

1. Dexter Fowler, CF
2. Marco Scutaro, SS
3. Carlos Gonzalez, LF
4. Michael Cuddyer, RF
5. Todd Helton, 1B
6. Jordan Pacheco, 3B
7. Wilin Rosario, C
8. D.J. LeMahieu, 2B
9. Jeremy Guthrie, P

Diamondbacks:

1. Gerardo Parra, RF
2. Willie Bloomquist, SS
3. Jason Kubel, LF
4. Miguel Montero, C
5. Chris Young, CF
6. Lyle Overbay, 1B
7. Josh Bell, 3B
8. Aaron Hill, 2B
9. Ian Kennedy, P

Kirk Gibson On Stephen Drew: "We Can't Force Him To Play"

Arizona Diamondbacks managing partner Ken Kendrick shook things up a little bit when, on local radio, he called out injured shortstop Stephen Drew, saying that he felt that Drew and his people were more concerned about his playing a year from now and not right now, expressing "doubts" that Drew is handling the injury situation with integrity.

When manager Kirk Gibson was asked if he had seen or heard the comments by Kendrick, he simply said , "I did not...I'm really not privy to those comments and I don't think it's appropriate for me to sit and comment on that situation."

However, he did comment on Drew, rather than on the comments that Kendrick made. "He's coming in here and he's doing what I'm asking him to do," he explained about Drew and his efforts. It has always been a case of "when he's comfortable and he's ready to play," but then added, "we can't force him to play."

When asked if he was comfortable where Drew was at in his progress, he sidestepped it, saying, "I think I've already discussed that."

Clearly, he was not going to say anything to confirm what Kendrick had said, even though Kendrick said that, while he had not personally had conversations with Drew about the concerns about his dedication to coming back and playing, there were those who had spoken to the shortstop. Gibson was also not going to put one of his players on the spot in that situation, when he has yet to play a game for the team this year.

At the same time, his completely avoiding the opportunity to strongly stand behind Drew is just as telling. Sometimes the lack of an answer is an answer itself.

However, as a manager, he has to trust his player if he says he's not ready. If Drew is telling him he needs more time, he has to give him that.

But there is no denying that, with the way that the Diamondbacks have been playing, it is hard to think that an almost there Drew wouldn't be an upgrade over Willie Bloomquist or even an overachieving John McDonald.

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Near No-Hitter By Former D-backs Prospect Jarrod Parker Begins To Raise Doubts About Trade

Diamondbacks Skunked By Mystery Lefty, Fall To Rockies 4-0

The Arizona Diamondbacks struggles at home / against lefties / on Mondays / wearing white continued in the series opener against the Colorado Rockies. You would have thought they were facing Justin Verlander instead of Rockies lefty Christian Friedrich who was making just his sixth start in The Show and was (was) sporting an ERA of 5.59.

That ERA fell to 4.50 after Friedrich threw seven innings of four-hit, shutout baseball against the D-backs who are now 10-16 at home and are hitting just .237 against left-handed starters. If only the D-backs had a big right-handed bat in their lineup.

Justin Upton went 0-4 on the game and is hitting .243 on the season. Will he eventually show up and start playing like Justin Upton? We keep thinking, 'yes', but the performance at the plate keeps screaming, 'no'.

At least Paul Goldschmidt extended his hitting streak to a career-high 13 games. On they other hand, they got shutout for the first time this season and lost the game.

Joe Saunders wasn't pretty, but it's pretty hard to put the blame on his four earned runs allowed when his offense gave him nothing to work with.

Watching a bad team is frustrating. Watching a good team play bad is maddening.

Ian Kennedy will face Jeremy Guthrie on Tuesday. Guthrie is a righty so perhaps the Snakes will have a chance to score a run or three. We'll see.

For more on the D-backs, visit AZ Snakepit.

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