Stay connected for news and updates Follow @sbnarizona
Trevor Cahill went deep into the game, but allowed four earned runs and had little offensive backing.
Like us to subscribe
Despite the Arizona Diamondbacks' 4-2 loss to the Rockies, snapping their five game winning streak, D-backs catcher Miguel Montero thinks the team is going good. He caught his 537th game tonight, tying him for the franchise record with former D-back and current member of the Houston Astros, Chris Snyder.
"We're playing pretty good, the last five games, I know we played against last place teams, but I know if we can keep playing like that... we'll have a good chance. We've been playing good ball. It doesn't matter who we're playing, we're just playing good."
Miggy played pretty good himself on Wednesday, hitting 3-3 with two singles, a solo home run and a walk. He recorded three of Arizona's five total hits on the night. When asked if he was seeing something from opposing starting pitcher Jeff Francis that his teammates were not, Miggy didn't seem to think so.
"I am just seeing the ball, hitting the ball, you know? I've been striking out a lot, just trying to see pitchers and slow pitches, it just doesn't work out that way. I'm just going out there now and just see the ball, look for fastballs and hit it."
When he was behind the plate as a catcher, he thought that the pitching of Trevor Cahill looked pretty good as well. "I thought he threw the ball good... He gave up that homer for Rosario which was probably his worst pitch all night; kind of out and over the plate. Other than that, unfortunately I thought we were going to score a lot more runs tonight, but (Jeff) Francis did a good job."
Cahill seemed to mirror Miggy's sentiments, despite giving up four earned runs in 6.2 innings pitched.
"I thought earlier on I was throwing a lot more strikes and I felt better than I have recently. I made a couple mistakes and they made me pay for it, so I am just trying to cut down on that... I'm just going to keep doing what I'm doing. My stuff feels good, other than that I don't know what you can do."
Basically, it came down to pitch execution for Cahill. He pitched pretty well throughout the game, but when he made a mistake, the Rockies took advantage of it every time.
Cahill is scheduled to pitch against the Dodgers in Los Angeles next Monday. That could be a rough matchup for him to start cutting down on the mistakes, especially given the new additions L.A. has recently made to their lineup.
But if Montero and manager Kirk Gibson continue to hold faith in Cahill, he should break out of his slump. He spoke of that after his tough loss.
"I'm not where I really want to be, but it's just one of those things. You gotta grind it out. I hit a bump last year about this time of the season. The mechanical stuff felt a lot better today so hopefully I can just take that as a positive and go from there."
Get more Diamondbacks coverage over at AZ Snakepit.
For the latest AZ sports, follow us on Twitter @SBNArizona and "Like" us on Facebook.
Things didn't start too great for the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday night against the Rockies and they found themselves in a hole early on that they were unable to climb out of. Manager Kirk Gibson talked before the game about Trevor Cahill and the struggles he has had early in games, hoping that tonight would have been the night he could turn that around. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.
Cahill gave up a lead off triple to Dexter Fowler on the second pitch of the game. Marco Scutaro then proceeded to hit a sac fly deep to right field, giving Colorado the 1-0 lead. That didn't last long, however, as Jason Kubel hit a solo home run, his 22nd of the season, in the bottom of the first to tie things up.
Marco Scutaro kept the RBI machine churning by hitting a double down the left field line in the top of the third, sending pitcher Jeff Francis and Dexter Fowler across the plate. Wilin Rosario followed that up with a solo home run in the fourth, making it 4-1.
Miguel Montero hit a solo home run in the seventh, hoping to put his team back in the race, but to no avail.
The offense never really kicked in for Arizona and they failed to score at least six runs for the first time in eight straight games. Jeff Francis pitched six innings of solid baseball, allowing two earned runs and tossing four strikeouts. His counterpart, Trevor Cahill, hurled from the mound for 6.2 innings, allowing four earned runs and two walks. His ERA is now 3.86 on the season.
It was a special night for D-backs catcher Miguel Montero, as he caught his 537th game, tying him for the franchise record with Chris Snyder. He started his outing with a single into right field, followed by another single in the fourth inning. In the seventh, he hit a solo homer giving him a 3-3 batting line on the night.
Get more Diamondbacks coverage over at AZ Snakepit.
For the latest AZ sports, follow us on Twitter @SBNArizona and "Like" us on Facebook.
The Arizona Diamondbacks seek out their sixth straight victory and their longest win streak tonight as they take on the Colorado Rockies. The first pitch is scheduled to be thrown at 6:40 PM MST and the roof (thank goodness) will be closed.
The Diamondbacks' pitchers have had plenty of success over the past five games, sans tonight's pitcher, Trevor Cahill, who was pulled after just 5.1 innings against the Astros last Friday night. He will look to correct his errors against a continuously slumping Rockies team that has now lost 8 of their last 10 outings. Manager Kirk Gibson talked about some of Cahill's struggles this season, which have often come early in games.
"He jumps at it sometimes and he doesn't stay back. I think he tries to keep it simple, but for whatever reason he just has not been able to get in a groove early on and usually if he gets through the first inning then he kind of gets on a pretty good roll... I asked him if there was anything we could do differently and if there was anything he could identify that we could try and help him through it, but I mean, he's struggled with that."
Jim Tracy will send Jeff Francis to the mound tonight for the Rocks. Francis holds a 2-2 record with a 5.24 ERA on the season. According to ESPN, Francis has an 0-6 record with a 7.68 ERA over his past seven starts against the D-backs. The way Arizona is progressing right now, that doesn't figure to get any better.
It was also discovered today that rookie Trevor Bauer has been shutdown in Reno. Gibson did not have a ton of information regarding the matter, but it seems to be performance based. "I don't think the ball was coming out of his arm the way it was in spring training," Gibby said. "It's quite different from where he was a year ago and where he is at today and the requirements to consistently be able to throw every fifth day, it's a learning process. My guess is that they're just trying to back him off a little bit, get him straightened out."
There does not seem to be a timetable for his return and it could have something to do with the groin injury that has been nagging him all season as well. We will hopefully know more within the coming days.
Also announced was that Matt Williams, the Diamondbacks' third base coach, will be coaching Salt River in the Arizona Fall League. Gibson was delighted for him and said this was something that they have talked about quite a bit in terms of Williams elevating himself. "It'll be good. He'll be over there at Salt River, he'll be very comfortable and he'll make sure he keeps my office clean," Gibby joked. "He should be excited for that and he will be really good for the kids that he is going to be touching."
Here are tonight's lineups for the game:
Rockies:
Dexter Fowler (CF)
Marco Scutaro (2B)
Michael Cuddyer (1B)
Andrew Brown (LF)
Tyler Colvin (RF)
Jordan Pacheco (3B)
Wilin Rosario (C)
Josh Rutledge (SS)
Jeff Francis (P)
Diamondbacks:
Stephen Drew (SS)
Willie Bloomquist (3B)
Jason Kubel (LF)
Paul Goldschmidt (1B)
Justin Upton (RF)
Miguel Montero (C)
Chris Young (CF)
John McDonald (2B)
Trevor Cahill (P)
As you can see, Aaron Hill will finally be getting a night off for the Diamondbacks.
The Valley of the Sun will host first-round games of the 2013 World Baseball Classic, the Arizona Diamondbacks, World Baseball Classic Inc. and Major League Baseball announced Wednesday morning. Games will be held at Chase Field and Salt River Fields at Talking Stick, the Diamondbacks' still sparkly-new spring training stadium, in March of next year.
The area hosted games during the inaugural WBC in 2006, at Chase Field and Scottsdale Stadium. It makes complete sense, with spring training here and the Phoenix area having done this before plus having credentials with MLB from the All-Star Game last summer.
Salt River Fields will be an upgrade from Scottsdale Stadium -- no disrespect to one of the best spring training sites in the nation -- because it seats fans more comfortably, it has more up-to-date amenities and it won't be as big a challenge as far as traffic flow and parking.
This will be the third World Baseball Classic. The tournament brings together the top 16 (four from earlier qualifying) baseball-playing nations in the world for a month-long event with pool play, second round, semifinals and finals. After 2013, the WBC will be held every four years.
Japan is the two-time defending champion. The United States, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Cuba, South Korea and Australia are among the countries that will participate.
Joe Saunders pitched seven innings of almost perfect baseball to help the Diamondbacks beat the Colorado Rockies 6-2. He struck out a career-tying nine batters, while giving up three hits and walking just one batter. The last time Saunders struck out nine batters in a game was September 28, 2008 against the Texas Rangers, when he was with the Los Angeles Angels. Saunders faced 26 batters on the night, and other than giving up back-to-back home runs to Michael Cuddyer in the fourth and sixth innings, Saunders was pretty much lights out. The only other blemish on the night was a single by relief pitcher Josh Roenicke in the fifth inning, which just so happened to be the first major league hit of his career.
Saunders was pretty satisfied with his outing, saying that he "was getting ahead of guys" all night. This was his third outing since being put on the disabled list on June 23, after suffering a strained throwing shoulder. In regards to being put on the DL, Saunders said, "I was not pleased. Nobody likes to be put on the DL." Diamondbacks Manager Kirk Gibson said that taking the time off would help "strengthen him (Saunders) for the rest of the season."
After being pulled from tonight's game in the seventh inning, Saunders also said that nobody wants to be pulled from the game, but understood that everyone has a role on the team, and he played his role tonight. Saunders has started three games since coming back from the DL, and has given up a total of eight earned runs in 19 innings. He has a total of 18 strikeouts while giving up 15 hits in those three outings. The Diamondbacks, who stand at (49-48), have now won five games in a row, and will be looking for a sweep against the Colorado Rockies tomorrow night.
The Arizona Diamondbacks win their fifth home game in a row, as they hope their ten-game home stand propels them towards a late season playoff run. The scoring parade continued for the D-backs, as they defeated the Rockies 6-2, for their second win of the three game series.
The Rockies hit several long balls early in the game against Joe Saunders, but it wasn't until the fourth inning that they were able to put a hit on the board. With two outs and full count, Michael Cuddyer drilled his 13th home run into the left field bleachers, giving the Rockies a 1-0 lead. Up to that point, Saunders had struck out six of the 11 Rockies he faced.
Chris Young walked to lead off the bottom of fourth for the D-backs, and stole second for his sixth stolen base of the season. Stephen Drew followed with a line drive double to left center, scoring Young and tying the score. After Joe Saunders struck out on a foul bunt, the Rockies pulled starter Edwar Cabrera for reliever Josh Roenicke. Willie Bloomquist hit a ground-rule double to left center, as a fan reached over the outfield wall to catch the ball in flight. The hit was ruled fan interference, and not a home run, but the double scored Drew from second, giving the D-backs a 2-1 lead.
In the bottom of the fifth, Justin Upton walked for the second time in the game, and Chris Young homered (11) on the first pitch he saw from Roenicke. The Diamondbacks stretched their lead to 4-1.
With two outs in the sixth inning Michael Cuddyer, who was the only Rockies player who seemed to be able to hit Saunders on the night, hit his second home run of the game, and his 14th of the season.
Jason Kubel led off the seventh with a line drive double into the left center gap. Paul Goldschmidt advanced Kubel to third on a deep fly to right field, then Justin Upton was intentionally walked for the second time in the game, putting runners on first and third. Upton got his twelfth steal on the season, and Miguel Montero placed a line drive double to center field that scored Kubel and Upton, giving the D-backs a 6-2 lead, and the win.
The Diamondbacks haven't scored less than six runs since July 17, a span that has lasted seven consecutive games. This is also the eighth consecutive home game the D-backs have won. The Diamondbacks will try to sweep their second consecutive series when they take on the Rockies tomorrow night. They will take on the Mets in a four game series at Chase Field beginning July 26.
Word came on Tuesday afternoon that the Arizona Diamondbacks had designated Ryan Roberts for assignment. News then arose of a deal in the works, and that's exactly what transpired this evening. The D-backs have trade Roberts to the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for second baseman Tyler Bortnick. The official MLB Twitter feed has confirmed the news.
It has been quite the year for Roberts. He was a key member of the 2011 NL West championship team, ranking among the team leaders in home runs (19), steals (18) and runs batted in (65). Despite this success, Roberts has struggled mightily this season and was a member of a struggling (and crowded) infield. In 2012, he's batted just .250 with an OPS of .663.
Bortnick, 25, has spent the last three seasons with the Rays and their minor league system. He is currently in Double-A ball, hitting .252/.349/.384. He has 19 steals and is regarded as an average defender. As for his career projections, it looks like the D-backs have acquired a guy capable of being a utility player down the road.
For more on the D-backs, check out AZ Snake Pit.
Prior to tonight's game against the Colorado Rockies, it was announced that "Tatman" Ryan Roberts was designated for assignment. Diamondbacks Executive Vice President and General Manager, Kevin Towers, said that the decision was necessary for a couple of different reasons. One being that John McDonald was reinstated from the 15-day disabled list after his rehabilitation assignment with rookie-level AZL D-backs, where he played in three games. McDonald, who was placed on the disabled list on July 2 with a strained left oblique, is hitting .267 with 4 home runs and 12 RBI in 33 games for the Diamondbacks this season.
The other reason for Roberts' departure was to provide Ryan Wheeler, who was just brought up from Triple-A Reno July 20, an opportunity for more playing time at third. Wheeler, at the time of his promotion, led the Minors with 90 RBI, was ranked fifth with 127 hits, was tied for ninth with a .351 batting average, and had 15 home runs in 93 games for the Aces. The Diamondbacks have been looking to lock down a permanent third baseman all season. With Wheeler being only 24 years old, the Diamondbacks felt it was a good opportunity to see what Wheeler could do the rest of the season, as well as possibly locking down that position for the future, like Paul Goldschmidt has seem to done at first base.
Ryan Roberts, whose batting average of .250 is almost exactly the same as what it was last season, struggled in April, but has been hot recently, hitting .344 in limited play in July. Roberts overall power is down, and he has also been more inconsistent defensively this season. Roberts, who is 31, has appeared in 82 games for the D-backs this season, and has hit 9 doubles, 6 home runs, and 33 RBI. In 2011, Roberts played in 143 games and batted .249 with 25 doubles and 19 home runs. Roberts had a .427 slugging percentage with a .768 OPS, and played an integral part of the D-backs playoff run last season.
There are still rumors that the Diamondbacks may be in the market to trade Justin Upton or Stephen Drew before the July 31 trade deadline. Kevin Towers said "I'll listen to anyone" when it comes to negotiation a deal, but that doesn't mean the Diamondbacks are shopping Upton or Drew. Towers is satisfied with the D-backs pitching staff and said if there were a trade to be made, it would probably be for a position player. He also said that he puts "Stephen in the same place as Upton" regarding a trade. Right now he doesn't see anybody out there that would make the Diamondbacks a better team by losing either one of them.
Here are tonight's starting lineups:
Rockies:
Dexter Fowler (CF)
Marco Scutaro (2B)
Carlos Gonzalez (LF)
Michael Cuddyer (1B)
Andrew Brown (RF)
Wilin Rosario (C)
Josh Rutledge (SS)
DJ LeMahieu (3B)
Edwar Cabrera (P, 0-1, 19.92 ERA)
Diamondbacks:
Willie Bloomquist (3B)
Aaron Hill (2B)
Jason Kubel (LF)
Paul Goldschmidt (1B)
Justin Upton (RF)
Miguel Montero (C)
Chris Young (CF)
Stephen Drew (SS)
Joe Saunders (P, 4-6, 3.58, 5.01 ERA at home)
The Arizona Diamondbacks have designated Ryan Roberts for assignment, and that might not be the end for Roberts's moving. There are many indications that this is the earliest step in the process toward a trade being completed.
#Dbacks Ryan Roberts says he was told a trade is on the one yard line.
— Steve Gilbert (@SteveGilbertMLB) July 24, 2012
Roberts has been batting .250 in Arizona this season, knocking in six home runs and 34 RBI, although he's well off his averages. Roberts played very well in the majors last year. The infielder has played as a utility man most of the early part of his sting with Arizona, but became the everyday .249, but set career-highs with 19 home runs, 65 RBI and 18 stolen bases. However, it's clear Arizona is ready to move on to try and get better players and improve their squad.
Roberts probably wouldn't fetch all that much in a trade, but he could be part of the precursor toward a larger trade package for the Diamondbacks that would help alleivate some of their bigger needs.
The Diamondbacks have brought John McDonald back from the disabled list with a vacant spot on their roster.
Talk about the Roberts trade rumors by heading over to AZ Snake Pit.
With the trade deadline only one week away, it still isn't clear if they D-backs are buyers or sellers. So perhaps a brief history lesson is in order to reevaluate their priorities.
Continue
Despite Ian Kennedy's struggles during 2012, he has seemingly turned a new leaf. During the Diamondbacks' 6-3 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Monday night, Kennedy notched his first career triple. All the while, he pitched through eight innings for his second consecutive outing.
"I haven't hit the ball very good at all this year and I just saw the ball and tried to make contact, to make solid contact. It felt good to actually do something in that situation," Kennedy said of his big hit in the fourth inning.
Paul Goldschmidt was just glad that his teammate could pick up his slack after a weird play that he misread held him on base instead of scoring him.
"Obviously, Ian did a good job right there," Goldschmidt said while laughing. "It's nice to have a mistake and somebody else picks you up. He's a good hitter. It's funny how he hasn't had that many hits this year. But he always has good at-bats, so hopefully he can continue to find some holes like that."
The hit was huge, as it helped put three more runs on the board for Arizona, which were necessary by the end of the game. The funny thing is, his pitching was just as extraordinary as his base clearing triple. Kennedy's line was 8.0 innings pitched, 2 earned runs and seven strikeouts. When asked about his game from the mound, Kennedy found it all somewhat amusing.
"The pitching gets overshadowed when you get a triple like that. It's good, I just wanted to go out there and do what we (Miguel Montero and himself) did last time, try to pound the zone. And once again, kind of like last year and the year before, we worked well together. It felt good just to go out there and pound the zone like that."
Kennedy noted that his fastball command has improved greatly over the past couple of weeks, which has really lent itself to much of his success. His manager, Kirk Gibson, praised his pitching line as well.
"He threw the ball good, he didn't walk anybody. He gave us eight innings which was important as we were trying to get our bullpen rested. He struck seven guys out and in the eighth inning he had to dig a little bit and he did a great job... It's just good to see him throw back to back games with consistency."
It was a special night for Ian in every aspect of the game, which was something that third base coach Matt Williams recognized. Kennedy told the media that Williams made a funny point to him. "He said, 'when you hit in more runs than you gave up it's a good day.'"
Let's hope Kennedy can continue his roll and have a 'good day' more often.
Get more Diamondbacks coverage over at AZ Snakepit.
For the latest AZ sports, follow us on Twitter @SBNArizona and "Like" us on Facebook.
When it was announced that Jonathan Sanchez would be taking the mound for the Rockies on Monday night, the prevailing thought was that it might be a long night for the defense of the Rockies. The Diamondbacks had scored 33 total runs in their last three games and it was a hot streak they did not plan on letting a division rival end.
The night started off swell for Arizona as Paul Goldschmidt continued his dominance against first pitches in at-bats by smoking a ball to left field in the second inning. Ian Kennedy held that one run lead until something bizarre occurred in the fourth.
A pivotal point in the game came during the bottom of the fourth inning when Goldschmidt was on second base and Justin Upton was right behind him on first with no outs. Miguel Montero proceeded to hit what seemed to be a double off of the right field wall. There was a mass amount of confusion on the base pads, causing Goldschmidt to halt between second and third. That allowed the Rockies to get Montero out at first and no runs scored.
But with two outs, who would have known that the Diamondbacks' ace, Ian Kennedy, would have come to the plate and hit a huge triple, scoring Goldschmidt, Upton and the previously intentionally walked, Ryan Roberts. Willie Bloomquist then hit a double, knocking in Kennedy and making the score 5-0. Kennedy recorded his first career triple and became the first ever Diamondbacks pitcher to get a triple with the bases loaded.
A sacrifice fly by Ryan Roberts in the bottom of the eighth with the bases loaded put the dagger in the Rockies, making the score 6-3. Carlos Gonzalez hit a single home run in the top of the ninth off of reliever Mike Zagurski, but the Rockies' comeback fell short.
As for Kennedy's pitching line, well, that was pretty good, too. He gave up a home run and a double to Josh Rutledge, giving Rutledge his first career homer. Other than that, he allowed five total hits in 8 innings of work with seven strikeouts. His ERA is now 4.20 on the year and his record improves to 8-8.
top of the 9th 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R
Colorado Rockies
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
1
1
3
Arizona Diamondbacks
0
1
0
4
0
0
0
1
6
For the latest AZ sports, follow us on Twitter @SBNArizona and "Like" us on Facebook.
The Arizona Diamondbacks will look to continue their miniature hot streak they have going right now by hosting the Colorado Rockies at Chase Field for a three game series. The Rockies have lost six of their last ten games and find themselves in last place in the NL West.
Although he isn't in the lineup tonight, the recently called up rookie, Ryan Wheeler, was taking some ground balls at the third base side. It appeared that John McDonald was with him, talking with him and giving him some tips on how to play the position. When the D-backs re-signed McDonald this past offseason, this was one of the roles he was expected to bring to the clubhouse.
Before the game, manager Kirk Gibson talked about some of the issues he has seen with tonight's starter Ian Kennedy throughout the season. As a contender for the Cy Young award last season, Kennedy has failed to meet the same expectations this year. Gibson mentioned that catcher Miguel Montero has noticed some differences in his pitching as well.
"It seems like his arm slot's been lower this year and his pitches have been more elevated. I'm just trying to get him to go out front more and let go of it and maybe not aim it as much. Beyond that, he just wasn't getting the life on his pitches, whether it was his fastball or his changeup."
Jason Kubel will also look to continue his torrid pace tonight, as he is starting in left field. Gibson cannot really afford to take him out of the lineup the way he is hitting. He acknowledged the way he is swinging the bat right now, but noted that it isn't something he expects him to continue forever.
"You get in streaks like this and hopefully it continues," Gibson said of Kubel. "But realistically, it's not going to continue and somebody else is going to have to pick up the pace. He's on a good run for us right now and it doesn't matter whether it's lefty or righty (the pitcher). He's just not missing pitches that are reachable for him... It's just barrel on the ball, he's seeing it well and he's executing very good."
Lastly, Gibby mentioned that he is going to try and get everyone a night off, but is unsure as to whether or not Aaron Hill will get one. He stated that Hill takes good care of his body and that he will just have to keep an eye on him and make sure he is going to stay durable.
Here are tonight's lineups:
Rockies:
Dexter Fowler (CF)
Marco Scutaro (2B)
Carlos Gonzalez (LF)
Michael Cuddyer (1B)
Tyler Colvin (RF)
Ramon Hernandez (C)
Josh Rutledge (SS)
DJ LeMahieu (3B)
Jonathan Sanchez (P, 1-6, 7.76)
Diamondbacks:
Willie Bloomquist (SS)
Aaron Hill (2B)
Jason Kubel (LF)
Paul Goldschmidt (1B)
Justin Upton (RF)
Miguel Montero (C)
Chris Young (CF)
Ryan Roberts (3B)
Ian Kennedy (P, 7-8, 4.33, 5.26 ERA at home)
The D-backs are fresh off a sweep of the Astros. Can they keep their winning ways going at home against the Rockies?
Continue