The Arizona Diamondbacks had themselves a nice week, winning five of six and getting back to .500. The team has basically addressed all of their recent deficiencies (including starting pitching, offense, and defense) and is firing on all cylinders during their five-game winning streak. Outside of a disastrous start by Daniel Hudson (that was saved by superb relief from Josh Collmenter), D-backs starting pitchers all got a win. The offense has received a boost from Paul Goldschmidt and Jason Kubel, in particular, with players like Aaron Hill and Miguel Montero adding some spice to the mix.
It's starting to become a bit redundant, but this week's Player of the Week is once again Paul Goldschmidt, who extended his hitting streak to 17 games. The Pitcher of the Week goes to Wade Miley, who nabbed his seventh win against the Colorado Rockies.
Goldie's award has to be qualified a little: he just barely kept his hitting streak going this week, going only 1-fer in three games, with no homers in any of the three. But, a streak's a streak. He had two homers and five RBI total and definitely played a part in keeping the D-backs offense productive. Thankfully, a few others stepped up this week to fill the scoreboard during a winning streak in which the team averaged 7.4 runs a contest. Of course, shout-outs must be given to Ryan Roberts for his walk-off three-run homer to beat the Oakland Athletics on Friday and to Montero for his grand slam (also against the A's).
And Wade Miley just kept on doing his thing -- his thing being winning. He did the team a favor in eating up some innings, going eight strong and allowing only one earned run. Overall, his consistency has been extremely surprising, given his first season in the majors. He had talent, but not consistency. But whatever the reason, his dependability has been completely welcome. He's held the ship steady while the remaining pitchers have warmed into shape.
For those keeping track at home:
Player of the Week awards:
Parra (1), Kubel (1), Roberts (1), Goldschmidt (3), Bloomquist (1), Montero (1)
Pitcher of the Week awards:
Saunders (1), Cahill (2), Corbin (1), Miley (4)