The Arizona Diamondbacks and the Colorado Rockies split the first two games of their series. That's how good teams roll. One team hits first and the other teams hits back. The D-backs got a good one from Joe Saunders and some timely hits from Henry Blanco to win the first in the series and Barry Enright coughed up six runs to lose the second. The rubber game comes before the team heads out on a California road trip to face the Padres, Giants and Dodgers.
Thursday's game features staff ace Ian Kennedy (3-1, 3.92) vs. Jason Hammel (3-1, 3.23 ERA). With the day off earlier in the week, Kirk Gibson opted to keep Kennedy on his normal rest of push Armando Galarraga back.
Thursday's game is at 6:40 p.m. and will be broadcast on Fox Sports Arizona with the live game thread at AZ Snake Pit.
The Diamondbacks and 3-0 counts. - AZ Snake Pit
Justin Upton's game-winner last night (as shown on the right) came on a 3-0 pitch, a count where most batters are generally "taking all the way." There was some discussion, both in the booth and the GDT, about the wisdom and purpose of giving a hitter the green light in such a situation. I thought it was worth digging a bit further into this topic, and seeing what the numbers say with regard to batters swinging away on such a count. Is it better to take a pitch, and maybe the free pass to first that comes with it? Or does knowing that a fastball is almost certainly coming, give the hitter enough of an edge to justify.
Diamondbacks Farm Round-Up: May 4th - AZ Snake Pit
The Diamondbacks' farm teams were kept in check, the four affiliates combining for only 17 runs scored. However, their pitching was on top form, conceding only ten, with the sole loss a one-run defeat for the Triple-A Aces. Snakelet of the Day: Tyler Skaggs (High-A): 6 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K.