Boy, did the Arizona Diamondbacks need that win Tuesday night over the Astros. For the second straight day, the starting pitching got shelled by the minor league Houston batters and while the D-backs survived a 2-4 stretch thanks to an even worse 3-9 slump by the Giants, they needed to bounce back in a big way to prevent a confidence death spiral.
↵Justin Upton and Gerardo Parra came through at the dish and Micah Owings pitched well in long relief, but it was J.J. Putz making a diving grab to end the game that landed the D-backs at the top of ESPN's daily Top 10 Plays.
↵(Here's a link to the video on MLB.com.)
↵With two outs and runners on second and third and the D-backs clinging to a 10-8 lead, Putz dives off the mound to grab a ground ball and pops up to his knees and makes the throw to first. It's the kind of play you might expect from a younger, more athletic pitcher, but from big J.J. Putz it was amazing.
↵Putz is a lot of things: he's a competitor, he's funny, he's a warrior, and he's even a nice guy. But having seen J.J. in the clubhouse a few times, one thing you wouldn't immediately call him is athletic...but just look at this play (!):
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So, fellas over a certain age and of a certain body type, bookmark this one and show it to your woman.
↵And if you are a single fella over a certain age and of a certain body type, make sure you can call up this play on your phone so you can give that nice lady at the bar a tease of what you just might be able to deliver.