More: Easter Miracle Brings AZ Back From Dead
It's not clear if the Arizona Diamondbacks were feeling the effects of too much Easter candy or if there's some other attributable cause, but this team did not look ready to play. Fortunately, they woke up and showed up in the sixth inning to notch another come from behind win.
Down six runs they fought back to sweep the Giants with a 7-6 win. The magic is back. What a game. What a team.
"That one will make you smile," manager Kirk Gibson said with a smile after the game. "It really does. The guys battled. It was an interested game and we got the job done. We competed very well today."
It all started with starting pitcher Josh Collmenter, who looked good in the first inning but then gave up six runs over the next two before ending his day early with just three innings pitched.
In the field, the D-backs recorded a total of five errors, just one shy of a franchise record, with Parra, Montero, Bloomquist, Roberts and Hill getting in on the "fun".
Surprisingly, momentum in this game turned around in the field.
In the sixth inning after yet another error, Roberts made a great play on a ball hit by pitcher Matt Cain. Roberts was charging for the expected bunt when Cain pulled back and slashed the ball right at him. Ryan was able to snag the ball and get an out.
In the next half inning, the D-backs seemed fed up and woken up and put three runs on the board. Roberts went yard for a two-run home run which was followed by a solo shot from Lyle Overbay who made a couple of nice plays in the field.
Despite Roberts heroics, the star of the game, however, was reliever Wade Miley.
Miley came in for Collmenter in the fourth inning and pitched four frames without giving up a run. He allowed no hits and just two walks and overcame four errors to keep the D-backs in the game long enough for the batters to figure out Matt Cain.
"We just needed someone to stop the bleeding and Miley did a great job. We played horrible defense behind him but he was still able to keep his composure which shows a lot for him," Overbay said after the game.
Things got crazy in the D-backs seventh inning. Down 6-5, they put two across thanks to two walks and two errors.
Shortstop Brandon Crawford booted a bases-loaded ball from Montero that allowed Bloomquist to score from third. Chris Young followed that with a bouncer to third that Pablo Sandoval threw slightly off the plate, but it was Buster Posey who didn't stay on the dish and was charged an error, his second of the game.
We have to wonder if Posey is thinking about protecting his feet and ankles from the sliding runner. That miscue allowed Aaron Hill to score on the fielder's choice and the D-backs were ahead 7-6 after trailing 0-6 earlier in the day.
With David Hernandez and J.J. Putz unavailable after pitching the first two games, Gibby went to new-comer Craig Breslow in the eighth and young Bryan Shaw in the ninth. Breslow allowed a walk and then got a strike out and a double play. Shaw, a closer last season for AAA Reno before being called up, allowed two base runners before striking out Buster Posey with three pitches to get the win.
Shaw, looking more nervous facing his first large media crowd than he did on the mound against Cabrera, Sandoval and Posey, said he threw all cutters. "Obviously, it was real exciting, the first (save) of my professional career."
The D-backs bullpen, without Hernandez and Putz, allowed just one hit and no runs over six runs.
What a game. What a team.
The D-backs are off Monday and then head to San Diego for their first road series of the season.
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