When it was announced that Joe Saunders was going to miss his start due to his inability to get loose in the pen before the game, the bullpen pitchers knew they were going to have to step up. Josh Collmenter started the game and lasted four innings, giving up just one run.
Brad Ziegler, Craig Breslow and David Hernandez also came in and pitched, allowing no earned runs against the Chicago Cubs. Their pitching success truly comes as no surprise to those who are fans of the team.
What does come as a bit of a shocker is that both Hernandez and Ziegler were able to do something that they had not previously done. They both recorded their first major league hits.
Ziegler's base hit in the fifth inning was the catalyst to a two out rally that saw the Diamondbacks tack another run on the board.
"I was going to make him throw some pitches and then the 0-2 pitch he just left it back over the plate and I felt like I put a good swing on it. I hit it solid because it had that sweet feeling, my hands didn't even vibrate when I hit it. It was fun," Ziegler said emphatically.
David Hernandez seemed to share Ziegler's enthusiasm when discussing his first major league hit:
"It was probably the highlight of my career so far," he said jokingly. "It just puts another option in Gibby's (manager Kirk Gibson) mind. I told myself I was going to swing once and it was 0-2, so I swung."
As for where the ball Hernandez hit is going to be placed among his collection, he said it will probably be put, "in his living room... with the bat."
After the game, Hernandez tweeted this bit of awesomeness out to his followers:
Thank you everyone for all the comments. They say the first one is the hardest. 2999 more to go!! All in all a great team win tonight.
— David Hernandez (@DHern_30) June 23, 2012
"It might be the last at bat of my career, so it's going to be well documented."
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