During the Diamondbacks' home stand against the Seattle Mariners and the Chicago Cubs, they went 5-1 and found themselves back over .500 once again. Arizona is now just 5.5 games behind the Dodgers for first place in the NL West.
But this outstanding hot streak would not be possible without our pitcher and player of the week. Wade Miley, once again, was dealing from the mound for the D-backs and looks to be in contention for the NL Rookie of the Year award. All the while, his teammate, Aaron Hill, is making a late push that could land him in Kansas City for the All-Star game.
Miley had two starts this week and in both, he allowed just one earned run. His ERA has shrunk to just 2.19 on the season. Oh, and the kid is disciplined behind the plate as well. Last Monday, he recorded a hit against the Mariners and against the Cubs on Sunday, he walked in the 8th inning, leading to a couple of security runs for the young lefty.
At this pace, Miley will not only be a contender for Rookie of the Year, but he may find himself in some Cy Young talks as well. Call me crazy, but this kid is dealing right now.
Aaron Hill was fantastic two weeks ago and he was awarded the player of the week honors because of it. It would have been difficult to guess that that type of production would not only continue, but increase into the homestand. But that is exactly what happened.
Over the past week, Hill batted 12-26, with 3 home runs and 7 RBIs. The most astounding part of it was that he hit for the cycle against Hector Noesi and the Mariners. If he can keep this type of pace up and the Diamondbacks' offense can continue to score runs, they will find themselves in a race to the finish line come September.
Here's the list for those keeping track:
Player of the Week awards:
Parra (1), Kubel (1), Roberts (1), Goldschmidt (3), Bloomquist (1), Montero (1), Hill (2)
Pitcher of the Week awards:
Saunders (1), Cahill (3), Corbin (1), Miley (5)
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