SB Nation Arizona - Pen Gives Up 8 Late Runs, Diamondbacks Fall to Reds 11-7https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/46593/arizona-fave.png2010-08-18T23:40:19-07:00http://arizona.sbnation.com/rss/stream/13938472010-08-18T23:40:19-07:002010-08-18T23:40:19-07:00Recap: Arizona Vs. Cincinnati
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<p>Phoenix, AZ (Sports Network) – Pinch-hitter Chris Heisey’s squeeze bunt single in the ninth inning put the Reds in front and the Reds scored eight times over the final two frames to steal an 11-7 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks.</p>
<p>Laynce Nix had three <span class="caps">RBI</span> and Jay Bruce had four hits, including a solo homer, to pace Cincinnati’s 18-hit attack. Ramon Hernandez went 3-for-4 wit an <span class="caps">RBI</span> and scored twice for the Reds, who won their fifth in a row and widened their lead to three games over St. Louis for first place in the NL Central.</p>
<p>Jim Edmonds added a solo homer and scored the go-ahead run for Cincinnati.</p>
<p>Chris Young and Adam LaRoche each clubbed two-run homers for the Diamondbacks, who have lost five of their last six games.</p>
<p>Bruce tripled in Miguel Cairo with one out in the eighth inning, then scored on a Hernandez double. After Paul Janish singled, the Reds got within a run thanks to a poor throw from right fielder Justin Upton. Aaron Heilman relieved Sam Demel and retired Nix on a fly ball to right field. Upton, though, threw very high to home plate as the ball sailed over the head of catcher Miguel Montero. Heilman backed up the play and flipped the ball back to the plate, but Montero couldn’t make the tag in time as Hernandez scored.</p>
<p>Nix went to second on the throw home and then scored on a ground-rule double to left field from Brandon Phillips, tying the game at 7-7.</p>
<p>Arthur Rhodes (4-3) worked around a Gerardo Parra one-out single in the bottom of the eighth, and the Reds went ahead in the ninth with Heilman (3-4) still on the hill. Edmonds doubled, moved to third on a groundout from Scott Rolen and then came in when Heisey executed a perfect bunt toward third base.</p>
<p>“I was a little surprised with the quality of the bunt he put down,” Heilman said. “He’s a fast runner.”</p>
<p>Bruce singled and Hernandez was hit by a pitch before Janish lofted a sacrifice fly to left. Nix followed with a two-run double to cap the scoring.</p>
<p>“I can be critical of myself the way I handled the bullpen tonight,” Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson said. “I just don’t put it on those guys. As a team, we didn’t stand up to it when it was on the line. I was just as responsible as the rest of the team.”</p>
<p>Phillips scored on a Drew Stubbs sac fly in the first, but Parra’s groundout plated LaRoche in the second.</p>
<p>Edmonds and Bruce homered in the third and fourth, respectively, but Arizona plated four in the fifth, two on Upton’s base hit and the other runs on Young’s 21st homer of the year.</p>
<p>LaRoche’s blast in the seventh widened the Arizona lead to 7-3.</p>
<p>The Reds have won nine of the last 10 meetings…Cincinnati starter Edinson Volquez allowed six hits and five runs over 4 2/3 frames, while Rodrigo Lopez yielded eight hits and three runs over five frames for the Diamondbacks…The three-game series wraps up Thursday with Travis Wood (3-1, 2.65 <span class="caps">ERA</span>) pitching for the Reds and Joe Saunders (7-12, 4.48) for Arizona…Earlier Wednesday, the D’Backs activated pitcher Juan Gutierrez off the 15-day disabled list and optioned pitcher Rafael Rodriguez to Triple-A Reno. Gutierrez retired Phillips on a fly ball to end the top of the ninth…Reds first baseman Joey Votto was scratched from the lineup due to back tightness.</p>
https://arizona.sbnation.com/2010/8/18/1631075/recap-arizona-diamondbacks-vs-cincinnati-redsSeth Pollack2010-08-18T22:52:14-07:002010-08-18T22:52:14-07:00Confident Reds Team Comes From Behind To Blow Up D-backs Bull Pen, 11-7
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<p>There was a lot of frustration from the Diamondbacks side tonight. As you might imagine. Manager Kirk Gibson wasn't in a very talkative mood but laid the blame on himself for the way he handled the bullpen and a couple of key plays that his team didn't execute.</p>
<p>In the eighth inning the D-backs had already given up two of their four-run lead when Nix hits a long ball to right field with runners on first and third. Upton air-mailed the ball allowing not only Hernandez to score from third (which was inevitable) but Janish to advance to second on the throw. The next batter, Phillips, hits a ground rule double which scores Janish to tie the game. If Upton hits the cut-off man and holds Janish at first he doesn't score on that play.</p>
<p>"It happened quick and we couldn't stop it," Gibby said after the game. "That one play to Upton was a huge play. The key being the tying run's on first base so that's really the most important run at the time...That was poor execution on our part. We're going to take that pressure and this time we didn't stand up to it."</p>
<p>Heilman gave up five hits and four runs in his 1.1 innings of work. He was also frustrated by a his own performance that he felt let down the offense which scored enough runs to win the game and his fellow pitcher Rodrigo Lopez who deserved the win as the starter.</p>
<p>"As a team, we want to win these games. We want to win every game but when we have a lead like that we need to win those games," Heilman said.</p>
<p>The play that got the most attention was the bunt squeeze that Dusty Baker called for in the ninth inning with the elderly Edmonds on third. Heilman said he considered the possibility of the squeeze there but gave credit to Heisey for laying down a great bunt.</p>
<p>Gibby tipped his cap to Baker for calling for the squeeze at that point, in that count, "They executed that perfectly. You can see in the first two games that we played these guys why they are in first place."</p>
<p>Offensively, the D-backs put up big numbers with Upton, Young and LaRoche all driving in two runs.</p>
<p>It was curious that the Reds choose to pitch to LaRoche with a base open and a runner on second in the seventh inning.Reynolds, who continues to struggle (0-for-3, 3 SOs), was on deck, but Baker choose to pitch to Adam and paid the price when LaRoche drove the ball over the right field fence to give the D-backs a 7-3 lead.</p>
<p>It should have been the mistake that cost the Reds the game but against the D-backs, you always have another chance at redemption.</p>
https://arizona.sbnation.com/2010/8/18/1631022/reds-diamondbacks-bull-penSeth Pollack2010-08-18T16:37:58-07:002010-08-18T16:37:58-07:00Kirk Gibson's Pregame Media Chat
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<p>Notes from Gibby's chat with the media in his office before the game:</p>
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<li>With Juan Gutierrez, Gibby talked about his closer situation. Sort of. Basically, he'll throw him in there where ever he feels best.</li>
<li>The lineup change for this game was for two reasons: a) to balance the lefties and righties in the order and to shake things up a bit. Specially, moving Upton up to 2nd was designed to take some pressure off him. Gibby even considered hitting Justin in the lead-off spot just to change his approach and help with his "pressing" issue.</li>
<li>Line up: Drew, Upton, Johnson, LaRoche, Reynolds, Montero, Parra</li>
<li>Gibby talked about J-Up dealing with his slump and get over pressing. "It's a big part of the game. It's part of maturing. It's part of conquering really what the game of baseball is. It's something I struggled with for awhile, a long time, and you're always going to have times when things don't go well. You've got to find a way to get through it without going in the deep-freeze. He still hits the ball decently but I watched him last night and he really put a lot of pressure on himself."</li>
<li>Chris Young has made a lot of progress from being a pure pull hitter to being able to go opposite field. Last season he couldn't even hit on a line the other way in batting practice, this year he's made a lot of improvement. <br>
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<li>"If you look at it right from the set-up and just the mechanics of his lower half. I think that he used to drift a lot and now he keeps his front foot and stay back and stay ready. Just in a better position to attack offspeed pitches, balls away..."</li>
<li>Gibby gave Chris credit for working on it and then staying with it. He said a lot of times you make an adjustment and struggle with it early and bail on it.</li>
<li>Reynolds getting hit in the head was set back but, according to his manager, if Mark is going to have less than 200 strikeouts and have 120-130 RBI he's going to have to fix the mechanics of his swing.</li>
<li>Gibby said when he went home last night he felt he didn't do a good job managing the bullpen. </li>
<li>Hudson's been working on his slider a lot and he threw several good one's but gave up a homerun on a slider that hung up.</li>
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https://arizona.sbnation.com/2010/8/18/1630430/kirk-gibson-pregame-media-chat-diamondbacksSeth Pollack2010-08-18T12:35:11-07:002010-08-18T12:35:11-07:00AZ Snakepit Joins FSN AZ Live Web Chat
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<p>Once again, Jim will be live-chatting with Jack during tonight's game. I will be covering this game as well so I can finally return the knife and plate that Jim and his lovely wife left at our house a few months ago.</p>
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<p><a href="http://www.azsnakepit.com/2010/8/18/1629697/fox-sports-arizona-chat-with-jack" target="_blank">Fox Sports Arizona Chat With Jack Magruder [and me!] - AZ Snakepit</a></p>
<p><br>Time for our monthly invasion of Fox Sports Arizona's chats; I'll be "helping out" Jack during this evening's game with the Reds - which mostly means supplying the irrelevant pop-culture references.</p>
<p>But I imagine we'll also be talking about last-minute draft signings (and non-signings), Dan Hudson, Kirk Gibson, trade possibilities before the deadlines and other stuff. Please join us - you might learn something, and I know I certainly will...</p>
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https://arizona.sbnation.com/2010/8/18/1630018/azsnake-pit-diamondbacks-fox-sports-arizona-web-chatSeth Pollack2010-08-18T12:20:57-07:002010-08-18T12:20:57-07:00Juan Gutierrez Off DL, Rafael Rodriquez Optioned To Reno
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<p>Official release:</p>
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<p><br>PHOENIX -- The Arizona Diamondbacks announced today they have reinstated right-handed pitcher Juan Gutierrez from the 15-day disabled list after optioning right-handed pitcher Rafael Rodriguez to Triple-A Reno following last night's game, according to interim General Manager Jerry Dipoto.</p>
<p>Gutierrez, 27, was placed on the disabled list on Aug. 3 with right shoulder inflammation. Prior to his stint on the disabled list, Gutierrez owned a 6.69 ERA (29 ER in 39.0 IP) and .273 opponent's average (42-for-154) with 3 saves, 16 walks and 32 strikeouts in 40 games with the D-backs.</p>
<p>Rodriguez, 25, posted a 6.75 ERA (2 ER in 2.2 IP) and .333 opponent's average (4-for-12) with a walk and 2 strikeouts in 2 games with the D-backs after being acquired with three other players from the Los Angeles Angels for Dan Haren on July 25.</p>
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https://arizona.sbnation.com/2010/8/18/1629984/juan-gutierrez-off-dl-rafael-Rodriquez-Optioned-RenoSeth Pollack2010-08-18T11:05:05-07:002010-08-18T11:05:05-07:00Snakes And Reds Game Two Showdown At Chase Field, 6:40 P.M. AZT
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<p>(Sports Network) - <span>Edinson Volquez</span> has been providing the <a href="https://www.redreporter.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Cincinnati Reds</a> the boost the team has been hoping for upon returning from a layoff of over a year. The standout pitcher will attempt to continue the National League Central leader's recent mastery of the <a href="https://www.azsnakepit.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Arizona Diamondbacks</a> when he takes the mound for tonight's middle test of a three-game series between the clubs from Chase Field.</p>
<p>Volquez missed the first half of this season while recovering from Tommy John surgery performed the previous summer and struggled early on in his comeback, but seems to have regained the form that garnered him 17 wins and an All-Star appearance in 2008. The hard-throwing righty is 2-0 with an excellent 1.53 earned run average over his past three starts, yielding a just a single run in each of those appearances.</p>
<p>The Dominican native improved to 3-1 on the year after limiting Florida to one run and registering six strikeouts in a six-inning stint this past Friday. He's now fanned 30 batters in 29 2/3 innings since his comeback.</p>
<p>Volquez will be taking on the Diamondbacks for only the second time in his career tonight, with the first meeting taking place in Phoenix during September of 2008. The 27-year-old did issue six walks in that game, but still held the Diamondbacks to a pair of runs and struck out eight in a six-inning no-decision.</p>
<p>Cincinnati enters tonight's tilt with a two-game edge on St. Louis for first place in the NL Central and extended that margin with Tuesday's 6-2 victory over Arizona. The win was the fourth in a row and eighth in the past 11 contests for the Reds.</p>
<p><span>Paul Janish</span> snapped a 2-2 tie in last night's matchup with a solo homer off D- Backs starter in the seventh inning, helping <span>Bronson Arroyo</span> earn his 13th win of the season. <span>Scott Rolen</span> added three hits and knocked in three runs as Cincinnati got its nine-game West Coast trip off to a strong start.</p>
<p>Arroyo (13-7) did his part by hurling 7 1/3 solid innings, with the veteran right-hander shutting out Arizona after surrendering a two-run homer to <span>Kelly Johnson</span> in the bottom of the first.</p>
<p>Hudson (3-1) was sharp as well, with the rookie racking up a career-best 10 strikeouts in his seven innings of work. He was touched for three runs, however, and suffered his first defeat in four starts since coming over from the <a href="https://www.southsidesox.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Chicago White Sox</a> in a late-July trade.</p>
<p>"Arroyo pitched great, but the young man over there pitched great, too," said Reds manager Dusty Baker. "[Hudson] kept the ball down. Had good velocity. He had us eating out of his hand in the early going."</p>
<p>Tuesday's triumph was Cincinnati's sixth consecutive win at Chase Field, where the club swept a three-game set between these teams last season. The Reds took five of six overall bouts from Arizona in 2009 as well and are now 14-3 in their past 17 games against the Diamondbacks.</p>
<p><span>Rodrigo Lopez</span> will try to end Cincinnati's reign of dominance in this series, and record an elusive first win since the All-Star break, when he gets the call for Arizona tonight. The journeyman righty is 0-4 with an awful 6.69 ERA in six starts following the Midsummer Classic and has served up nine homers in just 35 innings over that poor stretch.</p>
<p>Lopez was rocked for seven runs in five innings in a loss at Milwaukee last Thursday, which dropped him to 5-11 on the season. He hasn't won since a home verdict over Florida on July 8 in which the 34-year-old permitted four runs (three earned) over seven frames.</p>
<p>In 13 starts at Chase Field so far in 2010, Lopez is just 3-6 with a 4.79 ERA. He's 1-0 in four lifetime encounters with the Reds, but has pitched to a 6.32 ERA over the course of those games.</p>
https://arizona.sbnation.com/2010/8/18/2319532/snakes-and-reds-game-two-showdown-at-chase-field-6-40-p-m-aztJustin Burning