SB Nation Arizona - Daniel Hudson's 3 RBI Complete Game Powers Diamondbacks Over Dodgers, 4-1 https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/46593/arizona-fave.png2011-07-17T17:53:37-07:00http://arizona.sbnation.com/rss/stream/20415832011-07-17T17:53:37-07:002011-07-17T17:53:37-07:00Daniel Hudson, Real Life & Fantasy Baseball King For D-backs
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<p><span>Daniel Hudson</span> is playing stellar baseball for the <a href="https://www.azsnakepit.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Arizona Diamondbacks</a> in 2011. Picked up in a trade with the <a href="https://www.southsidesox.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Chicago White Sox</a> in return for <span>Edwin Jackson</span> last summer, the D-backs are the ones who got the better end of the deal.</p>↵<p>Hudson pitched nine innings of one-run baseball, while adding three RBI -- including his first career home run in the sixth inning off of <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Dodgers</a> starter <span>Ted Lilly</span>.</p>↵<p>One inning later, Hudson delivered a two-run single off of <span>Blake Hawksworth</span>, and Kirk Gibson's bold move to keep his starting pitcher in the game paid off handsomely.</p>↵<p>Hudson is now hitting .359 on the season, racking up 12 RBI and leading all MLB pitchers in runs batted in. With only 39 official AB's for Hudson in 2011, he is tied with several name-brand position players, including <span>Kosuke Fukudome</span>, Tony Gwynn, Jr., <span>Mike Cameron</span>, and <span>Nick Punto</span> -- all of which have had at least 91 at-bats.</p>↵<p>Fukudome, amazingly, has had 270 AB's! He makes $14.5 million! And people wonder why the <a href="https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Cubs</a> never win anything.</p>↵<p>But this isn't an article dedicated to pointing out the embarrassing personnel choices of Cubs management. Really, we're celebrating a 24-year old pitcher who has 10 wins, an ERA of 3.56, and with a salary of $419,000, is one of the best deals in baseball.</p>↵<p>Edwin Jackson, on the other hand, is making $8.75 million for the ChiSox this year. He is only 7-7 with an ERA just under 4. With savvy moves such as these, the D-backs are looking smart and sitting pretty in the NL standings, just 3.5 games back of the <a href="https://www.mccoveychronicles.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Giants</a> in the West and 5 games back of the <a href="https://www.talkingchop.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Braves</a> for the Wild Card spot.</p>
https://arizona.sbnation.com/arizona-diamondbacks/2011/7/17/2280461/daniel-hudson-real-life-fantasy-baseball-king-for-d-backsCory Williams2011-07-17T16:15:09-07:002011-07-17T16:15:09-07:00Daniel Hudson Brilliant On Mound And With Bat, D-backs Beat Dodgers, 4-1
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<p>Daniel Hudson was a genius in his first game back from the All-Star break. As we approach the one-year mark when interim General Manager Jerry Dipoto pulled of the steal that landed him, Hudson continues to deliver. On Sunday against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Hudson did it both with his bat and from the mound.</p>
<p>Hudson threw a complete game giving up five hits, no walks and one earned run that came on a wild pitch. From the plate, Hudson hit a solo home run in the sixth inning and in the seventh added two runs when he hit the ball through the left side of the infield with the bases loaded and two outs. </p>
<p>Ryan Roberts added the only other run for the D-backs with a solo home run of his own in the second inning.</p>
<p>Hudson earned his 10th win of the season and the Diamondbacks improve to 51-44 on the season</p>
<p><i><b>For more Arizona Diamondbacks coverage, check out </b></i><a target="_blank" href="http://azsnakepit.com/"><i><b>AZ Snake Pit,</b></i></a><i><b> our SB Nation D-backs blog.</b></i></p>
https://arizona.sbnation.com/arizona-diamondbacks/2011/7/17/2280366/daniel-hudson-brilliant-on-mound-and-with-bat-d-backs-beat-dodgers-4-1Seth Pollack2011-07-16T19:52:35-07:002011-07-16T19:52:35-07:00Diamondbacks Have Big Second Inning, Claim 3-2 Victory Over Dodgers
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<p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.azsnakepit.com/">Arizona Diamondbacks</a> scored early and managed to hold on for a 3-2 victory over the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Los Angeles Dodgers</a> Saturday night. The Diamondbacks avenged a 6-4 loss on Friday night and evened the series 1-1.</p>
<p>The Dodgers scored in the top of the second inning on a <span>Matt Kemp</span> home run to claim an early lead, but the Diamondbacks took command later in the inning on a home run by <span>Brandon Allen</span> to claim a 3-1 lead. Those three runs would turn out to be the entirety of the Diamondbacks' offense for the evening.</p>
<p>A good performance by <span>Ian Kennedy</span>, however, ensured that no more runs would be needed to get the win. Kennedy (10-3) allowed just five hits and two runs in seven innings, picking up seven strikeouts along the way.</p>
<p>The Diamondbacks are now 50-44, just four games back of the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.mccoveychronicles.com/">San Francisco Giants</a> in the NL West. Arizona will be looking to cut into the Giants' division lead in Sunday's Game 3 against the Dodgers.</p>
https://arizona.sbnation.com/arizona-diamondbacks/2011/7/16/2279443/diamondbacks-have-big-second-inning-claim-3-2-victory-over-dodgersNikil Selvam2011-07-16T17:31:03-07:002011-07-16T17:31:03-07:00Geoff Blum, Brandon Allen Earn First Starts Of Season For D-backs
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<p><span>Geoff Blum</span> and <span>Brandon Allen</span> both made their first starts of the season on Saturday night for the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.azsnakepit.com/">Arizona Diamondbacks</a>.</p>
<p>Blum and Allen batted sixth and seventh in the D-backs batting order, respectively. Manager Kirk Gibson is hoping that their presence in the lineup will help spur the offense, which has stagnated in recent games.</p>
<p>The <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Los Angeles Dodgers</a> put <span>Hiroki Kuroda</span> on the mound against Arizona on Saturday. The series began on Friday night with a 6-4 Dodgers victory; <span>Clayton Kershaw</span> picked up his tenth win of the season.</p>
<p>Blum, 38, is making his season debut after sitting out the first half of the season with a serious knee ailment that culminated in surgery. Allen, on the other hand, is up with the big club after impressing management with his statistics at Triple A-Reno during the first half.</p>
<p><i><b>For more Arizona Diamondbacks coverage, check out </b></i><a href="http://azsnakepit.com" target="_blank"><i><b>AZ Snake Pit,</b></i></a><i><b> our SB Nation D-backs blog.</b></i></p>
https://arizona.sbnation.com/arizona-diamondbacks/2011/7/16/2279313/geoff-blum-brandon-allen-earn-first-starts-of-season-for-d-backsCory Williams2011-07-15T22:15:22-07:002011-07-15T22:15:22-07:00Kirk Gibson Unhappy With Sloppy Play, Middle Relief In Loss To Dodgers (Video)
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<p><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.azsnakepit.com/">Arizona Diamondbacks</a> skipper, Kirk Gibson, was understandably displeased with his team's performance in their first game back from the All-Star break. He specifically called out sloppy play, which included a key error by first baseman <span>Xavier Nady</span> and <span>Willie Bloomquist</span> getting picked off. </p>
<p>Gibson also expressed his displeasure in the middle relief. In this case, he had to have been talking about <span>Aaron Heilman</span>, who gave up two runs after replacing <span>Joe Saunders</span> to start the seventh inning. Gibby was pleased with his team's ability to pound out four runs against a quality pitcher like the Dodger's <span>Clayton Kershaw</span>.</p>
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<p>Addition postgame interviews with Xavier Nady and <span>Brandon Allen</span> after the jump.</p>
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https://arizona.sbnation.com/arizona-diamondbacks/2011/7/15/2278467/kirk-gibson-unhappy-with-sloppy-play-middle-relief-in-loss-to-dodgersSeth Pollack2011-07-15T21:26:51-07:002011-07-15T21:26:51-07:00Diamondbacks Rally Falls Short, Lose To Dodgers 6-4
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<p>The <a href="https://www.azsnakepit.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Arizona Diamondbacks</a> were hoping to start the second half of the season on a positive note and keep pace with the <a href="https://www.mccoveychronicles.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">San Francisco Giants</a>. Instead, they continued a pattern of falling behind early and having to rally late. This time, though, they weren't able to muster enough of a rally and lost to <span>Clayton Kershaw</span> and the <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Los Angeles Dodgers</a> 6-4 at Chase Field on Friday night.</p>
<p>As it was the first game after almost a week-long layoff, manager Kirk Gibson described the play by both teams as "sloppy." "We made mistakes, they made mistakes," he explained. "But ultimately we weren't able to hold after Joe got out of the game, and that's what cost us the game."</p>
<p><span>Joe Saunders</span> started out looking solid, but Juan Rivera, making his Dodger debut, got the Dodgers going in the second inning, mashing the first pitch he saw into the left-field seats for a homerun. He also singled and scored in the fourth. Saunders, a former teammate of Rivera in Anaheim, joked after the game that he had forgotten that Rivera "likes to ambush" pitchers early in the count.</p>
<p><span>Matt Kemp</span> did the rest of the damage for LA, hitting a two-run shot off of Saunders in the sixth and a two-run single off of <span>Aaron Heilman</span> in the seventh, for what would be the decisive scoring in the game. </p>
<p>In the pregame press conference, Gibson talked about the need to get better middle relief help. Heilman's performance reiterates the concern that the team has, saying that they have "got to get to the eighth and ninth" for David Hernandez and J.J. Putz to close out games. However, after the the game he did emphasize that it is "not a panic situation."</p>
<p>The D-Backs rallied for four runs in the bottom of the seventh. With one out, Chris Young reached on an error and scored on a single by <span>Miguel Montero</span>. <span>Xavier Nady</span> later hit a three-run homer, his third on the season, to pull the team within two. </p>
<p>Kershaw went seven innings for the Dodgers, allowing the four runs, but none were earned. He improved his record to 10-4 on the season while Saunders fell to 6-8, giving up four runs in six innings. </p>
<p>Javy Guerra struck out pinch hitter <span>Brandon Allen</span> looking with two men on for the final out of the game to record the save. It was his fifth of the season. Both Gibson and Allen said that in that situation the pitch "was too close to take."</p>
<p><b><i>For more Arizona Diamondbacks coverage, be sure to visit <a target="_blank" href="http://azsnakepit.com">AZ Snakepit</a>.</i></b></p>
https://arizona.sbnation.com/arizona-diamondbacks/2011/7/15/2278392/diamondbacks-rally-falls-short-lose-to-dodgers-6-4Jess Root2011-07-15T19:43:21-07:002011-07-15T19:43:21-07:00Diamondbacks' Hall Hopes ASG Leads To More Fans In Seats
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<p><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.azsnakepit.com/">Diamondbacks</a> president Derrick Hall did a lot of interviews during All-Star Weekend, and one of the things he talked about was the hope that the All-Star Game could be what leads to more ticket sales now that the second half of the season has begun.</p>
<p>The Diamondbacks have done their part. They've fielded a competitive team that plays with an upbeat attitude and some grit, and find themselves in second place in the NL West as play began Friday night. </p>
<p>"It gives them (fans) a reason to want to get back to the ballpark and to see our team, especially now that some of the focus will be on the D-backs and seeing that we're in contention and we're in this race," Hall said last week, "it'll add to attendance for the second half no doubt."</p>
<p>Fan or not of this organization, the Diamondbacks have done a great deal to attract fans. They've put out a number of ticket specials, including for this weekend's series against the rival <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a>. The All-Star Game was a success as was the Home Run Derby. Everyone has their theories for as to why the D-backs struggle to draw consistently large crowds despite how well they are playing. </p>
<p>Perhaps it's just a wait-and-see and folks want to see whether this solid season will hold up into August, or at another point later in the season. Hall, for his part, even admitted he is a bit surprised at how well the team has played in 2011.</p>
<p>"I didn't think our turnaround or recovery would happen this quickly," Hall said. "I knew we were going to, but I'm pleased with where we're at. Now we're all feeling a little bit greedy, now we want more. So hopefully we can stay in this thing and can win it and hopefully get to the playoffs."</p>
https://arizona.sbnation.com/arizona-diamondbacks/2011/7/15/2278300/diamondbacks-hall-hopes-asg-leads-to-more-fans-in-seatsJose Romero2011-07-15T17:20:12-07:002011-07-15T17:20:12-07:00Brandon Allen Not In Starting Lineup, Xavier Nady Starts At 1B For Diamondbacks
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<p><span>Brandon Allen</span> is with the big league club once again, but he will not start tonight against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Los Angeles Dodgers</a>.</p>
<p>Allen, a left-handed batter, will sit against all-star lefty <span>Clayton Kershaw</span>, who is sitting at 9-4 with a 3.03 ERA for the 41-51 Dodgers.</p>
<p><span>Xavier Nady</span> will play first base tonight for the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.azsnakepit.com/">Arizona Diamondbacks</a>, batting eighth and giving manager Kirk Gibson another right-handed bat in the lineup.</p>
<p><span>Hiroki Kuroda</span> will start for the Dodgers tomorrow, and you can expect Allen to make his first start of the season against the right-hander.</p>
<p>Allen hit .306 with 18 home runs and 66 RBI for Triple-A Reno during the first half of the season, prompting GM Kevin Towers to promote him as a replacement for the struggling <span>Juan Miranda</span>. As Jess Root reported earlier this evening, <a href="http://arizona.sbnation.com/arizona-diamondbacks/2011/7/15/2278076/barry-enright-to-start-tuesday-updates-on-putz-allen-gutierrez" target="_blank">Allen will get a lot of playing time for the Diamondbacks</a>, so this is just Gibson playing the match-up tonight.</p>
https://arizona.sbnation.com/arizona-diamondbacks/2011/7/15/2278168/brandon-allen-not-in-starting-lineup-xavier-nady-starts-at-1b-diamondbacksCory Williams