Arizona Diamondbacks rally to tie, blow lead, lose in 12th inning â€" Arizona Republic
by Nick Piecoro â€" Jun. 8, 2011 09:39 PMThe Arizona Republic
PITTSBURGH â€" The count was full in the 12th inning Wednesday night, and in trying to decide what pitch he was going to throw to Pittsburgh’s Andrew McCutchen, Diamondbacks reliever Zach Kroenke flashed back to earlier in the at-bat, to a slider that McCutchen had pulled foul.
“We thought he was cheating on the heater,†Kroenke said.
Thinking McCutchen still was waiting for a fastball, Kroenke went back to the slider, and McCutchen made him pay, yanking the pitch barely inside the left-field foul pole to give the Pirates a walk-off, 3-2 victory over the Diamondbacks at PNC Park.
That was the final turn in a night full of them, a game the Diamondbacks rallied to tie in the eighth inning before taking the lead in the 10th, only to see closer J.J. Putz suffer a rare blown save.
That, too, was partly the doing of McCutchen, the Pirates’ center fielder and one of the league’s more-exciting young players.
It was the second night in a row that one of the Diamondbacks’ trusted relievers let them down, and it led to the their third consecutive loss, dropping them two games back of the first-place San Francisco Giants.
“It doesn’t feel good,†Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson said. “The guys did battle. They played tough. It’s disappointing. We have to pick ourselves up. We have a game (Thursday).â€
Left-hander Zach Duke’s return to Pittsburgh, the city in which he began his major-league career, to face off against one of his best friends, Pirates lefty Paul Maholm, became a footnote after the late-game lead changes.
But both pitchers threw well. Duke gave up one run in seven innings, getting stronger as the game wore on, and Maholm threw one-hit ball through sixscoreless frames.
Two run-scoring singles by Stephen Drew â€" one to tie the score in the eighth, the other to take the lead in the 10th â€" put the Diamondbacks ahead 2-1 and in position to even the series with Putz on the mound.
Instead, McCutchen shot a 3-1 fastball from Putz down the right-field line, barely keeping it fair for a ground-rule double before Neil Walker singled up the middle to tie the score at 2.
“It’s a game of inches,†Putz said of McCutchen’s hit. “And Walker hit a hanging split right back up through the box. Not a very good pitch.â€
Still, the Diamondbacks could have gone back ahead in the 11th. After a bloop double by Xavier Nady and a single by Henry Blanco, the Diamondbacks had runners on first and third with nobody out.
But Pirates reliever Daniel McCutchen struck out Ryan Roberts and got Kelly Johnson to bounce into an inning-ending double play.
“We had several opportunities in extra innings,†Gibson said, “and didn’t get it done.â€
There was another in the 12th. With runners on the corners again and two out, Gibson hit Sean Burroughs for reliever Micah Owings, and Burroughs flew out to left, ending the threat. With his bullpen down to Kroenke and David Hernandez, whom he was saving for a save opportunity, Gibson went to Kroenke.
“It’s not an ideal matchup,†Gibson said, “but you’re down to the bottom, and you only have so many guys left.â€
Leading off the 12th was Andrew McCutchen, and deep in the at-bat, Kroenke rolled the dice with the full-count slider.
“He guessed right,†Kroenke said. “I threw the wrong pitch, apparently. It’s a gamble. We took it and lost on it.â€
Diamondbacks rewind
Drew’s night: Shortstop Stephen Drew began the game on the bench, getting a night off with Pirates left-hander Paul Maholm on the mound.
But he entered as a pinch-hitter in the eighth, and immediately made his presence felt, dropping a single into center field to tie the score at 1 before delivering another RBI single in the 10th.
“I was just trying to get a pitch and hit it up the middle,†he said. “I wasn’t trying to do too much, and it just worked out.â€
Settling down: There was a lot of traffic on the bases in Diamondbacks lefty Zach Duke’s first five innings, but he gave up just one run before retiring the side in his final two innings.
“The location was off a little bit in the first couple of innings,†he said. “But thankfully I was able to get through it and really settle into a nice rhythm and give us a chance.â€
Snyder departs: Pirates catcher Chris Snyder left the game in the third inning because of back tightness after an awkward slide into second base in the second inning.
Snyder, who had back surgery in 2009 while a member of the Diamondbacks, will be evaluated Thursday.
View from the press box
The Diamondbacks’ trusty bullpen failed to protect a lead for the second night in a row, but the bigger culprit might be the offense, which managed just two runs Wednesday night after coming up with just one hit with a runner in scoring position the night before. With some of the Diamondbacks’ hitters having cooled off in the past several games, we’ll see if they can manage to score enough runs to keep the wins coming.
Tags: Arizona â€"
Related ads Arizona Diamondbacks rally to tie, blow lead, lose in 12th inning â€" Arizona Republic
Arizona Diamondbacks rally to tie, blow lead, lose in 12th inning â€" Arizona Republic
by Nick Piecoro â€" Jun. 8, 2011 09:39 PMThe Arizona Republic
PITTSBURGH â€" The count was full in the 12th inning Wednesday night, and in trying to decide what pitch he was going to throw to Pittsburgh’s Andrew McCutchen, Diamondbacks reliever Zach Kroenke flashed back to earlier in the at-bat, to a slider that McCutchen had pulled foul.
“We thought he was cheating on the heater,†Kroenke said.
Thinking McCutchen still was waiting for a fastball, Kroenke went back to the slider, and McCutchen made him pay, yanking the pitch barely inside the left-field foul pole to give the Pirates a walk-off, 3-2 victory over the Diamondbacks at PNC Park.
That was the final turn in a night full of them, a game the Diamondbacks rallied to tie in the eighth inning before taking the lead in the 10th, only to see closer J.J. Putz suffer a rare blown save.
That, too, was partly the doing of McCutchen, the Pirates’ center fielder and one of the league’s more-exciting young players.
It was the second night in a row that one of the Diamondbacks’ trusted relievers let them down, and it led to the their third consecutive loss, dropping them two games back of the first-place San Francisco Giants.
“It doesn’t feel good,†Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson said. “The guys did battle. They played tough. It’s disappointing. We have to pick ourselves up. We have a game (Thursday).â€
Left-hander Zach Duke’s return to Pittsburgh, the city in which he began his major-league career, to face off against one of his best friends, Pirates lefty Paul Maholm, became a footnote after the late-game lead changes.
But both pitchers threw well. Duke gave up one run in seven innings, getting stronger as the game wore on, and Maholm threw one-hit ball through sixscoreless frames.
Two run-scoring singles by Stephen Drew â€" one to tie the score in the eighth, the other to take the lead in the 10th â€" put the Diamondbacks ahead 2-1 and in position to even the series with Putz on the mound.
Instead, McCutchen shot a 3-1 fastball from Putz down the right-field line, barely keeping it fair for a ground-rule double before Neil Walker singled up the middle to tie the score at 2.
“It’s a game of inches,†Putz said of McCutchen’s hit. “And Walker hit a hanging split right back up through the box. Not a very good pitch.â€
Still, the Diamondbacks could have gone back ahead in the 11th. After a bloop double by Xavier Nady and a single by Henry Blanco, the Diamondbacks had runners on first and third with nobody out.
But Pirates reliever Daniel McCutchen struck out Ryan Roberts and got Kelly Johnson to bounce into an inning-ending double play.
“We had several opportunities in extra innings,†Gibson said, “and didn’t get it done.â€
There was another in the 12th. With runners on the corners again and two out, Gibson hit Sean Burroughs for reliever Micah Owings, and Burroughs flew out to left, ending the threat. With his bullpen down to Kroenke and David Hernandez, whom he was saving for a save opportunity, Gibson went to Kroenke.
“It’s not an ideal matchup,†Gibson said, “but you’re down to the bottom, and you only have so many guys left.â€
Leading off the 12th was Andrew McCutchen, and deep in the at-bat, Kroenke rolled the dice with the full-count slider.
“He guessed right,†Kroenke said. “I threw the wrong pitch, apparently. It’s a gamble. We took it and lost on it.â€
Diamondbacks rewind
Drew’s night: Shortstop Stephen Drew began the game on the bench, getting a night off with Pirates left-hander Paul Maholm on the mound.
But he entered as a pinch-hitter in the eighth, and immediately made his presence felt, dropping a single into center field to tie the score at 1 before delivering another RBI single in the 10th.
“I was just trying to get a pitch and hit it up the middle,†he said. “I wasn’t trying to do too much, and it just worked out.â€
Settling down: There was a lot of traffic on the bases in Diamondbacks lefty Zach Duke’s first five innings, but he gave up just one run before retiring the side in his final two innings.
“The location was off a little bit in the first couple of innings,†he said. “But thankfully I was able to get through it and really settle into a nice rhythm and give us a chance.â€
Snyder departs: Pirates catcher Chris Snyder left the game in the third inning because of back tightness after an awkward slide into second base in the second inning.
Snyder, who had back surgery in 2009 while a member of the Diamondbacks, will be evaluated Thursday.
View from the press box
The Diamondbacks’ trusty bullpen failed to protect a lead for the second night in a row, but the bigger culprit might be the offense, which managed just two runs Wednesday night after coming up with just one hit with a runner in scoring position the night before. With some of the Diamondbacks’ hitters having cooled off in the past several games, we’ll see if they can manage to score enough runs to keep the wins coming.
Tags: Arizona â€"
Related ads Arizona Diamondbacks rally to tie, blow lead, lose in 12th inning â€" Arizona Republic
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Sexual Health Information for Teens: Health Tips About Sexual Development, Reproduction, Contraception, andArizona Diamondbacks rally to tie, blow lead, lose in 12th inning â€" Arizona Republic
by Nick Piecoro â€" Jun. 8, 2011 09:39 PMThe Arizona Republic
PITTSBURGH â€" The count was full in the 12th inning Wednesday night, and in trying to decide what pitch he was going to throw to Pittsburgh’s Andrew McCutchen, Diamondbacks reliever Zach Kroenke flashed back to earlier in the at-bat, to a slider that McCutchen had pulled foul.
“We thought he was cheating on the heater,†Kroenke said.
Thinking McCutchen still was waiting for a fastball, Kroenke went back to the slider, and McCutchen made him pay, yanking the pitch barely inside the left-field foul pole to give the Pirates a walk-off, 3-2 victory over the Diamondbacks at PNC Park.
That was the final turn in a night full of them, a game the Diamondbacks rallied to tie in the eighth inning before taking the lead in the 10th, only to see closer J.J. Putz suffer a rare blown save.
That, too, was partly the doing of McCutchen, the Pirates’ center fielder and one of the league’s more-exciting young players.
It was the second night in a row that one of the Diamondbacks’ trusted relievers let them down, and it led to the their third consecutive loss, dropping them two games back of the first-place San Francisco Giants.
“It doesn’t feel good,†Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson said. “The guys did battle. They played tough. It’s disappointing. We have to pick ourselves up. We have a game (Thursday).â€
Left-hander Zach Duke’s return to Pittsburgh, the city in which he began his major-league career, to face off against one of his best friends, Pirates lefty Paul Maholm, became a footnote after the late-game lead changes.
But both pitchers threw well. Duke gave up one run in seven innings, getting stronger as the game wore on, and Maholm threw one-hit ball through sixscoreless frames.
Two run-scoring singles by Stephen Drew â€" one to tie the score in the eighth, the other to take the lead in the 10th â€" put the Diamondbacks ahead 2-1 and in position to even the series with Putz on the mound.
Instead, McCutchen shot a 3-1 fastball from Putz down the right-field line, barely keeping it fair for a ground-rule double before Neil Walker singled up the middle to tie the score at 2.
“It’s a game of inches,†Putz said of McCutchen’s hit. “And Walker hit a hanging split right back up through the box. Not a very good pitch.â€
Still, the Diamondbacks could have gone back ahead in the 11th. After a bloop double by Xavier Nady and a single by Henry Blanco, the Diamondbacks had runners on first and third with nobody out.
But Pirates reliever Daniel McCutchen struck out Ryan Roberts and got Kelly Johnson to bounce into an inning-ending double play.
“We had several opportunities in extra innings,†Gibson said, “and didn’t get it done.â€
There was another in the 12th. With runners on the corners again and two out, Gibson hit Sean Burroughs for reliever Micah Owings, and Burroughs flew out to left, ending the threat. With his bullpen down to Kroenke and David Hernandez, whom he was saving for a save opportunity, Gibson went to Kroenke.
“It’s not an ideal matchup,†Gibson said, “but you’re down to the bottom, and you only have so many guys left.â€
Leading off the 12th was Andrew McCutchen, and deep in the at-bat, Kroenke rolled the dice with the full-count slider.
“He guessed right,†Kroenke said. “I threw the wrong pitch, apparently. It’s a gamble. We took it and lost on it.â€
Diamondbacks rewind
Drew’s night: Shortstop Stephen Drew began the game on the bench, getting a night off with Pirates left-hander Paul Maholm on the mound.
But he entered as a pinch-hitter in the eighth, and immediately made his presence felt, dropping a single into center field to tie the score at 1 before delivering another RBI single in the 10th.
“I was just trying to get a pitch and hit it up the middle,†he said. “I wasn’t trying to do too much, and it just worked out.â€
Settling down: There was a lot of traffic on the bases in Diamondbacks lefty Zach Duke’s first five innings, but he gave up just one run before retiring the side in his final two innings.
“The location was off a little bit in the first couple of innings,†he said. “But thankfully I was able to get through it and really settle into a nice rhythm and give us a chance.â€
Snyder departs: Pirates catcher Chris Snyder left the game in the third inning because of back tightness after an awkward slide into second base in the second inning.
Snyder, who had back surgery in 2009 while a member of the Diamondbacks, will be evaluated Thursday.
View from the press box
The Diamondbacks’ trusty bullpen failed to protect a lead for the second night in a row, but the bigger culprit might be the offense, which managed just two runs Wednesday night after coming up with just one hit with a runner in scoring position the night before. With some of the Diamondbacks’ hitters having cooled off in the past several games, we’ll see if they can manage to score enough runs to keep the wins coming.
Tags: Arizona â€"
Related ads Arizona Diamondbacks rally to tie, blow lead, lose in 12th inning â€" Arizona Republic
Arizona Diamondbacks rally to tie, blow lead, lose in 12th inning â€" Arizona Republic
by Nick Piecoro â€" Jun. 8, 2011 09:39 PMThe Arizona Republic
PITTSBURGH â€" The count was full in the 12th inning Wednesday night, and in trying to decide what pitch he was going to throw to Pittsburgh’s Andrew McCutchen, Diamondbacks reliever Zach Kroenke flashed back to earlier in the at-bat, to a slider that McCutchen had pulled foul.
“We thought he was cheating on the heater,†Kroenke said.
Thinking McCutchen still was waiting for a fastball, Kroenke went back to the slider, and McCutchen made him pay, yanking the pitch barely inside the left-field foul pole to give the Pirates a walk-off, 3-2 victory over the Diamondbacks at PNC Park.
That was the final turn in a night full of them, a game the Diamondbacks rallied to tie in the eighth inning before taking the lead in the 10th, only to see closer J.J. Putz suffer a rare blown save.
That, too, was partly the doing of McCutchen, the Pirates’ center fielder and one of the league’s more-exciting young players.
It was the second night in a row that one of the Diamondbacks’ trusted relievers let them down, and it led to the their third consecutive loss, dropping them two games back of the first-place San Francisco Giants.
“It doesn’t feel good,†Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson said. “The guys did battle. They played tough. It’s disappointing. We have to pick ourselves up. We have a game (Thursday).â€
Left-hander Zach Duke’s return to Pittsburgh, the city in which he began his major-league career, to face off against one of his best friends, Pirates lefty Paul Maholm, became a footnote after the late-game lead changes.
But both pitchers threw well. Duke gave up one run in seven innings, getting stronger as the game wore on, and Maholm threw one-hit ball through sixscoreless frames.
Two run-scoring singles by Stephen Drew â€" one to tie the score in the eighth, the other to take the lead in the 10th â€" put the Diamondbacks ahead 2-1 and in position to even the series with Putz on the mound.
Instead, McCutchen shot a 3-1 fastball from Putz down the right-field line, barely keeping it fair for a ground-rule double before Neil Walker singled up the middle to tie the score at 2.
“It’s a game of inches,†Putz said of McCutchen’s hit. “And Walker hit a hanging split right back up through the box. Not a very good pitch.â€
Still, the Diamondbacks could have gone back ahead in the 11th. After a bloop double by Xavier Nady and a single by Henry Blanco, the Diamondbacks had runners on first and third with nobody out.
But Pirates reliever Daniel McCutchen struck out Ryan Roberts and got Kelly Johnson to bounce into an inning-ending double play.
“We had several opportunities in extra innings,†Gibson said, “and didn’t get it done.â€
There was another in the 12th. With runners on the corners again and two out, Gibson hit Sean Burroughs for reliever Micah Owings, and Burroughs flew out to left, ending the threat. With his bullpen down to Kroenke and David Hernandez, whom he was saving for a save opportunity, Gibson went to Kroenke.
“It’s not an ideal matchup,†Gibson said, “but you’re down to the bottom, and you only have so many guys left.â€
Leading off the 12th was Andrew McCutchen, and deep in the at-bat, Kroenke rolled the dice with the full-count slider.
“He guessed right,†Kroenke said. “I threw the wrong pitch, apparently. It’s a gamble. We took it and lost on it.â€
Diamondbacks rewind
Drew’s night: Shortstop Stephen Drew began the game on the bench, getting a night off with Pirates left-hander Paul Maholm on the mound.
But he entered as a pinch-hitter in the eighth, and immediately made his presence felt, dropping a single into center field to tie the score at 1 before delivering another RBI single in the 10th.
“I was just trying to get a pitch and hit it up the middle,†he said. “I wasn’t trying to do too much, and it just worked out.â€
Settling down: There was a lot of traffic on the bases in Diamondbacks lefty Zach Duke’s first five innings, but he gave up just one run before retiring the side in his final two innings.
“The location was off a little bit in the first couple of innings,†he said. “But thankfully I was able to get through it and really settle into a nice rhythm and give us a chance.â€
Snyder departs: Pirates catcher Chris Snyder left the game in the third inning because of back tightness after an awkward slide into second base in the second inning.
Snyder, who had back surgery in 2009 while a member of the Diamondbacks, will be evaluated Thursday.
View from the press box
The Diamondbacks’ trusty bullpen failed to protect a lead for the second night in a row, but the bigger culprit might be the offense, which managed just two runs Wednesday night after coming up with just one hit with a runner in scoring position the night before. With some of the Diamondbacks’ hitters having cooled off in the past several games, we’ll see if they can manage to score enough runs to keep the wins coming.
Tags: 12th, Arizona, blow, Diamondbacks, inning, Lead, Lose, rally, Republic â€"
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