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Ninth Inning Execution was Key in D-backs Win

By Greg Dillard

In 2011, the D-backs have proven time and time again that they can never be counted out in a ballgame. And as they’ve proven this season, it’s the execution of the little things that makes all the difference.

During the team’s surge to the top of the National League West, they have continually found ways to win with a new hero every single game.

In Wednesday night’s series finale against the Marlins, the D-backs pulled off another miraculous comeback to seal the 6-5 win and the series victory. It was the team’s third walk-off win of the season, and the D-backs now have a 16-3 record in their past 19 games.

“We just try to weather the storm, just stay calm about it, and don’t get too frustrated,” manager Kirk Gibson said. “When you get in games like that they can frustrate you.”

After the Marlins came back to tie the score at 5-5 in the top of the inning, it was time for the D-backs to rally once again.

Upton delivered the striking blow with a two-out, broken-bat single to left, but Willie Bloomquist and Ryan Roberts deserve a ton of credit for the way the game ended.

Bloomquist singled to start the inning. When Roberts was up with a 2-1 count and one out, Bloomquist took off running. Roberts made contact, chopping the ball to third. When third baseman Greg Dobbs fielded it and threw Roberts out, Bloomquist was able to advance to third, taking two bases on a ground out.

Upton’s hit then plated Bloomquist and sealed the walk-off win.

“We just kept battling,” Upton said. “Huddy gave up some runs early, but he kept us in it. He gave us a chance to battle back, and we just fought.”

Hernandez continues 8th inning excellence

After rallying to tie knot the score at 4-4 in the seventh, Gibson called on David Hernandez to pitch the eighth, as he has so many times this year. The right-hander did his job, and then some in his lone inning of work.

Hernandez fanned the first batter, Gaby Sanchez, to start the inning and then froze Gregg Dobbs on strike three. Mike Stanton then strode to the plate in need of just a double for the cycle. Instead, Hernandez struck out Stanton to fan the side and end the inning.

“I was feeling good,” Hernandez said. “It’s actually funny, Gibby came up to me yesterday during batting practice and was like ‘Hey we need to work on getting your pitch count down’. He told me he wanted to get down to about 15 an inning so it was 13 tonight so that’s a start.”

Q&A with D-backs Pitcher Zach Duke

Photography: Jordan Megenhardt

By Greg Dillard

The D-backs’ starting rotation received a strong boost last week when new left-hander Zach Duke was activated from the disabled list.

He was traded to Arizona during the offseason, but suffered a broken hand in Spring Training, which kept him off the mound for the season’s first two months.

Duke made his D-backs debut on May 28 against the Astros, tossing seven shutout innings to earn the win. He was just as impressive in the batter’s box, as he smacked a three run home run.

D-backs Insider caught up with Duke to talk about his debut and the team’s recent success.

DI: Talk about a strong first outing of the season, was it good to be back out there?

ZD: It was a lot of fun. I was very thankful to get back out there, and for things to turn out the way they did. I couldn’t ask for much better.

DI: You helped yourself out at the plate as well. Were you a little surprised to see that ball get out of the ballpark?

ZD: Absolutely, very surprised. My first pro homer for sure, the very first one.

DI: It had to be hard to come to a new team and get hurt in Spring Training. How hard was it to be sitting when your team was playing?

ZD: It was very tough sitting there watching. When the team’s on the road I had to watch on my TV. I didn’t miss a pitch. I was being a big fan of the team every game, living and dying with them when they win and when they lose. To be back and to be a part of it now, it’s a very good feeling, especially with the way we’re playing very well. To be able to contribute in a positive way, it feels very good.

DI: You mention that the team is playing well, that’s got to be exciting for you to come back and be on a first-place team.

ZD: Absolutely, it’s the first time in my career that I’ve been in first place past April. It’s a great feeling. We’ve got a good thing going, a lot of great guys. We’re having fun with it right now and that’s the main thing. We’re playing the game the right way.

DI: So overall how’s the transition from Pittsburgh to Arizona gone?

ZD: It’s been easy. There are a lot of great guys in the clubhouse that have welcomed me. Even when I was hurt, they made me feel like a part of the team. That’s really all you can ask for.

Upton, Johnson Lead Explosive Offense in D-backs Win

Photography: Christian Petersen

By Greg Dillard

It was a Memorial Day to remember at Chase Field on Monday, as pregame festivities honored military veterans and those currently serving in the armed forces.

The D-backs then made the night exciting with yet another impressive performance on the diamond. Behind a 19-hit, 15-run offensive explosion, the D-backs won their seventh straight game, and remain in first place atop the National League West.

Monday night’s win was also the team’s seventh straight home victory.

The D-backs blasted five home runs in the game, had six hits in the third inning, and scored four runs or more in three different innings.

It was the sixth game this season in which the D-backs scored ten runs or more.

“We love coming home,” right fielder Justin Upton said. “We love hitting in this park. We came out and we jumped on them early. It’s a nice win.”

Upton, Johnson bring bats on Memorial Day

There plenty of offense from everyone in the D-backs lineup on Monday night. But it was Upton and Kelly Johnson who stole the show.

Upton collected five hits in the game, tying a career high. He started things off by lacing a double to center field in his first inning at-bat.

Two innings later, he drove a two-out single to left field. Upton later scored on Chris Young’s infield single.

The fourth frame saw Upton hit a soft single into right-center that allowed Gerardo Parra to score. Upton’s fourth hit of the evening came in the sixth when he knocked another single to left.

Upton saved his loudest and farthest hit for the seventh inning, when he stepped up to the plate against Florida pitcher Mike Dunn. Upton crushed a 0-1 pitch into Friday’s Front Row in deep left field for his 10th home run of the season.

“I got some good pitches to hit, and I didn’t miss them,” Upton said. “That’s how you get five hits, I guess. Hopefully tomorrow, I’ll come out and try to see the ball again and try to stay locked in.”

Johnson’s four extra base hits tied a franchise single-game record, the eighth time it has happened. He also became the second Major League player this season to reel in four extra base hits in a game.

In the leadoff spot, Johnson launched home runs in both the third and sixth innings for the seventh two-homer game of his career. He last did it on April 23, 2010.

The hard-hitting lefty rocketed a double in his fourth inning at-bat, and legged out a triple in the seventh.

“I feel real good,” Johnson said. “It’s nice, but it’s the whole team. It’s a whole offense, everybody. We got a lot of confident hitters going up there.”

Gibson happy with recent play, but not content

In May, the D-backs own a 19-9 record. They are also 17-11 this season against teams with winning records.

The D-backs’ recent success has vaulted them to the top of the NL West. By posting a 6-1 record on the recent road trip, the D-backs overtook the Giants for first place.

“We had a great trip,” Gibson said. “We played good ball, and in the games we didn’t play good, we overcame it. We had contributions from everybody. It’s not like you can sit here and say that one person was on fire and carried the team, which I like.”

Although Gibson is pleased with his team’s winning ways, he’s adamant that the D-backs must stay focused.

“Here we are in a series with the Marlins, who are a very good team,” Gibson said. “Now you have to just stay humble and continue to play the way we have. We have to be scared that we would get sloppy and not continue to play that way.”

Kennedy & Putz Pitching Like All-Stars

Photos by Jordan Megenhardt

By Greg Salvatore

On the night of April 25, while Ian Kennedy was shutting out the Philadelphia Phillies, en route to striking out 10 batters in a duel with Cliff Lee the day after his daughter, Nora, was born, I received this message on Twitter:

I thought the sentiment was perfect. Out Cliff Lee-ing Cliff Lee. Kennedy was a strike-throwing machine that night, peppering the zone with every pitch in his arsenal. If you had no other information, and simply looked at the stat line — 10 strikeouts, no walks, no runs and three hits — and you asked fans to guess which pitcher had that line, Cliff Lee would be a pretty common guess.

Kennedy had one bad day this year (April 13 against St. Louis), but since walking off the field that night, he’s been one of the most valuable players in the National League. In his eight starts since then, here is Kennedy’s stat line:

5-0 – 1.87 ERA – 46 K – 13 BB –57 2/3 innings (7 1/3 per start)

Kennedy is, without question, one of the best starters in the NL this year and he should be rewarded for his fabulous season with the chance to play in the All-Star Game on his home field.

But he shouldn’t be alone.

The man who finished off Kennedy’s win in Colorado last night should have the opportunity to come in after him on July 12 as well.

J.J. Putz has been everything D-backs fans could have hoped for. Following a season in which the team had a historically bad bullpen, the overhaul in that department has been stunning. The D-backs have the seventh-best bullpen ERA in the National League and the 10th best in all of baseball. And it seems there is no bigger reason for that turnaround than the veteran at the back of the ‘pen.

Putz has given up only four earned runs and one home run in 21 innings this season, saving 14 games in 14 chances.

Though you still have time to vote (and vote… and vote… and vote!) for D-backs position players to make the All-Star Game, you can’t vote for these guys. It’s the National League players who pick the bulk of the reserves.

And if you have noticed what these two have done, it’s safe to say the opponents who have watched Kennedy and Putz dominate their teams have doubly noticed.

Top 20 starters in the NL, by ERA:

Player ERA G Tm GS W L IP H R ER BB SO ERA+ HR 2B 3B BA OBP SLG OPS
Jair Jurrjens 1.56 8 ATL 8 6 1 57.2 50 11 10 9 33 235 2 8 3 .235 .269 .329 .598
Josh Johnson 1.64 9 FLA 9 3 1 60.1 39 13 11 20 56 240 2 8 0 .185 .258 .251 .509
Jaime Garcia 1.93 10 STL 10 5 0 65.1 54 20 14 13 57 190 3 9 0 .225 .267 .300 .567
Tim Lincecum 2.06 10 SFG 10 4 4 70.0 51 21 16 24 75 185 4 11 0 .203 .278 .295 .573
Kyle Lohse 2.06 10 STL 10 6 2 74.1 53 17 17 14 41 178 3 14 0 .199 .241 .286 .527
Roy Halladay 2.35 11 PHI 11 6 3 84.1 75 23 22 13 86 161 2 7 0 .237 .266 .278 .544
Shaun Marcum 2.37 10 MIL 10 6 1 64.2 51 19 17 15 62 157 5 7 1 .214 .260 .315 .575
Charlie Morton 2.61 9 PIT 9 5 2 62.0 53 19 18 29 33 146 2 10 0 .233 .318 .304 .622
Tommy Hanson 2.72 10 ATL 10 5 3 59.2 44 20 18 18 61 135 5 12 0 .206 .274 .332 .606
Roy Oswalt 2.77 7 PHI 7 3 2 39.0 36 13 12 10 27 137 2 10 0 .245 .306 .354 .660
Clayton Kershaw 2.96 11 LAD 11 5 3 70.0 61 23 23 23 77 121 6 8 0 .234 .294 .333 .627
Ian Kennedy 3.01 11 ARI 11 6 1 74.2 59 26 25 19 59 132 5 20 1 .219 .276 .356 .632
Anibal Sanchez 3.02 9 FLA 9 3 1 56.2 48 21 19 20 58 130 4 6 3 .229 .299 .343 .642
Ricky Nolasco 3.04 10 FLA 10 4 0 68.0 65 25 23 13 54 129 7 21 0 .258 .297 .425 .722
Cole Hamels 3.06 10 PHI 10 6 2 67.2 54 23 23 15 68 124 5 12 1 .221 .271 .340 .611
Jhoulys Chacin 3.09 10 COL 10 5 3 67.0 50 26 23 24 56 141 7 9 1 .203 .276 .333 .609
Hiroki Kuroda 3.10 10 LAD 10 5 4 66.2 66 27 23 17 51 116 9 12 3 .259 .303 .435 .739
Dustin Moseley 3.15 10 SDP 10 1 6 60.0 58 25 21 19 28 109 5 9 1 .253 .313 .367 .680
Jason Hammel 3.20 10 COL 10 3 4 64.2 62 28 23 20 38 136 5 10 3 .257 .320 .386 .705
Cliff Lee 3.38 10 PHI 10 3 4 66.2 65 26 25 15 78 112 5 12 2 .253 .298 .374 .672
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 5/26/2011.

Top 10 closers in the NL, by saves:

Player SV Tm Lg G IP H R ER BB SO ERA HR 2B 3B BA OBP SLG OPS
Leo Nunez 18 FLA NL 26 25.0 23 9 9 9 25 3.24 2 4 1 .242 .305 .368 .673
Francisco Rodriguez 15 NYM NL 23 23.2 20 2 2 12 25 0.76 0 2 0 .230 .330 .253 .583
Huston Street 14 COL NL 23 23.2 23 9 9 4 22 3.42 6 2 0 .261 .293 .489 .782
J.J. Putz 14 ARI NL 20 21.0 13 5 4 5 19 1.71 1 3 0 .176 .235 .257 .491
Craig Kimbrel 14 ATL NL 25 24.0 17 8 7 11 36 2.62 0 1 1 .200 .289 .235 .524
Brian Wilson 13 SFG NL 23 23.0 19 9 9 15 23 3.52 0 2 0 .221 .350 .244 .594
John Axford 13 MIL NL 23 22.1 24 11 10 9 30 4.03 1 1 1 .267 .330 .333 .663
Joel Hanrahan 13 PIT NL 22 22.2 22 5 4 5 16 1.59 1 5 0 .262 .303 .357 .661
Heath Bell 10 SDP NL 19 19.0 14 6 4 6 13 1.89 0 2 0 .200 .263 .229 .492
Carlos Marmol 9 CHC NL 20 21.0 11 3 3 10 27 1.29 0 2 0 .157 .277 .186 .463
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 5/26/2011.

Collmenter Sets Franchise Record

Photography: Jon Willey

By Greg Dillard

Josh Collmenter set a D-backs franchise record Thursday by throwing 12 consecutive scoreless innings as a starter to begin his career.

The right-hander shut out the Braves through six frames, limiting the opposition to just two hits. After yet another solid outing, he now has an  0.69 ERA in 26 innings pitched this season, including six shutout innings against the Dodgers last Saturday.

Collmenter got things started by retiring the first five batters he faced. After a double of the bat of Freddie Freeman in the second, Collmenter then retired four more in a row through the third inning.

He ended his evening on a strong note by setting Atlanta down 1-2-3 in the top of the sixth. It was an efficient outing for Collmenter, who threw 76 pitches.

“That’s been my game plan to throw strikes and make them put the ball in play,” Collmenter said. “Once again tonight the defense, with a lot of plays going into foul territory and making some plays up against the fence, played flawless tonight.”

Collmenter even collected his first career Major League hit in the third innings when he hit a high chopper to third base that Chipper Jones couldn’t corral.

Thursday’s start was yet another strong performance for Collmenter in his rookie season.

“It’s definitely surprising,” Collmenter said. “You come up and you want to do well. You want to throw strikes and give the team a chance to win. Moving into the starting role, I think, has been back to my comfort zone a little bit.”

Johnson provided heroics in Wednesday’s comeback win

In Wednesday night’s game against the Atlanta Braves, second baseman Kelly Johnson hit the ball hard in each of his at-bats.

In the opening frame, he laced a ground ball to first base but was retired by Freeman. Two innings later, Johnson grounded out once again, this time to second.

His third plate appearance yielded a well-struck fly ball to deep center field that was corralled by Nate McLouth.

Johnson laid down a sacrifice bunt in the seventh inning and was hit by a pitch in the ninth.

Those rockets off the bat did not yield any hits. But in his sixth plate appearance, he finally broke through.

With runners on first and second in the bottom of the eleventh, Johnson laced a Craig Kimbrel offering into right field to plate Josh Wilson and knot the score at 4-4.

It was a crucial turning point for Johnson and the D-backs who entered the inning three outs from defeat.

Against Kimbrel, Johnson went into the at-bat looking for a fastball to hit hard.

“That was the only pitch I was looking for,” Johnson said. “I was wondering about his slider. He threw a couple to (Ryan Roberts) and so it was just one of those things where I just wanted to sell out one time to see what happened, glad that I hit it hard.”

Johnson’s single also advanced Roberts to third base, who scored one batter later on Justin Upton’s walk-off single.

It was a marquee victory for the D-backs against a talented Braves squad.

There were undoubtedly some familiar faces in the opposing dugout for Johnson. He called Atlanta home for the first four years of his Major League career.

“There’s significance because they’re one of the best teams in the National League,” Johnson said. “It’s fun to play against your friends. It’s good to beat good teams all the time.”

Bloomquist Back on the field, Burroughs Back in the Bigs


Photography: Jordan Megenhardt

By Greg Dillard

It’s been five years since infielder Sean Burroughs last donned a Major League uniform.

His career could have been finished in 2007 when the Seattle Mariners released him in June. But five years and plenty of hard work later, he is back in the big leagues.

The D-backs recalled Burroughs from Triple-A Reno prior to Wednesday’s game against the Padres.

“It’s still really a surreal feeling,” Burroughs said. “I don’t know if I was dreaming when I got the call last night. I try to think of myself as a man’s man, kind of macho but I actually broke down, had some tears last night.”

Burroughs was once a star in the Padres’ minor league system. A first-round draft pick by San Diego in the 1998 amateur draft, he quickly ascended through the minor leagues before making his Major League debut on April 2, 2002.

Despite the hype, Burroughs’ career never completely took off with the Padres. In four seasons, he hit .282 with 11 home runs and 133 RBI. He was traded to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 2006 where he batted .190 in 25 plate appearances. He was cut by Tampa Bay after only eight games.

That’s when his baseball career appeared over. Burroughs was unsure if he’d ever play baseball again.

“To tell you the truth, probably not,” Burroughs said. “If you would have told me 12-14 months ago that I would be playing baseball in general, anywhere, be it in independent leagues or at a high school on a Sunday, I don’t know if I would have believed you.”

This winter, Burroughs embarked on a comeback, hoping to one-day return to the Major League level, signing a minor league contract with the D-backs. Burroughs then dominated Triple-A pitching will with Reno this season, batting .386 with nine extra-base hits in 27 games.

His standout performance there earned him another shot in the Majors.

“It’s been a long journey,” Burroughs said. “I’ve been through a lot, a lot of ups a lot of downs. This organization has given me the opportunity to play and produce and have the chance to come back and play Major League Baseball.”

Bloomquist reinstated from disabled list

The D-backs roster received another boost on Wednesday when the team activated utitiliy man Willie Bloomquist from the disabled list.

Bloomquist missed four weeks due to a lingering hamstring injury. Prior to his disabled list stint, he was an integral part of the D-backs’ lineup.

In 14 games, Bloomquist batted .306 with four doubles, seven stolen bases and seven RBI.

“DL’s are no fun, obviously,” Bloomquist said. “There’s no good time to go on them, nonetheless, happy to be off and happy to be back. I look forward to getting back in there soon.”

During his first season in Arizona, Bloomquist quickly proved himself to be a constant threat on the base paths. In eight stolen base attempts, he’s been thrown out just once.

Given the importance of his speed, Bloomquist did not want to come off the disabled list too early.

“I feel good, good enough to go,” Bloomquist said. “That was the understanding amongst everybody that until I was at a point where I think I could steal some bases and do what I normally do then stay on the DL.”

Upton All-Star Campaign Receives Huge Celebrity Boost


Upton Photo by Greg Salvatore, Bieber photo from Twitter.com/justinbieber

By Greg Salvatore

Justin Bieber has the second-most Twitter followers of any person in the world, 9.6 million. That is over a million more than President Obama, almost twice as many as Oprah Winfrey, more than twice as many as Justin Timberlake and more than three times as many as The New York Times.

(In related news, it’s more than 35,000 times as many followers as Insider_Writer, so let’s get to changing that, eh?)

So when it comes to celebrity endorsements, it’s hard for anyone to reach more people than a Justin Bieber tweet. Behold:

We’re rooting for Justin Upton around Chase Field, obviously, since it would be pretty special to see him play in the All-Star Game and potentially the Home Run Derby right here in his home ballpark. So it’s awesome to see a celebrity endorsement for him. Hopefully this moves the needle.

D-blog may not have a Bieber-caliber reach — yet — but here’s the ballot. Vote Upton, vote D-backs and vote often:

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/all_star/y2011/ballot.jsp?tcid=hpMW-asgballot-2011

New D-backs Blanco, Paterson Playing Well

Photography: Jordan Megenhardt

By Greg Dillard

Veteran catcher Henry Blanco isn’t known for his power at the plate. He hit just 60 career home runs in 13 seasons in the Major Leagues.

However, Blanco has some pop when he’s been penciled in manager Kirk Gibson’s starting lineup lately.

In his last four games, the catcher has crushed four home runs. Two of them came in Monday night’s matchup against the Padres, as Blanco had the fourth two-homer game of his career.

He last accomplished the feat in April 2009 against the Giants when he was a member of the Padres.

Both of Blanco’s long balls came off of Padres’ southpaw Clayton Richard. The first came in the third inning, and the second came in the fifth.

“Henry is great,” Gibson said. “He’s played well for us. He really has. He had a good night for us tonight.”

Paterson continues scoreless streak

Southpaw Joe Paterson’s rookie season in the Major Leagues continues to be an impressive one.

He turned in yet another scoreless outing on Monday night against the Dodgers. He has now posted 17 consecutive scoreless outings, spanning 8 2/3 innings to start his D-backs career.

Paterson took over on the mound in the top of the ninth, and quickly retired Chase Headley on a fly out to left field.

Paterson then sat down Brad Hawpe and Will Venable on groundouts to end the inning.

Kennedy dominating in 2011

Through nine starts, Ian Kennedy is enjoying a stellar start to his second season in Arizona.

In 2011, he has a 4-1 record with a 3.05 in nine starts. His 59 innings pitched also places him third among all National League starters.

Against the Dodgers on Sunday, the right-hander allowed just one earned run in six innings of work. Against the Phillies on April 25, Kennedy outdueled Cliff Lee by hurling a shutout.

While he posted nine wins last year, Kennedy believes his ability to adjust during the game has led to increased success on the mound.

“I’ve been executing a lot more,” Kennedy said, “just trying to apply what I learned last year, and make in game adjustments quicker rather than waiting for a whole batter to pass.”

Kennedy has struggled in just one of his starts this year, a loss at the hands of the St. Louis Cardinals.

“That was one thing I was disappointed in myself when I pitched against the Cardinals,” Kennedy said. “I didn’t make the adjustment. I catch myself earlier now.”

The D-backs ace is slated to make his next start this Friday at Chase Field against the Minnesota Twins.


Shooting Photos on the Road

Words and photos by Jordan Megenhardt

A year ago, I had the chance to shoot a day game in San Francisco for the first time, and it was a great experience. So, when the chance arose to go again this season, I was pretty excited.

It was a getaway day, a 12:45 p.m. game, so I woke myself up at 8 a.m. so I could get to the park before most players arrived at 9 a.m.

I was excited, to say the least.

Before the game, I ran around, scouting locations and trying to figure how I could put myself in a position to get the best shots possible. Lucky for me, the game wasn’t being broadcast on TV in Arizona, so there was no camera on the outside the dugout. This left a prime spot open for me to shoot the game.

From that spot, I could see into the dugout without anything in the way, and that would mean an opportunity for some great candid photos of the D-backs.

On the field, it was a great pitchers’ duel for most of the game, so it was a good chance to get some nice stock images of our guys batting and Daniel Hudson throwing. There were some great plays, like Stephen Drew turning a single into a double by legging it out and sliding headfirst into second base under Freddy Sanchez’s tag, and Ryan Roberts making a spectacular throw to first base.

In the end, we lost the game 3-2, and I was sunburned, exhausted, starving and felt like I’d been hit by a truck. But, it was awesome. It was another great experience!

Here are some of my favorites from last Thursday.

Collmenter to Get First Start on Saturday


Photography: Jon Willey

By Greg Dillard

Since making his Major League debut on April 17, D-backs right-hander Josh Collmenter has looked good in relief.

He will now get a chance to continue his strong pitching as a starter.

D-backs manager Kirk Gibson tabbed Collmenter to start Saturday’s game against the Dodgers in Los Angeles. He will be opposed on the mound by Dodgers right-hander Chad Billingsley, who is 2-2 with a 3.91 ERA in this season.

In seven appearances with the big league club, Collmenter has thrown 14 innings with a 1.29 ERA, 11 strikeouts and just one walk.

“He’s done well in that capacity,” Gibson said. “I think ultimately he is our best option.”

Collmenter has surrendered just eight hits, and two earned runs as a reliever. Those runs came in his April 24 outing against the Mets. Otherwise, he has held opponents scoreless in his other six outings.

The right-hander began the 2011 season at Triple-A Reno where he made one start. In that game, Collmenter allowed just two hits and one earned run in six innings to earn the win.

While he’s been a reliever during his short stint with the D-backs, Collmenter is not short on starting experience.

“He’s been a starter really his whole career,” Gibson said. “He’s been successful everywhere he’s gone. He throws strikes.”

Collmenter was a 15th round draft pick by the D-backs in the 2007 amateur draft. Throughout his five seasons in the D-backs’ minor league system, he has notched 41 wins with a 3.50 ERA. He made 94 appearances, with 92 coming as a starter.

In 515 innings pitched, Collmenter fanned 472 opposing batters to average 8.2 strikeouts per nine innings.

Collmenter pitches with a unique delivery, throwing directly over the top. He boasts a solid fastball and an excellent changeup to go with a developing curveball.

“I don’t think people view him as having overpowering stuff, but everywhere he’s been, he gets people out,” Gibson said. “He locates the ball pretty well, and that’s certainly a key to his three pitches. He’s very deceptive.”

Collmenter takes the place of Barry Enright in the D-backs’ starting rotation. Enright was optioned to Triple-A Reno last week after posting a 6.49 ERA in six starts this season.

This weekend’s series marks the first time the D-backs and Dodgers will face off in 2011. Saturday’s matchup is slated to begin at 4:10 p.m. The Dodgers’ first games at Chase Field won’t happen until after the All-Star Game, July 15-17.