May 3, 2010

Johnson is N.L. Player of the Month

Photography: Jordan Megenhardt

Kelly Johnson stepped to the plate in the 10th inning on April 28 in Colorado, the D-backs tied up 11-11 with the Colorado Rockies. He was 0-for his last 11, and hitless in that series. Still, Johnson had been scorching hot all month and even with a power lefty on the mound in the person of Franklin Morales, the Rockies had to be at least a bit concerned.

Johnson showed everyone why as he launched a go-ahead (and game-winning as it proved to be) home run to deep right-center field. His one hit in the series was the biggest hit in the series.

Johnson finished the month of April batting .313 with a .404 on-base percentage, a .750 slugging percentage, nine home runs, eight doubles, 18 RBI, 17 runs, 13 walks.

Johnson was named the National League Player of the Month for April on Monday.

“Regardless of joining a team or not,” Johnson said, “you just want to start the season well.”

While Johnson has had other great month-long stretches in his career, he had never hit more than five home runs in a month at any point in his career until this season.

“I’ve never had (a month) like that,” he said. “I’ve driven in runs like that and hit for a high average, but not the home runs.”

Johnson finished the month leading the National League in home runs.

“If they go out or whatever, that’s cool, but I’m not worried about it,” he said. “I just want to keep getting pitches to hit, that’s all I care about.”

This was the fifth time a D-backs player has been named Player of the Month. The previous winners were:

Matt Williams — April 1999

.357 AVG, 8 HR, 25 RBI

Luis Gonzalez — April 2001

.315 AVG, 26 R, 13 HR, .804 SLG

13 HR set N.L. record and tied MLB record for April

Luis Gonzalez — June 2001

.417 AVG, 26 R, 7 2B, 12 HR,

35 RBI, 86 TB, .835 SLG

Justin Upton — May 2009

.373 AVG, 7 HR, 21 RBI

Colorado starting pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez, who threw a no-hitter against Atlanta on April 17, was the NL Pitcher of the Month. D-backs pitchers have won that particular award nine times, most recently Dan Haren in May 2008.

April 30, 2010

Stange Makes Big League Debut

Photography: Jordan Megenhardt

D-backs right-handed reliever Daniel Stange made his Major League debut on Thursday, throwing, as the official scorer says, “one inning, all the rest zeroes,” which means no hits, no runs, no home runs, no walks and no strikeouts.

Other than mixing in a strikeout here or there, there are no four words in the English language that a pitcher would rather hear than, “all the rest zeroes.”

I talked to Stange for a few minutes after the game, just to shake his hand, say congratulations and welcome to Arizona. He very briefly seemed excited, with a pretty big smile, but then quickly went back to being the same stoic guy everybody met in Spring Training.

“I don’t think he really cared, he’s pretty gritty,” Manager A.J. Hinch said of Stange. “He didn’t look any different yesterday than the times I saw him pitch in the minors.

We wrote about Daniel Stange on this blog back in February, with some video of him pitching. You can find that here.

The scenario was perfect for him on Thursday. The D-backs won big, 13-5, and got eight strong innings from starter Ian Kennedy, which let Hinch give Stange the soft landing he’d like to give every player making a debut.

“That worked out nice for us,” Hinch said. “I told him before the game I didn’t know if he was going to have a soft landing or gentle entry because of the way our pitching was lined up, but it turned out great. He came in with an ideal situation where we had the lead and it was no more pressure than what a normal Major League debut would bring.”

Hinch has a unique view on the situation. Having headed up the D-backs’ player development system for the past few years and having worked as a manager for the last year, he has two different angles from which to recognize the special feeling each player gets in their big league debut.

“It’s a big day. The more you’re around the big leagues, the further you get away from what that feeling is,” Hinch said. “But you get reminded every time a new guy comes up and plays on a Major League field in an official game for the first time. It’s a big deal. You work your whole life and as a kid you dream of that day. There is only one of them and it goes by in a heartbeat. He got to contribute to a win, which was a best-case scenario for everybody.

“I told him, I didn’t know if he’d be here for a couple of days or If he’d be here for the rest of the year, but I know you’ll never want to go back to the minor leagues once you get that first taste of the big leagues.”

Here is some video of Hinch discussing Stange’s role going forward:

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=11881178&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1

Daniel Stange from D-backs Insider on Vimeo.

April 29, 2010

Greetings from Wrigley!

It’s a gorgeous, sunny day in the windy city as the D-backs face the Chicago Cubs for the first time this season in an afternoon tilt at the oldest park in the National League. This is the second of five consecutive day games for the D-backs.

A few roster notes:

D-backs right-handed starter Kris Benson has been placed on the DL with a shoulder strain, and relief pitcher Leo Rosales has been placed on the DL with a foot sprain. While Rosales has been playing with some pain for the last week or so, this is something new for Benson. He has had some significant arm problems in his career, so here’s hoping Benson is OK.

To replace them on the roster, the D-backs have recalled right-hander Kevin Mulvey, who started some games for the club in September of last year, and have called up righty reliever Daniel Stange, who will make his Major League debut at some point in this series.

Here is D-backs Manager A.J. Hinch discussing the roster moves:

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=11334613&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1

AJ Hinch Pre-game from Greg Salvatore on Vimeo.

Keep checking back here, as I’ll keep posting thoughts on D-backs/Cubs.

— A leadoff single for Kelly Johnson. After going hitless through the first 27 innings of the series against the Rockies, Johnson took lefty Franklin Morales deep for a go-ahead (and game-winning) home run.

— Cubs just took the lead on a Ryan Theriot single up the middle. It bounced off the mound and just past the glove of Johnson into center field, driving in Mike Fontenot, who was hit on the leg by a pitch.

— That run notwithstanding, Ian Kennedy looks good today. He’s through the third inning on only 34 pitches, 22 of them for strikes. He struck out Derek Lee in the first and the hot-hitting Geovanny Soto in the third.

— A leadoff walk for Justin Upton was followed by a walk for Mark Reynolds, followed by a three-run BOMB by Adam LaRoche to left-center field on a 3-1 pitch. Ted Lilly was starting to have some control problems, and when he came in with a get-me-over fastball, LaRoche made him pay with his third homer of the season. I believe I saw Adam’s family in the stands prior to the game, so they’ll certainly be happy. It’s 3-1, D-backs.

— Cole Gillespie, starting in left field today, took a slider that was out over the plate to left-center field for a double, the second double of his big league career. The Cubs fans, still booing from LaRoche’s home run at the time of the hit, only got louder as Alfonso Soriano misplayed the ball, eliminating any chance of a play at the bag on Gillespie.

— And they’re getting louder… Chris Snyder just launched one to left field for a two-run home run. It’s 5-1, D-backs.

— Kelly Johnson is 3-for-3 with a two-out single to right.

— Kennedy just got Lee swinging again, the third strikeout for the D-backs righty. After taxing the bullpen heavily over the past two days — Bob Howry is unavailable, according to Hinch, after throwing 4 2/3 innings in Colorado — I imagine it would sure be appreciated in the clubhouse if Kennedy can give the team seven or eight strong innings today. He’s giving himself a chancec, getting through four innings on 51 pitches (32 strikes). Lilly, for comparison, is at 82 and 47.

— A few thoughts from yesterday’s game, with info from STATS LLC: The last time two teams each came back from five-run deficits as the D-backs and Rockies both did on Wednesday was May 5, 2000. The Texas Rangers had a 5-0 lead on the Oakland Athletics through three innings, and Oakland came back to take a 10-7 lead in the sixth, and later led 15-10 through seven. The Rangers scored six in the eighth and one in the ninth to win that one 17-16. Some notable names that you probably haven’t thought of in years who homered in that game: Terrence Long, Frank Menechino and Adam Piatt. The Rangers, amazingly I think, only had one home run, a solo shot by Ivan Rodriguez, and only three total extra-base hits.

— …I interrupt these notes from yesterday to report that LaRoche just launched one even further than his last, blasting a home run out of the park in right field. It’s the 13th multi-homer game for him in his career, first of this season, and first since Sept. 15, 2009 against the Mets. It’s 6-1, D-backs heading to the bottom of the fifth.

— Back to yesterday, again thanks to STATS… the D-backs had a six-run lead, lost it, then came back from down five to win it. They were the first team to do that since the 1986 Texas Rangers, who did it against the Baltimore Orioles. Before that, no team had blown a six-run lead, then trailed by five, then won since 1901.

— I’m headed downstairs for a few to grab a hot dog and to see what this game looks like from the stands. Should be fun. I’ll post a photo.

— Oooh, before I go… La-La-La-LaRoche! He just knocked an RBI double to left-center field to make it 7-1, D-backs. It hit the wall and wasn’t more than a couple feet from being his third home run of the day.

— While I was downstairs getting the photo above (where my friends are sitting today), the D-backs tacked on six more runs. A lot of people leaving Wrigley early today after Hall of Fame pitcher Ferguson Jenkins sang “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” in the seventh-inning stretch. It’s 13-1, D-backs as Ian Kennedy is still working in his eighth inning. It looks like Stange is warming up in the bullpen for what would be his Major League debut.

— Kosuke Fukudome just hit his first big league grand slam on a shot to left to make it 13-5. Frustrating for Kennedy, I imagine, after pitching so well in the first seven frames. Kennedy is still out there with two outs and pinch-hitter Xavier Nady at the plate.

— Stange now making his Major League debut for the D-backs. He’s wearing No. 52.

— Hinch on the win: “That was a good game for us, offensively, and Kennedy pitched really well. We put it all together today. Had a little at the end that wasn’t perfect, but we swung the bats with authority today. We were patient when we needed to be patient and aggressive when we needed to be aggressive. We hit mistakes and did damage.”

— Kennedy on his outing: “That gave our bullpen a rest, they’ve been working hard the last couple of days. Like every time, the plan was to get ahead and just let them mis-hit it and get themselves out. Snyder called a great game. We stuck to his game plan and he had a really good one going in. I just stuck to it.

— Johnson on Kennedy’s performance: “He pitched lights-out, he and Adam pretty much won that one for us. That’s two in a row for him, eight innings, and they both came at times when we needed them. We’ll take that any time out if it’s possible. He puts it where he wants and makes it really easy to play behind him. You see that fastball away and you know it’s going to be away. He’s going to throw it to the glove every time. It’s awesome.

April 27, 2010

D-backs to Air on FOX Sports Arizona Plus

Because of a conflict with Game 7 of the Coyotes vs. Red Wings NHL playoffs series, the D-backs will air on FOX Sports Arizona plus again tonight.

Here is a reminder of where you can find those games on your cable lineup:

Cox — Phoenix and Tucson — 108 & 608 (HD)

Qwest — Phoenix — 999

Comcast — Tucson — 17

Orbitel — Maricopa — 71

Aztech Cable/Expand — Bullhead City/Mojave County — 112

DirecTV — statewide — 680 & 680-1 (HD)

Dish Network — statewide — 475 (no HD feed available).

April 21, 2010

One Wild and Crazy Night

If you were watching the D-backs play the Cardinals on Tuesday night, you saw not only one of the craziest games we’ve seen in this ballpark in some time, but also one of the most amazing individual stat lines you’ll ever see.

Before we get to some fun facts about last night’s 16-run bonanza, here’s the FanGraphs win probability chart, which has a lot more peaks and valleys than you’ll usually see in a game:

— Until Chris Snyder’s two-out RBI single in the sixth inning, no team led this game for more than a half inning at a time. The Cards scored two in the first, immediately answered by two for the D-backs in the first. The Cards scored another two in the third, which was immediately trumped by three D-backs runs. The Cards then answered with three in the fourth, which swung the D-backs way again with a Mark Reynolds three-run homer in the bottom of that frame.

— It seems hard to believe in a game in which the Cardinals scored seven runs and put 12 runners on base — nine hits, two walks and a strikeout/wild pitch — but the D-backs pitchers closed out the game retiring 16 consecutive batters. Haren intentionally walked Albert Pujols in the fourth inning setting up a Matt Holliday groundout, and no Cardinals reached base after that.

— Haren tied the franchise record for hits by a D-backs pitcher with his 4-for-4 effort. They weren’t just random, cheap hits though. In the third inning, Haren had a two-out RBI single to drive in Gerardo Parra to give the D-backs a lead. In the sixth, A.J. Hinch sent Haren to the plate to hit for himself even though Juan Gutierrez was warming up and the move paid off, as Haren poked a two-out single to left to turn the lineup over.

— He turned the lineup over exceptionally well, actually. Three of Haren’s four hits came with two outs, the other came with one out.

— Haren’s line is one of the strangest things you’ll ever see from a pitcher:

Pitching: 6 innings, 7 runs (all earned), two walks, eight strikeouts, three home runs, WIN

Batting: 4-for-4 with an RBI

Here are the eight instances in which a D-backs pitcher has had three or more hits in a game. I think it’s pretty obvious who the two best hitting pitchers are in D-backs history:

Rk	Player	Date	Tm	Opp	Rslt	PA	AB	R	H	2B	HR	RBI	SO	Pos. Summary
1	Dan Haren	2010-04-20	ARI	STL	W 9-7	4	4	0	4	0	0	1	0	P
2	Micah Owings	2007-09-27	ARI	PIT	W 8-0	4	4	1	4	3	0	3	0	P
3	Micah Owings	2007-08-18	ARI	ATL	W 12-6	5	5	4	4	1	2	6	0	P
4	Dan Haren	2009-06-02	ARI	LAD	L 5-6	3	3	1	3	0	0	0	0	P
5	Dan Haren	2008-09-21	ARI	COL	W 13-4	4	4	1	3	0	0	1	0	P
6	Micah Owings	2008-04-26	ARI	SDP	L 7-8	3	3	2	3	1	0	1	0	P
7	Enrique Gonzalez	2006-07-17	ARI	LAD	W 8-3	3	3	1	3	0	0	2	0	P
8	Curt Schilling	2001-09-05	ARI	SFG	W 7-2	4	4	2	3	0	0	0	1	P

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 4/21/2010.

— It’s not often that you see a pitcher give up seven runs and still win a game. It takes some luck, some bullpen help and an awful lot of timely hitting by the offense. In fact, the D-backs have won 976 games in franchise history, but only three times has a pitcher given up seven runs and still recorded a win, and last night was the first one in eight years:

Rk	Player	Date	Tm	Opp	Rslt	App,Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	Pit	Str	GSc	BF	AB	2B	3B
1	Dan Haren	2010-04-20	ARI	STL	W 9-7	GS-6 ,W	6.0	9	7	7	2	8	3	104	69	32	28	26	0	1
2	Rick Helling	2002-04-20	ARI	COL	W 9-8	GS-5 ,W	5.0	7	7	7	2	7	2	92	58	30	23	21	0	0
3	Curt Schilling	2001-04-25	ARI	FLA	W 10-7	GS-7 ,W	7.0	13	7	7	0	12	3	105	77	35	33	31	3	0

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 4/21/2010.

— Since the year 2000, a pitcher giving up seven but still getting the win has happened only 42 times. The last player to do it strike out as many batters as Haren did (8) last night? He was on that list above — Curt Schilling’s 12 strikeouts in 2001.

And this, from Jayson Stark of ESPN, on combining Haren’s pitching and hitting lines:

Dan Haren had himself a game Tuesday you sure don’t see much. He went 4-for-4 at the plate — but gave up seven runs on the mound. So how long has it been since we saw a pitcher get four hits and allow at least seven runs in the same game? More than half a century — since Mickey McDermott did it for the Red Sox, in a 14-10 win over the Yankees, on May 25, 1953.

If nothing else, last night’s crazy game was evidence that it’s always a great night out at the ballpark — you never know what you might see.

April 20, 2010

Rodrigo vs. The Best

Photography: Jon Willey

In looking back on the boxscore of what was, by any measure, a really good effort by Rodrigo Lopez last night, I noticed he held Albert Pujols to an 0-for-3 while he was in the game, including the double play on the fly ball to Chris Young in the first inning (which led to a fantastic diving play by Mark Reynolds to save the throw and tag out Skip Shumaker).

Anyway, I wasn’t the only one who noticed. Craig Calcaterra of NBC Sports’ Hardball Talk (a daily read for me, by the way… some excellent writers over there) noted Pujols’ struggle against Lopez, and that it’s nothing new. Writes Calcaterra:

Albert Pujols went 0 or 3 against starter Rodrigo Lopez last night and is 0 for 8 against him in his career. Lopez should retire now so he can tell his grandkids about that.

Surprised as I was by the fact that Pujols has an 0-for-8 lifetime against anyone — and knowing what Fox Sports Arizona showed in the broadcast last week, that Manny Ramirez has struggled against Lopez, too — I figured I’d look up the batter vs. pitcher numbers for Rodrigo.

Now, this list is obviously cherry-picked, so it’s not meant to be informative as much as it’s meant to be fun and trivial. But for the record, some good hitters have had some rough at bats against Rodrigo:

	PA	AB	H	2B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
Manny Ramirez	71	60	15	1	2	13	7	15	.250	.324	.367	.691
Hideki Matsui	40	36	9	1	1	6	4	7	.250	.325	.361	.686
Ichiro Suzuki	32	31	9	0	0	1	1	2	.290	.313	.290	.603
Garret Anderson	27	26	4	1	1	3	0	4	.154	.148	.308	.456
Mark Teixeira	18	17	3	0	1	2	0	4	.176	.222	.353	.575
Troy Glaus	17	11	2	1	0	0	6	1	.182	.471	.273	.743
Carlos Lee	17	13	2	1	0	2	3	4	.154	.294	.231	.525
Chone Figgins	15	15	2	0	0	0	0	5	.133	.133	.133	.267
Vladimir Guerrero	15	15	3	0	0	1	0	2	.200	.200	.200	.400
Nick Johnson	15	15	0	0	0	0	0	2	.000	.000	.000	.000
Carlos Pena	13	13	4	1	0	1	0	4	.308	.308	.385	.692
Grady Sizemore	13	12	3	2	0	0	1	1	.250	.308	.417	.724
Ivan Rodriguez	12	12	2	1	0	0	0	4	.167	.167	.250	.417
Albert Pujols	10	8	0	0	0	1	1	2	.000	.100	.000	.100

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 4/20/2010.

April 19, 2010

Conor Jackson Placed on DL

Photography: Jordan Megenhardt

D-backs left fielder Conor Jackson came up limping after catching a fly ball in the bottom of the seventh inning of the D-backs’ game against the San Diego Padres Sunday, and the resulting injury has landed him on the 15-day disabled list.

The issue seems to be a strained hamstring, and the team’s medical staff, Hinch said, didn’t seem terribly concerned. However, with a few players including first baseman Adam LaRoche playing at less than 100 percent, the team can’t take the risk of playing short-handed.

“We’re not afforded the luxury of playing short for that long,” Hinch said. “We’ve got some guys playing with some injuries, so we’ve got to put Conor on the DL. Given how these leg things work, it’s early in the season so we’re going to be smart about it.”

Because the injury doesn’t seem too serious at this point, it is possible Jackson could be ready to go before his 15 days are up, in which case the team could have him play in a minor league rehab game and activate him immediately.

In a corresponding move, the team recalled right-handed relief pitcher Esmerling Vasquez.

“Until our bullpen stabilizes, and we’re able to feel good about our pitching, at least the volume which they’re pitching, we’re going to bring an extra pitcher back,” Hinch said.

Vasquez will be available in the bullpen tonight.

April 15, 2010

Fox Sports Arizona Plus to Carry D-backs

If you’re looking for the D-backs on Friday night, don’t fret when you turn to Fox Sports Arizona and it isn’t there. The network has set up an auxiliary channel to carry the D-backs when there are scheduling conflicts with Coyotes and Suns playoff games.

Here are the channels where Fox Sports Arizona Plus will be running:

Cox (108/SD, 608/HD) in Phoenix and Tucson
DirecTV (608/SD, 608-1/HD) throughout Arizona
DISH Network (452/SD, 9518/HD) throughout Arizona
Qwest (999/SD) in Phoenix
Orbitel (71/SD) in Maricopa
Aztech Cable/Expand (112/SD) in Bullhead City and Mojave County.
NPG Cable (28/SD) in Bullhead City, Flagstaff (46/SD), Kingman (100/SD), Lake Havasu (27/SD), Parker (77/SD), Payson (80/SD), Pine (51/SD), Sedona (45/SD)

April 13, 2010

D-backs at Dodgers, April 13

Stephen Dunn/Getty ImagesIt’s a beautiful day in Los Angeles as the D-backs take on the Dodgers in their home opener.

Clayton Kershaw moved through the D-backs’ lineup quite well the first time through, as Conor Jackson accounted for both of the only two baserunners through the first 12 batters with a single and a walk.

Ian Kennedy got out of a spot of trouble in the second inning, loading the bases with one out but surrendering only a sacrifice fly to Russell Martin.

— Adam LaRoche drove a ball hard to the left-center field gap for a one-out double to get the D-backs going in the fourth inning.

— It will be interesting to see how Kershaw goes after Chris Young here. He went after him perfectly in the first at bat, keeping all of his six pitches high in the zone (see image below). But we’ve seen so far this week that Young has blasted a few pitchers’ mistakes already.

Kershaw vs. Young

— Different approach for Kershaw in the second at bat, and a different result, as Young drives a fastball into center field for an RBI single to drive in Adam LaRoche. This time, it was a slider and a pair of curveballs to Young before he drove the only fastball he saw for a hit.

— In my estimation, Daron Sutton and Mark Grace correctly summed up the good luck on that hit. Young’s bat breaking took enough velocity off the ball that LaRoche was able to score, whereas a hard-hit line drive to center might have resulted in a play at the plate or LaRoche being held at third.

— Kennedy was managing a nine-pitch at bat with Manny Ramirez quite well until the last pitch, a slider that Ramirez drove for a homer. Look at where the first eight pitches are — all on the outside edges of the zone, and half of them away. Unfortunately, he missed with the slider, leaving it belt-high over the plate and Ramirez used one of the more valuable skills in his toolbox, which is to foul off pitches until he gets something to hit. Too bad for Kennedy, who really handled that at bat well up to that slider.

Kennedy vs. Ramirez

— Unfortunately, that set a rough tone for the rest of this inning, too. James Loney pulled a double down the line and Casey Blake got under a fastball on the inside part of the plate for a homer to left-center. It’s 4-1, bad guys.

— Excellent defensive play by Chris Snyder. With Blake DeWitt on first having just walked, Kennedy bounced a pitch in the dirt, which was quickly corralled by Snyder, who gunned DeWitt out at second for the first out of the inning.

— Some good luck going the D-backs way here for sure. Kennedy went to the plate to bunt Snyder — who had walked — to second base. But Kershaw missed the strike zone on four pitches (the last three by quite a bit), walking Kennedy to put two on with nobody out. Interesting… Kennedy is getting wild as the most patient D-backs hitter — Jackson — comes to the plate.

— Jackson ground into a fielder’s choice, as Rafael Furcal makes a diving play to nail Kennedy at second. Game of inches, here. That ball is a foot further to Furcal’s right, and the D-backs would have another baserunner.

— Again, you take the luck you get. Drew hangs in there against, as the broadcasters got right again, a pitch that could have been called strike three, and gets hit with the next pitch to load them up for Justin Upton here.

— Looks like Kershaw got away with one there. He put a curveball right over the heart of the plate, a pitch Upton will usually take back up the middle, but he pulls it for a groundball fielder’s choice to third. Unfortunately, with a flyout from LaRoche, Kershaw gets out of a huge jam there.

— As Jordan Norberto comes to the mound to face James Loney with two runners on, the Dodger Stadium speakers are playing the song that would be my entrance music if I were a closer — The Joker and the Thief, by Wolfmother. I wonder if that’s Loney’s music, or just incidental? Hopefully it pumps up Norberto here.

— (Related note… see a list of all of the D-backs’ pitchers’ music, and thoughts from Kennedy on why he picked his particular song in the next issue of D-backs Insider magazine)

— Kelly Johnson makes a play that you will definitely see in Web Gems on Baseball Tonight this evening. Reaching over his left shoulder to get a ball that would ahve dropped between he and Upton for a base hit to load the bases if not for that fantastic play.

— After the Dodgers added another two runs in the bottom of the fifth, the D-backs get started the right way here in the top of the sixth, with a pair of walks for Mark Reynolds and Young. Johnson is started 2-0 here also…

— Johnson struck out, but Snyder responded with an RBI single to make this a 6-2 game as the Dodgers turn to reliever Jeff Weaver.

— Bottom of the seventh: Against reliever Ramon Ortiz, LaRoche draws a walk, Reynolds homers to left-center, Young doubles and Johnson singles him home. This is a ballgame again, folks, as the D-backs have cut the Dodgers’ lead to 9-5.

April 11, 2010

Huge Inning Lifting D-backs

The D-backs just completed the highest-scoring inning in franchise history.

The previous record, eight, was slaughtered when the D-backs put up 13 in the bottom of the fourth today. That photo above was taked right before pitcher Edwin Jackson hit his first career homer, a deep blast to left-center. Chris Young and Kelly Johnson also homered in the inning.

Here’s a quick rundown of the fourth in which they scored 13 runs with eight hits and nearly batted around the lineup twice:

Daniel McCutchen pitching for Pittsburgh
A. LaRoche walked.
M. Reynolds grounded into fielder’s choice to shortstop, A LaRoche to second.
C. Young homered to left, A LaRoche and M Reynolds scored.
K. Johnson homered to right.
C. Snyder flied out to center.
E. Jackson singled to center.
C. Jackson singled to right, E Jackson to second.
S. Drew tripled to deep center, E Jackson and C Jackson scored.
Hayden Penn replaces Daniel McCutchen
S. Drew scored on H Penn’s wild pitch.
J. Upton walked.
A. LaRoche singled to right, J Upton to third.
M. Reynolds walked, A LaRoche to second.
C. Young grounded out to first, J Upton scored, A LaRoche to third, M Reynolds to second.
K. Johnson walked.
Jack Taschner replaces Hayden Penn
C. Snyder doubled to deep center, A LaRoche, M Reynolds and K Johnson scored.
E. Jackson homered to left center, C Snyder scored.
C. Jackson struck out looking.

— The eight hits in one inning tied a franchise record.