And the wins just keep on coming. Arizona headed out on the road, to face NL East rivals Atlanta and Florida, and took both series, taking four games of six, an excellent trip for the team. Of course, in typical Diamondbacks style, despite winning both series, they only scored one run more than the opposition. However, it’s the victories that matter, and they come back to Phoenix having extended their lead over San Diego to four games in the West, while reducing their rivals’ window of opportunity to catch up, by another week.

AZ 5, Marlins 14 The road-trip did not get off to the best of starts. Byung-Hung Kim’s previous outing had been wobbly, but was of Cy Young standard compared to this one: he was yanked after getting only one out, manager Bob Melvin opting for a quick hook. Despite being charged with four runs in his one-third of an inning, Kim wasn’t the worst pitcher we used, as the Marlins scored fourteen unanswered runs. Fellow waiver-wire pickup, Joe Kennedy allowed six runs while retiring one hitter, and we ended up using backup infielder Augie Ojeda to mop up. He pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning.

Chris Young got the game under way to a good start, homering to lead off the first, but by the next time a D-back crossed home plate, we were thirteen runs behind. Despite the final score, Florida only had one more hit than Arizona: Young added another homer and ended with three hits, while Mark Reynolds and Chris Snyder both also had three-hit days. The unusual relief outing by Ojeda also led to some unfamiliar positions being played: catcher Snyder went to first-base, before ending the game in right-field.

AZ 9, Marlins 6 As has been the case all season, the D-backs did not let the blowout get to them: they’re 8-5 this season in games after conceding ten or more runs. They came back with a strong offensive performance of their own, racking up fifteen hits with Mark Reynolds posting another three-hit game, and was joined there by Orlando Hudson and Eric Byrnes. Stephen Drew chipped in with two of his own, and Snyder hit his eleventh homer of the year.

Doug Davis had put together a series of excellent outings on the mound, and though his streak of quality starts ended with Ross’s three run homer in the sixth, on Davis’s last pitch of the day, he still got the win, to even his record at 10-10, the first time it has been at .500 since April. The Diamondbacks have won each of his last seven starts, with Davis posting an ERA of 3.13 in that time. Jose Valverde got his 36th save, tying the franchise record set in 2002, by Kim.

AZ 5, Marlins 4 The D-backs took their eighth series in a row, doing all their scoring by the end of the third, and holding on from there. Livan Hernandez got the win: he allowed three runs in the first, threw up in the dugout between innings, and came back to add six frames, giving up only one more run on a solo homer to Hanley Ramirez. The bullpen, taxed for 11.1 innings of work over the first two games, breathed a sigh of relief, and Valverde broke the team record with his 37th save.

Chris Young had a great day in the leadoff spot, with three hits, one being his 22nd homer of the year, to start off the game. Hernandez helped his own cause with two hits, though both he and Young were easily thrown out at second, on ill-advised attempts to turn singles into doubles. After the Marlins scored three times in the bottom of the first to take the lead, Arizona tied things on an RBI single by Hudson. He stole second, and when the Marlins catcher dropped the ball on the throw, Young charged home from third with the go-ahead run. Reynolds added a run with a solo homer in the third.

AZ 4, Braves 0 Brandon Webb set a new franchise record with his third consecutive shutout, extending his scoreless innings streak to 42, moving him into the top dozen in baseball history, and posting the longest such run since Orel Hershiser set the record with 59 straight in 1988. He hasn’t allowed a run in almost a month, and didn’t come close here, as the Braves managed just two hits and one walk, with a double-play helping Webb out and ensuring he faced only two batters over the minimum. It only took him 102 pitches to get through the game.

Meanwhile, Arizona overcame a 0-for-5 night with runners in scoring position, opting to bypass scoring position entirely, by scoring all their runs on three homers. Chris Young had two of them, giving him 24 homers on the year: that put him on pace for 32, which would be the most by a rookie in twenty years, except for one Mr. Albert Pujols. Reynolds hit his 11th, a monstrous blast reported as the sixth-longest ever at Turner Field. After slumping, he is having a torrid August, which at time of writing has seen him bat .404 for the month with 13 RBI already.

AZ 12, Braves 6 How could Micah Owings beat Webb’s performance of the previous night? How about smacking two homers, driving in six runs, and hitting eleven total bases, the best offensive performance by a pitcher in at least fifty years? Oh, and did I mention he took a one-hitter into the seventh inning? That hit came in the first, a solo homer by Chipper Jones, but the D-backs scored the next twelve runs to put the game away.

Obviously, Owings’ night was a monster - only one pitcher since the sixties has reached six RBI in a game, and only one Diamondbacks position player has reached eleven bases this season [Reynolds, in his 5-hit night]. But Hudson also had four hits, with Jeff Salazar and Stephen Drew chipping in with two each. Owings tired in the seventh, allowing back-to-back homers, and Jailen Peguero let Atlanta restore some respectability, with a three-run final inning, although the ninth consecutive series win for the D-backs was already in the bag by that point.

AZ 2, Braves 6 Arizona couldn’t quite complete the sweep, but might have some cause for complaint about the umpiring. The strike zone given to Yusmeiro Petit was radically different from the one obtained by John Smoltz, and a baffling balk call in the third clearly distracted Petit, who threw a hanging slider which Teixeira deposited in the bleachers for a two-run homer. That broke open a 2-2 game, and the Braves never looked back, with Smoltz striking out twelve over eight innings.

The D-backs bullpen held the Braves scoreless over the final 4.1 innings, while Young and Hudson got two hits apiece. They combined on a delightful double-steal in the top of the third, with Hudson taking second, and Young sliding in to steal home. Young and Hudson also combined for the Diamondbacks’ other run, with Young coming round to score on an RBI double by Hudson in the first. This was probably not a pitching match-up the team expected to win, and the result was about what most fans expected.

News and Notes
Soaring: Mark Reynolds (12-for-26, 7 RBI); Chris Young (9-for-28, 5 HR); Brandon Webb (9 IP, 2 H, 0 R); Juan Cruz (2.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 5 K). Falling: Justin Upton (3-for-18); Tony Clark (2-for-11); Byung-Hyun Kim (0.1 IP, 4 H, 3 ER); Joe Kennedy (0.1 IP, 3 H, 3 HBP, 2 BB, 6 ER). [Stats exclude today's game]

Roster Report: Kim and Kennedy were rapidly designated for assignment after their disastrous outing, consigned back to the waiver-wire whence they came. Dustin Nippert and Peguero came up to replace them, with Peguero in turn replaced by Petit when the need for a fifth starter arose. Tracy’s knee finally forced him on to the DL: with the team having only three outfielders, Salazar was called up from Tucson to provide some options.

The Week Ahead: Back in Arizona, the NL Central will be visiting the D-backs this week. Tomorrow sees the start of a three-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers. They have slumped since having an 8.5 game lead in late June, and have won only three of their last thirteen games. After a day off Thursday, the Cubs come in for a series that should see good crowds at Chase, and could involve two first-placed teams.

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