Arizona came home and split a six-game home stand, winning three and losing three, despite being outscored 17-29 over that time. So, business as usual, really. The Brewers are one of the few NL teams to have a winning record against AZ, and took the first two games of the series. However, Brandon Webb salvaged a win in the finale, though his scoreless streak came to an end just one out into the game. The Cubs then came to town, and we saw crowds averaging over 40,000 at Chase as a result. Arizona took the series, again despite being outscored (10-11), and ended the week three games clear at the top of the National League West.

AZ 0, Brewers 9 After a long series of good starts, the wheels finally fell off the Doug Davismobile, as he lasted only two innings, allowing six earned runs on six hits and two walks, including three homers. Edgar Gonzalez ended up pitching twice as long as our starter, giving up two earned runs on four hits and a walk over four innings - he seems to be the go-to guy for Melvin when his rotation fails him. With the Brewers holding a nine-run lead by the end of the fourth, this was over as a spectacle early.

The most entertaining thing for D-backs fans was perhaps seeing third baseman Jeff Cirillo pitch the ninth. He joined Augie Ojeda in posting a zero, and Cirillo even struck out former D-back Craig Counsell. Otherwise, precious little to cheer, as Arizona made more errors (two) than runs, and mustered only five singles. Mark Reynolds struck out four times, but Micah Owings made an appearance as a pinch-hitter, picking up Arizona’s only walk of the contest.

AZ 4, Brewers 7 Things went little better for Arizona on Tuesday, though this time they did at least stay in the game for the first six innings. Then, a five-run seventh for Milwaukee blew open a 2-2 tie, with the big hit a grand-slam by Gross off AZ reliever Tony Peña. Livan Hernandez took the loss, with five runs on seven hits and a walk in six innings - up until the seventh, he had actually pitched reasonably well, but faced three batters there and didn’t retire any of them.

The offense was somewhat better, with Eric Byrnes and Conor Jackson getting three hits apiece. Chris Young continued his streak with his 25th homer of the year. We scored twice in the sixth on that home-run, and an RBI double by Stephen Drew, which helped level the score at two. We then loaded the bases with one out, until Justin Upton struck out and Montero flew out: that was Arizona’s last, best hope. We did get the tying run to the on-deck circle on the ninth, forcing the Brewers to use their closer, who promptly struck out Drew.

AZ 3, Brewers 2 Brandon Webb came in with the best scoreless streak in the majors for almost twenty years, at 42 innings. That didn’t last long - 15 pitches, to be exact - but the end result is probably more important, and he walked away with the W by his name, for the fourteenth time this year. He pitched seven innings, giving up five hits, one walk and allowing two earned runs. Our usual late-inning players of Brandon Lyon and Jose Valverde made the one-run lead stand up, though Papa Grande made things “interesting”, letting the tying run reach third before nailing the door.

The Diamondbacks had taken the lead back in the first, after Fielder’s RBI ended Webb’s scoreless run. Chris Young hit another leadoff homer, and after Orlando Hudson tripled, Clark hit a sacrifice fly to give Arizona a narrow edge. Counsell doubled home the tying run in the sixth, but Arizona retook the lead in the bottom of the seventh, when a Jeff Cirillo groundout allowed Drew to score what proved to be the eventual winning run from third. Hudson had three hits, getting his season average back above .300.

AZ 2, Cubs 6 Chase Field became Wrigley SW for the weekend, with the Cubs’ large fanbase turning out in droves for the series between division leaders. First blood went to the Cubs, who jumped on Micah Owings for two runs in the first inning, and were never headed thereafter. This was mostly due to some striking offensive failing by the Diamondbacks; they managed only four hits all night, and up until the ninth inning, their only tally was another home-run by Owings, his fourth of the season. He’s already the franchise leader for homers by pitchers, despite having played in only 28 games.

He didn’t pitch too badly, after a 37-pitch first inning, at least, giving up three earned runs on seven hits and a walk, while lasting into the seventh. He was bailed out there by Juan Cruz, who came in with men on second and third and no outs, yet allowed no runs to score. Dustin Nippert, on the other hand, let the first six Cubs he faced in the ninth all reach safely, and that ended any hopes Arizona might have had of coming back. Conor Jackson had two hits for the D-backs.

AZ 3, Cubs 1 Davis bounced back from his poor appearance, pitching seven strong innings and only letting Chicago score once. It was a very tense encounter, with no score until the bottom of the fourth when a Byrnes single was followed by Jackson’s tenth homer of the year. The Cubs got one back in the sixth, and then had the tying run in scoring position there, as well as the seventh and eighth inning - they just couldn’t get their man any further, and Valverde pitched a perfect ninth with two K’s for the save.

Justin Upton celebrated his twentieth birthday with two hits, including a picture-perfect bunt, and drove in a very welcome insurance run with a double off Kerry Wood in the seventh. Overall, offense was at a premium, with the pitching staff of both sides combining for 22 strikeouts. The attendance of 46,173 was the highest since the Boston series in June, and the fourth-best of the season. A combination of the opponents, post-game fireworks and the Mark Grace bobblehead probably helped there.

AZ 5, Cubs 4 This victory looked very, very unlikely early on, as the Cubs mauled Yusmeiro Petit for three runs in the top of the first, even if he wasn’t helped by a pair of Arizona errors. Young narrowed the gap, homering to lead off the bottom half, and in the second, after a Jeff Cirllo RBI single, he swatted his 28th homer, a three-run shot which put the Diamondbacks up 5-3. An inside-the-park four-bagger for the Cubs on a wild ricochet made it 5-4, and Petit was gone after pitching just four innings.

Fortunately, the bullpen stepped up to the mark, providing five shutout innings, with Edgar Gonzalez, Tony Peña, Lyon and Valverde getting it done. They were helped by some stellar defense from Jeff Salazar in right, but the key play was a double-play in the ninth, with two Cubs on and no outs. Valverde fanned Kendall, and Snyder threw down to third where Cirillo gunned down an attempted stolen-base. A diving stop by Clark for the final out sent about half of the large crowd home happy.

News and Notes
Soaring: Conor Jackson (7-for-22, 5 RBI); Chris Young (4 HR, 6 RBI), Brandon Webb (7 IP, 5 H, 2 ER); Brandon Lyon (4 IP, 1 H, 3 K, 0 ER). Falling: Justin Upton (3-for-17); Mark Reynolds (0-for-10, 9 K); Yusmeiro Petit (4 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 4 ER); Dustin Nippert (2 IP, 5 H, 1 BB, 3 ER).

Roster Report: Petit’s spot in the rotation seems to be in jeopardy. There’s only one more start before rosters expand in September, and Edgar Gonzalez may well get that instead of Petit. Upton and Reynolds have both been struggling at the plate, and got the day off today, being replaced by Salazar and Cirillo respectively. Salazar, in particular, may see more time down the stretch.

The Week Ahead: A crucial four-game series against the Padres starts tomorrow in San Diego. A split of those games would be more than acceptable, keeping our lead at the current three games, while crossing four off the schedule. It’s then back to Phoenix, for a weekend series against the Rockies, whom we haven’t seen since May. Their lineup is a real threat, but their pitching staff has been a patchwork effort at best.

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