INSIDE PITCH
The "Man-Child" is here.
After
placing right fielder Carlos Quentin on the disabled list with a hamstring
injury, the Diamondbacks did what many in the baseball world have been waiting
for and promoted top prospect Justin Upton.
The 19-year-old outfielder,
who was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2005 draft, made his major league debut
Thursday in San Diego. After entering as a defensive replacement in right field
in the eighth inning, he finished 0-for-1 in Arizona's 11-0 loss to the
Padres.
Manager Bob Melvin is expected to start Upton in right Friday
when the Diamondbacks open a three-game series at Dodger Stadium, and Upton
figures to be the everyday starter at the position for the foreseeable
future.
"It's what I've been dreaming about my whole entire life," said
Upton, who hit a combined .319 with 18 home runs in 345 at-bats split between
Class A Visalia and Class AA Mobile.
Melvin and others have referred to
Upton as a "man-child" for his physical maturity and baseball savvy despite his
age, and Upton said back in spring training that it was one of his goals to get
to the majors before he turned 20.
"They feel like I'm ready, and I'm
going to take it in stride," he said.
PADRES 11, DIAMONDBACKS 0: San
Diego avoided a three-game sweep by Arizona in convincing fashion Thursday, as
Jake Peavy limited the Diamondbacks to three hits over seven innings, and Morgan Ensberg added a pair of two-run homers in his Padres debut. Diamondbacks starter
Yusmeiro Petit allowed five runs and five hits through 4 1/3 innings.
Peavy had brought a 5.20 ERA versus Arizona through 19 starts into the
game. His seven shutout innings dropped that career mark to
4.90.
NOTES, QUOTES
--RF Carlos Quentin suffered
a pulled hamstring Wednesday in San Diego while running out a double, and he was
placed on the disabled list, the latest in a series if setbacks that have
plagued the prospect this season. He was diagnosed with a slight labrum tear in
spring training and missed substantial time. Upon struggling through the first
half of the season, he was demoted to Class AAA Tucson until only recently being
recalled.
"He's gotten some big hits for us this year," general manager
Josh Byrnes said, "but since he tweaked his shoulder this spring, it seems like
luck has not gone his way."
--The Diamondbacks have lost seven of nine
games to the Dodgers, whom they play in Los Angeles on Friday for the start of a
pivotal three-game series.
"It's the one team that's pretty much handed
it to us every time," Melvin said. "It's a good team. They match up well against
us, they play well against us. We need to go in there and kind of change the
mind-set."
--RHP Brandon Webb is scheduled to oppose Dodgers RHP Brad Penny on Sunday in a matchup of National League All-Stars.
--General
manager Josh Byrnes on the decision to promote top outfield prospect Justin
Upton from Class AA Mobile: "In the last 45 days, we've had a lot of people in
Mobile seeing that team, and there was a pretty strong consensus that Justin is
major league ready if we wanted to put him up here."
--CF Chris Young
has been successful on 16 of 17 stolen-base attempts this season. His 94.1
percent success rate ranks second in the National League.