INSIDE PITCH
Things are getting a little nervy around the Diamondbacks these
days. What looked to be a nice ride into the postseason suddenly has become
a pot-holed road littered with detours and obstacles at nearly every
turn.
"I think we'll be all right," manager Bob Melvin said with his
typical, whistling-through-the-graveyard approach.
But here are the cold, hard facts: The Diamondbacks have lost 10 of
their last 15 games after a stretch that saw them win nine series in a
row. After losing the first game of a pivotal, three-game series
against visiting San Diego in clobbering fashion -- a 10-2 loss to the Padres
at Chase Field on Monday -- the ghosts are circling.
"If we keep this up, we'll be sitting at home in October," left
fielder Eric Byrnes said. "If we start playing better and start playing up
to our capabilities and fulfilling our potential, I think we have a
good enough team to be playing in October."
But time is running out. The Diamondbacks are struggling in
multitudes of areas, from the back end of the starting rotation, an
inconsistent offense, the bullpen and even the front end of the rotation, where
ace Brandon Webb hasn't been himself since his streak of 42 consecutive
scoreless innings ended.
"Tomorrow is a new day," said rookie right-hander Micah Owings, who
allowed four home runs against the Padres on Monday. "This team is not
going to drag and think about it too much. We've got some games left.
If it was the last game of the season, then we could kick ourselves, but
this team will bounce back."
PADRES 10, DIAMONDBACKS 2: Greg Maddux won for the first time in
Arizona in any uniform, and the Padres rolled over the Diamondbacks to
open a one-game lead over the diamondbacks in the National League West.
Maddux is now 2-10 against the Diamondbacks overall, and was 0-6
with a 5.67 ERA against them at Chase Field. On Monday, he held them to
two runs and six hits and extended his streak of not allowing a walk to
49 1/3 innings over a span of seven starts.
Eric Byrnes tripled and homered for Arizona, which has lost 10 of 15
games. Arizona starter Micah Owings allowed five runs and four homers
before being chased after three innings.
NOTES, QUOTES
--LHP Bill Murphy made his major league debut Monday and allowed
three runs on three hits in 1 2/3 innings after a surprise promotion from
Class AAA Tucson.
--RHP Micah Owings didn't have it on the mound Monday, but he hit a
double in his only at-bat against the Padres to raise his season
average to .294.
--Manager Bob Melvin on rookie OF Justin Upton, 20, straying off
third base and getting picked off during a late-inning situation with the
game on the line against Colorado on Sunday: "Those things are going to
happen with younger guys at the big-league level. We address it, but
we don't address it harshly."
--C/UT Robby Hammock hit .325 with 22 extra-base hits in his last 67
games for Class AAA Tucson and earned a September call-up. "I know
there's interest in other teams if the Diamondbacks don't decide to keep
me around," he said. "I've just got to wait it out and see what
happens."
--INF Emilio Bonifacio drew a walk in the ninth inning during his
first major league plate appearance Monday.
--IF Alberto Callaspo, who started his first game for Class AAA
Tucson on Friday after suffering a hamstring injury two weeks earlier, was
expected to join the Diamondbacks on Monday or Tuesday.
BY THE NUMBERS: 7.71 -- Setup man Tony Pena's ERA during the month
of August.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "He's basically taken over for Randy (Johnson). I
don't know that he's ever pitched this well for a sustained period like
that. I haven't looked at his numbers, but it's been spectacular for us."
-- Diamondbacks manager Bob Melvin on LHP Doug Davis, who was 7-1 in
his first 10 starts since the All-Star break.
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