Sidewinders starter Evan MacLane brought a 3.79 ERA into Saturday night's
game, but had his streak of three consecutive 5-plus inning outings snapped when
he allowed 10 runs on 11 hits and failed to record an out in the fourth inning.
MacLane was off the hook for the loss, however, as the Tucson Sidewinders had
plated 11 runners of their own through four innings. Than in the seventh,
the Sidewinders sent 11 batters to the plate in a six-run inning, with every
batter in the lineup reaching safely that frame except first baseman Josh
Whitesell.
Third baseman Jaime D'Antona collected four hits in five at bats before being
lifted for pinch runner Jesus Merchan in that seventh inning, giving him 17 hits
in his last seven ballgames and raising his batting average to .367.
Emilio Bonifacio, Tim Raines, Alexander Romero, Trot Nixon, and Trent Oeltjen had three
hits a piece in the Sidewinders' 24-hit affair.
The Sidewinders bullpen represented the real heroes of the evening, however.
Emiliano Fruto, Connor Robertson, and Leo Rosales cooled off the hot Rainier
bats, combining to allow four runs (two earned) over the final six innings.
"Our bullpen's been outstanding and gives us a chance to come back and win
some ballgames," Tucson manager Bill Plummer said.
Saturday marked the first time since their opening day win over Colorado
Springs that the Sidewinders scored double digit runs in a game. They
remain a disappointing 4-19 on the season, but two of those wins have come in
their past four games.
Send questions or
comments for Keith Glab to
future_backs@yahoo.com
Are you a full member of
FutureBacks.com? If not, then you are missing out on the top
Diamondbacks coverage we provide to our premium members, as well as full
access to over 400 other Scout.com sites.
Join us today!