Diamondbacks Notes: August 16, 2008
* ARI @ HOU, GAME 1 -- The Diamondbacks crossed the plate early and often, cruising to a 12-2 win over Houston in Friday's series opener. Astros' lefty starter Wandy Rodriguez issued five walks and Arizona batted around in the top of the first inning. But the visitors scored only three runs in that frame, as Chris Burke and Brandon Webb both took called third strikes with the bases loaded. Webb would need no more support, his Cy Young form evidenced by a line of 8 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, BB, 6 K on 82 pitches. His teammates took no chances and scored in all but two innings. Every starting position player notched a hit and reached home safely at least once on the night. In short, this was a laugher.
* ARI @ HOU, GAME 2 -- By a score only a litte less one-sided than Friday's final, Arizona gave Houston a case of déjà vu and defeated the hosts 11-5 on Saturday. The winning formula was eerily familiar -- a crooked number in the top of the first, a dominant pitching peformance, and a commitment by Diamondbacks hitters to keep putting runs on the board. Miguel Montero played the hero by clobbering a two-out Grand Slam off Astros' right-hander Brandon Backe before Arizona's starter, Yusmeiro Petit, threw his first pitch of the game. Upon taking the mound, Petit (7 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, BB, 5 K) did his best Brandon Webb impression. Tony Pena -- whose 6.00 ERA in July and 9.53 ERA in August have seen him bumped from primary set-up duties in favor of Jon Rauch -- balanced two strikeouts against a lone walk in a scoreless eighth inning before giving way to Leo Rosales. With three runs off Rosales, Houston made the final result closer, but the 'Stros could not prevent the Diamondbacks from clinching their second series win on the brief, two-city road trip.
* SLAMMED -- Miguel Montero's four-run bomb to the upper deck was the first of two homers he hit in Saturday's contest. Montero -- whose short, stocky build inspires DBN to call him "The Icebox" -- finished 3-for-5 with three runs, the pair of homers and a double, to account for five RBI. In the sixth inning, Chris B. Young hit Arizona's second Grand Slam of the day. With two out in the eighth, CBY singled, Conor Jackson was hit by a pitch, and Adam Dunn drew a BB, providing Mark Reynolds the opportunity to give the Diamondbacks three grannies on the day. Reynolds flied out to RF and the inning ended with the bases juiced.
* LOCAL FLAVOR -- DBN documented Chris B. Young's success against his hometown team in the series preview. Young continues to play his best baseball against the Astros. He has homered in each game of the series so far while scoring twice and driving in six on 5-for-11 hitting. Other Diamondbacks sluggers with ties to Houston also have performed well in the first two games of the series. Returning to the city of his birth, Chris Snyder went 2-for-4 with a run scored, a three-run homer and an RBI walk in the opener. Fellow Houston native Adam Dunn is 3-for-6 with three runs, a double, an RBI, four walks and a stolen base through Game 2. Former Astro Chris Burke started at 2B for the third straight game Saturday and is now 3-for-8 with three runs and three RBIs on his return to Minute Maid Park. Burke's shot on Friday night was his second of the year and helped him to climb above the Mendoza line for the first time in 2008.
* ACES HIGH -- Neither can legitmately be called an Ace anymore, but the duel of Randy Johnson v. Roy Oswalt on Sunday is the "big name" match-up of the weekend. Like Young, Snyder, Burke and Chad Qualls, Johnson has a connection to Houston. RJ pitched brilliantly for the Astros in the final months of the 1998 season, then signed a free agent deal with Arizona the following off-season. Oswalt has won three of his last four starts, but appears to be in rapid decline. He has a 4.52 ERA in 2008, a full run worse than his previous career high.
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