Starting the 2nd Half

And we’re off! The 2nd half of the baseball season is upon us, and the races for division titles, the playoffs, and the wildcard are soon to be heating up. The Dbacks figure to (hopefully) be prominent in all of those races, but need a good start to the 2nd half. What better way to get that start than three games at home against the division leading San Diego Padres.

Two games into that series, with the final one getting under way in just a few minutes, and the Dbacks are looking good. With an 8-3 win on Friday, the Dbacks bats came alive again, racking up 15 hits (and a free chalupa for everyone in attendance, something my brother was apparently real excited about). Punishing Greg Maddux, as has become Maddux's custom when he shows up in Chase Field, the Dback offense found it's groove, scoring in 4 of the 8 innings they batted in. The new call-up, Jeff Salazar, led the way with a 3 for 4 night, including one that was about 3 feet from going yard. This coming on the same night he made one of the best catches ever seen at Chase Field, robbing Brian Giles of homerun by leaping about three feet over the fence (See it here - Love listening to Darren Sutton call this...).

Last night the Dbacks showed the ability to come from behind, trailing 4-1 going into the 7th, where a singles parade then ensued. With 5 singles and 2 sac fly's, the Dbacks managed to tie the game, plating three runs. Then in the 8th, Chad Tracy had a hit to center to score Orlando Hudson, giving the Dbacks the go ahead run and the eventual win. Jose Valverde was once again dominant, getting the save by facing the minimum.

While it is only two games, the Dbacks offense has looked better already. How much of that is attributed to the new hitting coach and how much of it is due to the break is hard to say. Either way, it is an encouraging sign to see the bats flying again, especially against the division leaders. It's a good start to the last few months of the season, which should be an interesting race to the finish.