Dbacks Continue Run

Wow. What a fantastic game last night between the Dbacks and Dodgers. A 1-0 win for the Dbacks in what can only be described as a classic pitcher's duel. Chad Billingsley pitched outstanding, allowing just five hits over 7 2/3 innings. Unfortunately for him, one of those hits was a solo shot by Chris Snyder to lead off the 8th inning. Up to that point, the Dbacks had not had a runner advance past 1st base.

Across the diamond, Doug Davis was lights out in his 8 innings, allowing just three hits all night, and never really getting into any trouble. The only base runner that advanced past 1st base against him was Juan Pierre, who advanced to 2nd on a blown tag-out by O'Dog, and advanced to third on a missed catch by O'Dog trying to catch him at 2nd (again). Davis was all but out of the game after the 7th inning, with him due up to bat 2nd in the eighth. However, after Snyder hit the home run to lead off, the Dbacks coaches allowed Davis to hit in his spot, and return to pitch the bottom of the eighth, which he promptly retired in order.

Jose Valverde came on in the ninth, and after blowing his last two saves (which luckily the Dbacks were able to come back and win both of those games), looked unhittable, getting a popout to begin the inning and striking out the next two batters. With the win, the Dbacks have won 11 of 13, sit 11 games over .500, and lead the division by 1.5 games over San Diego, who passed the Dodgers last night.

There is no other way to put it: The Dbacks are ROLLING. We better enjoy it while we can, because here are some scary numbers for you: The Dbacks are next to last in the NL in batting average and hits, and third from last in runs and on-base percentage. Oh, and they're still being outscored for the season. So how are the Dbacks doing so well? That is the million dollar question, and not an easy one to answer. All i can say is that the Dbacks have a knack for pulling out close games, and when they do lose, they tend to lose big (as evidenced by their last two losses being 14-0 and 11-0 blowouts). Say what you will, but if you're going to have guys stink out the joint, might as well be the entire team in one game and get it out of their system.

While the Dbacks still have not been getting a ton of press across the country, they are quickly becoming one of the most exciting teams in baseball. They lead MLB in walk-off home runs with 5, and have seven walk-off hits total. Call them the cardiac kids, late-comers, or whatever you want, but this team definitely builds the drama into games. Last night's eighth inning, game-winning home run was no different. As Darren Sutton put it on the broadcast as it got into the 6th inning, it was a blink-first game. Whichever team blinked first was going to lose the game. It became true as Billingsley's 2nd pitch off the eighth was left up and out over the plate, and Snyder promptly deposited it into the left field bleachers.

Though the true star of the night was indeed Doug Davis, who turned in a masterful performance and gave most of the bullpen the night off. Davis has been arguably Arizona's best pitcher of the last month, going 3-1 in his last six starts, with the team winning five of those six games. He has also gone at least six innings in every one of those starts, allowing the Dbacks to let their big three in the bullpen of Tony Pena, Brandon Lyon, and Valverde close out games.

The Dbacks are back at it tonight in LA, playing the 2nd of a three game set against the Dodgers. After going 2-1 in three games at San Diego, if the Dbacks can win tonight or tomorrow against the Dodgers, it will have been a very successful road trip for them, and they would be in great shape in the division race. The last two months of the season are shaping up to be great, and the Dbacks are in prime position to make a push into the playoffs. And with that, it should be a fantastic race to the finish...