Burroughs' homer was his first since 2005 and served as a redemption of sorts for the third baseman, who's been on a major comeback over the past year. Once considered a baseball wunderkind (after he helped win back-to-back Little League World Series in the early '90s), Burroughs hit the skids a few years back and was shuttled between gigs with the San Diego Padres and Tampa Bay Rays before basically becoming a junkie who ate out of garbage cans (no joke).
He eventually rehabbed and landed a spot on Arizona's Triple-A farm team in Reno last November and has been waiting for a return to glory once again. It came after a first-pitch fastball from Zimmerman, which became a 412-foot moonshot to the right field seats, ending his own personal drought and that of the Diamondbacks (who haven't had a home in four games).
"Whoda thought that Sean Burroughs would end the drought?" exclaimed Diamondbacks broadcaster Daron Sutton.
It was the capper of a crazy day for Arizona, whose arrival at Nationals Park was delayed by nearly an hour due to the 5.8-magnitude earthquake that rocked the D.C. area on Tuesday afternoon. Shortly after the ground stopped shaking, the team executed a trade with the Toronto Blue Jays that sent Kelly Johnson to the Great White North in exchange for second baseman Aaron Hill and shortstop John McDonald.
Both players might see some action within the next game or two, considering the fact that Justin Upton's left elbow is sporting a big-ass bruise on his left elbow after last night's win. Zimmerman beaned Upton with a 95 M.P.H. fastball in the top of the fourth, marking the fifth time this season that a National's pitcher has used J-Up for target practice. (He ultimately left the game in the fifth inning due to swelling and stiffness.) Thankfully, Kennedy had the back of his fellow Diamondback when he plunked Michael Morse in the hand during the bottom half of the inning.
Some more beanballs might be on tap for tonight's game, when Arizona sends Daniel Hudson (12-9, 3.83) to the mound against Livan Hernandez (7-11, 4.34). First pitch is at 4:05 p.m. local time. TV: Fox Sports Arizona. Radio: KTAR 620 AM. For more information, visit www.dbacks.com.
