On Friday night, the Arizona Diamondbacks snapped their 10-game skid. By Saturday night, they'd won a series. And even though a loss to the Colorado Rockies on Sunday prevented an AZ sweep, the weekend felt like a success. (With such low standards, one stinkin' win feels like a playoff victory for this team.)
The good times got going at Chase Field with a dramatic come-from-behind victory on Friday night. AZ was down 6-5 heading into the bottom of the ninth, but tied the game with one out when Gerardo Parra drove in Edwin Jackson, who was pinch running for Mark Reynolds, from second base. Moments later, Ryan Roberts' pinch-hit knock plated Chris Young to end the epic skid with a 7-6 W.
Saturday night showcased the highly anticipated debut of lefty Dontrelle Willis. And, boy, did dude deliver with six scoreless innings that featured Willis - acquired from the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday - being all magician like with some of the jams that he worked out of. He even slid headfirst into home plate while scoring a run, a move that pumped up his new teammates and may very well thrust some life back into this club. He left the game with a 4-0 lead, which the Rockies cut to one in the seventh, but the home team was able to hold on to a 4-3 series-clinching victory.
On Sunday, Arizona had the misfortune of facing red-hot Ubaldo Jimenez, who became the bigs' first 11-game winner in 2010. Jimenez, whose ERA now stands at an astounding 0.93, avoided a first-inning disaster by working out of a bases-loaded jam, then pretty much cruised through seven. The two runs that Arizona managed were charged to Jimenez, but were not enough to sweep Colorado as the D-backs fell, 3-2.
Up next is a four-game series with the National League East leading Atlanta Braves. Arizona's Dan Haren is slated to start against Atlanta's Derek's Lowe during tonight's 6:40 p.m. match-up at Chase Field. More info: www.dbacks.com.
