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Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Justin Upton put two in the seats last night, helping the D-Backs to a 4-3 win over the San Diego Padres.
Upton’s first jack came in the fourth inning off Padres rookie pitcher Cory Luebke, giving the D-Backs a 1-0 lead heading into the fifth.
Luebke, it seems, got under Upton’s skin.
“The guy quick-pitched me on the first pitch (of the fourth),” Upton told reporters after the game. “He did it on my first at-bat. It’s just irritating, pitchers who are trying to trick the system. I’m just going to say it: You never see [Tim] Lincecum quick pitch me, Matt Cain, those guys don’t do it.”
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After a two-run fifth inning for the Padres, putting them up 2-1, Upton continued his lesson on pitcher etiquette with another homer in the sixth to tie the game.
“I got a good pitch to hit and I was mad about it,” Upton continued.
Xavier Nady put the final nail in the coffin with a two-run shot in the seventh inning to give the D-Backs a 4-2 lead heading into the bottom of the inning.
Padres rookie catcher Luis Martinez made his first major league start last night, which included a 364-foot jack to left to put San Diego within one, but the D-Backs bullpen fended off the Padres bats in the final two innings to give starting pitcher Ian Kennedy his 12th win of the season.
If pitchers around the league learned anything from last night’s game it’s that you don’t quick-pitch Justin Upton.
“They did it (quick pitch) Tuesday night against him and he hit a home run,” Arizona manager Kirk Gibson tells the Associated Press. “I know he doesn’t like it. It kind of irritates him. He’s hit two home runs after it, so hopefully they will do it again.”
The D-Backs have won eight of their last 12 since the All-Star break and are currently three games behind the San Francisco Giants for first-place in the National League West.
The D-Backs continue their series with the Padres this afternoon. For more D-Backs info click here.
