Inside the Box: D-backs rally falls short

After every Arizona Diamondbacks game we’ll examine the
box score and provide you with instant analysis. So it’s
time to go Inside the Box for May 6, 2011: Padres 4, Diamondbacks 3

The Arizona Diamondbacks lost a heartbreaking game on Friday night 4-3 to the San Diego Padres in 11 innings, but there were still many positives to take out of the game.

There are no moral victories in professional sports. You either win or lose, but you can’t help but notice major improvement in this year’s team from last season.

The D-backs did next to nothing offensively for the entire game only getting five hits going into the ninth inning with no runs.

The Padres sent all-star closer Heath Bell out to finish the game and this is the point last season where Arizona would have packed it in.

Instead, they simply went out and scored three runs to send the game to extra innings.

They would ultimately lose, but it was hard not to smile at the fight and resolve Arizona showed. Something that was completely missing from last season.

In addition, the bullpen had another fantastic night keeping Arizona in the game just to give them a chance to come back.

The unit pitched 5 and 1/3 innings of shutout baseball until the Padres finally scored off Sam Demel in the 11th inning.

This year’s bullpen has done a masterful job of keeping Arizona in games and giving them a chance to come back every single night.

Again, it will go down as a loss in the standings, but manager Kirk Gibson has installed a never say die attitude in his D-backs and they should be at the very least fun to watch for the entire season.

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