Inside the Box: Blown save costs D-backs the game
Jun 28, 2011, 3:08 AM | Updated: 4:42 am
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 June 27, 2011: Indians 5, Diamondbacks 4
The Good:
The D-backs eighth inning symbolized their entire season. Going into the inning, the D-backs once again trailed by one run late in the game. After several pinch hitters failed to get a hit in the seventh, Wily Mo Pena was called up to the plate. He hit a single. Kelly Johnson had the next at bat. He hit a triple. After just two hitters, the D-backs came back and tied the score late in the game. Sound familiar?
The Bad:
The D-backs should not have had to come back at all. After giving up a two-run home run in the first inning, Ian Kennedy threw like a madman. In the next three innings, he retired all nine hitters, striking out three. Then something snapped again and he gave up five hits, including two more runs, in just two innings. Kennedy had a streaky night to say the least.
J.J. Putz also didn’t help matters when he gave up a home run in the ninth inning. The ball barely squeezed over the fence, but that run still gave the Indians the lead.
The Funky:
After the end of six innings, 13 D-backs hitters had been retired straight through – 10 by Indians starter Mitch Talbot and three by reliever Joe Smith.
