A closer look: Cahill’s arm, Upton’s bat propel D-backs to 8-2 victory

Sure, you could read the box score and know who won, but we all know that won’t tell you everything that happened in a baseball game. So, we will give you a closer look, providing you with the analysis, quotes and notes from the D-backs’ September 29 win over the Cubs. Final score: Diamondbacks 8, Cubs 2.

The Good:

The Diamondbacks beat the Cubs 8-2 on Saturday night at Chase Field. That gives the Dbacks a 9-4 record in their last 13 games. They also won six straight against the Cubs at Chase Field for the first time since June 13th, 2001 through August 23, 2002.

Diamondbacks starter Trevor Cahill finished off the season on a positive note. In the win he reached a career high in strikeouts with 156 and also reached 200.0 innings for the second consecutive year. Cahill’s last five starts were solid. He recorded a 4-1 record with a 2.65 ERA during that time. He also pitched a complete game for the third time in his career.

The Bad:

Cahill was also going for a complete game shutout but that was spoiled in the top of the 9th inning when Alfonso Soriano hit a two-run shot for this 32nd long ball of the season.

Noted:

Justin Upton heating up as the season winds down. He tied his career high with 105 runs scored Saturday night and he also has six home runs in September. Those six home runs equal his total from June to August.

He Said It:

Manager Kirk Gibson was asked about finishing the season strong even after being “officially” eliminated from post-season contention.

“I mean I can just tell you when I’ve been on a team in whatever capacity, I always had pride in going out and trying and win and doing it the right way. If you look at when we were with the Tigers in 2003, we lost 119 games and look at that last week. We played our asses off and we kept it at 119. That’s just, that’s a no-brainer. I can’t see anybody that wouldn’t want to do that.”

Up Next:

The Diamondbacks wrap up this three game series with the Cubs on Sunday afternoon at Chase Field. It’s Josh Collmenter (5-3, 3.80) against Chris Rusin in a 1:30pm first pitch.

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