Was Monday night’s game the biggest win of the year for the D-backs?
The Arizona Diamondbacks weren’t expected to do much in the National League West this season. Despite seemingly everyone doubting them, Kirk Gibson’s squad has proven that they are, in fact, a contender and don’t plan on going anywhere.
Entering Monday’s game the D-backs were just two games back of the defending NL West and World Series champion Giants. While their 5-2 win in San Francisco was big, was it the most important win of the season so far?
Sports 620 KTAR’s Ron Wolfley sure thinks so.
“You have Matt Cain one of the best pitchers in the National League, if not baseball, taking on Ian Kennedy the Arizona Diamondbacks’ ace in a still-point game of the season that proved to be all that and a bag of chips,” Wolf told listeners Tuesday morning on Doug and Wolf. “The D-backs win the game 5-2. They’re a season best 11-games over .500. They’re one game back in the NL West. It was a tone setter. I thought it was filled with great moments.”
While Doug Franz understood his co-host’s point of view, he didn’t think the team’s manager would agree.
“If this game meant the world you can’t lose that game then,” Franz said. “You have to make sure you go Hernandez, Putz and that’s how you get the win. By putting Ian Kennedy out there in the eighth, it’s not like Kirk Gibson says ‘I plan on losing today’, but Gibson is saying ‘I plan on having the healthiest and best bullpen for this entire series.'”
It’s an interesting debate but one thing is clear: every game from here on out is an important one for the Diamondbacks if they hope to capture the attention of Valley fans.
With the NFL lockout ending and the Arizona Cardinals grabbing the headlines, Gibson’s squad will have to be in contention the rest of the season if they hope to interest fans in this town. Winning the first game in a series against the division leading Giants is nice. Sweeping them and taking the division lead? Well now that’s something to talk about.
