A closer look: D-backs pitching doesn’t match offense in loss to Mariners

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’ June 19 loss to the Mariners. Final
score: Mariners 12, Diamondbacks 9.

The Good

The D-backs pound out 14 hits, including three home runs,
which tied a season-high. Aaron Hill continues to swing
the bat well
with two more
hits, one being his ninth home run of the year. The
second baseman
is
hitting .415 (22-for-53) with six doubles, four home runs
and 12 RBI
in his last 14 games. In addition, he has hit safely in
12 straight
home games.

The Bad

Daniel Hudson allowed a season-high seven runs in only
four innings
of work. The bullpen, which hadn’t allowed a run in its
last five
games, allowed four. David Hernandez gave up the tying
run in the
8th while JJ Putz and Brad Ziegler combined to surrender
three runs
in the 10th.

Meanwhile, Justin Upton went 0-for-5 striking out in his
last three
at-bats, including the 5th inning when—after an
intentional walk to
Hill, he left the bases loaded of what was then a tie
game, 8-8.
Upton was the only starter (sans the pitcher) to not get a
hit.

The Long

Time of game: 3 hours, 59 minutes.

He Said it

“I can’t man,” Hudson said when asked if he could explain
the
inconsistency of his recent starts. “I wish I could. If
I could put a
finger on it, I’d try to fix it, you know? I’m just in a
stretch right now
where I’m making good pitches, balls are finding holes and
then I
just can’t make a pitch to get out of an inning. It’s
just one of those
things I’m going through right now. I’ve got to dig deep
and try to
get out of it. I don’t know what’s going on right now.
I’ve got to try
to figure something out.”

Noted

• The D-backs are now 1-1 in extra inning games.

• The D-backs six-game home winning streak was snapped.

• Mariners pitchers retired the final 14 batters faced,
seven by
strikeout.

• Ichiro Suzuki collected his 2,500th hit (a single to
center to lead off
the game) in his 1,817th career game, the fourth-fastest
player in
MLB history to accomplish the feat.

Coming up next

The D-backs end their series with Seattle Wednesday
afternoon, with
Trevor Cahill (5-5, 3.08) taking the mound against Jason
Vargas (7-
6, 3.95). Cahill is 3-0 with a 0.77 ERA ( 2 ER in 23.1
IP) in his last
three starts.

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