Late inning heroics propel D-backs over Angels
The Good:
The Arizona Diamondbacks used late-inning heroics to beat the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 7-1 in front of another sell out crowd Tuesday night at Salt River Fields. They scored all seven runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to get the win. Alfredo Marte highlighted the inning with mammoth three-run homer, his first of the spring, off of Angels reliever Robert Coello.
Ian Kennedy was solid in his last start of spring. He threw 80+ pitches in 6.2 shutout innings while allowing just two hits, a walk and eight strikeouts.
The Bad:
The D-backs lost three players to injury during the game.
Second baseman Aaron Hill exited after the first inning. He was hit by a pitch in the left pinkie. After the game he said no x-rays were needed and he should be fine Wednesday.
Shortstop Willie Bloomquist left in the middle of an at-bat in the third inning. He fouled off a pitch and felt his oblique grab on the follow through. He’ll have an MRI Wednesday.
Left fielder Jason Kubel left after four innings. He banged his knee on the wall Sunday and his ankle has been giving out on him since then. He’s not overly concerned about it but wanted to play it safe during spring.
He Said It:
“You always want that last one to be pretty good. I just felt like my arm speed was there, my off-speed was there, my command was there. So I’m just real happy with how things went, you know the last one like I said, you want it to be good going into the season.” — Kennedy on the importance of having a good final spring outing before his Opening Day start Monday against St. Louis.
Noted:
• Manager Kirk Gibson was pleased with his relief pitching. He got solid performances from Brad Ziegler, Heath Bell and J.J. Putz. Ziegler retired the only batter he faced, Bell earned the win even though he allowed a run on two hits and a walk and Putz threw a perfect ninth to wrap up the game
• In the eighth inning, Eric Chavez tied the game with a solo homer then Eric Hinske had a go-ahead, pinch-hit, two-run double followed by Wil Nieves’ RBI single and Marte’s three-run homer.
What’s Next:
The Diamondbacks host the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday at Salt River Fields for their final home game of the spring. Righty Nelson Figueroa is expected to get the start for Arizona against Giants lefty Madison Bumgarner at 1:10 p.m. Also scheduled to throw for the D-backs are Josh Collmenter, Heath Bell, David Hernandez, Matt Reynolds and Tony Sipp.
