Grit Index: D-backs rally, hold on for win against Brewers
Jul 12, 2013, 6:43 AM | Updated: 3:19 pm
The Arizona Diamondbacks may have found their closer, at least for one night. Brad Ziegler came in to seal the deal in the ninth inning Thursday night as the D-backs earned a 5-3 win over the Milwaukee Brewers in the first of a four-game series at Chase Field.
The right-hander did make things interesting by putting two on in the ninth, but he coaxed a groundout of pinch hitter Martin Maldonado to end the game. Ziegler ended with one inning of work, one hit and one strikeout and the save, his second of the season.
Starter Wade Miley finished with a nice line of eight innings of work, eight hits, three earned runs and four strikeouts, but he didn’t look so good at first. Arizona got behind early when Miley gave up a two-run homer to Jonathan Lucroy in the first inning and another solo home run in the third by Carlos Gomez. Through 2.2 innings, he had given up seven hits, but from there he retired 13 straight. Miley also earned the win for his sixth of the season.
As for Arizona’s offense, the big hit came off of Jim Henderson in the eighth. Henderson walked Adam Eaton, Paul Goldschmidt (intentionally) and Jason Kubel to load the bases, and that’s when Martin Prado knocked in two with a single to give the D-backs the lead and eventually the win.
The Good:
Wade Miley won back-to-back starts for the first time since early April. His eight innings tied a career-high. He’s also allowed three earned runs or less in eight straight starts since June 5.
Ziegler recorded his 21st career save. At Chase Field, 12 of his last 13 appearances have been scoreless, with a .075 ERA and one earned run in 12 innings pitched
The Bad:
The Diamondbacks didn’t gain any ground on the Dodgers Thursday night despite the win because L.A. beat the Rockies 6-1. Arizona remains 1.5 games ahead in the NL West.
Noted:
-Paul Goldschmidt was on base four times Thursday with three walks and a single. He now has an eight-game hitting streak.
-The D-backs have now recorded an extra-base hit in 76 straight games. That’s the fifth longest streak in team history.
He Said It:
“Third or fourth inning, I don’t know, I just wasn’t loose. I wasn’t able to really establish in, so everything, I was having to live away and Miggy saw that early and we started going changeup, a lot more off-speed pitches just trying to get guys out. Everybody knows what happened [Tuesday] night and I just wanted to go as deep as possible. Fortunately started feeling better as the game went on and got in a little better rhythm and I was able to get through eight.” —Starter Wade Miley on getting on track after the third inning.
Up Next:
The D-backs and Brewers play game two of this four game series Friday night. Lefty Patrick Corbin will try for his eleventh win of the season and lefty Tom Gorzelanny will go for Milwaukee. Corbin comes into the game with a 2.40 ERA and he’s 6-0 with a 1.56 ERA in nine starts at home. First pitch is at 6:40 p.m. on Arizona Sports 620.
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