Pollock, De La Rosa buoy Diamondbacks in Friday night’s win: By the Numbers
Aug 21, 2015, 7:56 PM
Arizona Diamondbacks' A.J. Pollock, right, is congratulated by third base coach Andy Green on a solo home run off Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher David Holmberg during the first inning of a baseball game, Friday, Aug. 21, 2015, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Gary Landers)
(AP Photo/Gary Landers)
After engineering a come-from-behind victory Thursday night in Cincinnati, the Arizona Diamondbacks were able to successfully evade any such drama Friday night at Great American Ball Park, downing the Reds the 6-3 to creep within one win of .500.
Just like Thursday, Friday’s star of the night was D-backs center fielder A.J. Pollock, who notched his second straight four-hit game to help lead Arizona to victory. His first inning solo home run drew first blood for the D-backs, getting momentum rolling before the team took a commanding 5-0 lead following a four-run fourth inning thanks to a solo home run from right fielder Yasmany Tomas, a sacrifice fly by left fielder Ender Inciarte and a two-run single from catcher Welington Castillo.
Cincinnati wouldn’t go down without a fight, however, as the Reds scored a run in the sixth, seventh and eighth inning, putting enough pressure on the D-backs that an insurance run or two would be needed to in order to allow the guys in Sedona Red and black a bit more breathing room.
Arizona would get that insurance run courtesy of a sacrifice fly from second baseman Aaron Hill in the top of the ninth, plating Pollock to make it 6-3 in favor of the D-backs before giving way to closer Brad Ziegler, who would earn his 23rd save of the season.
Below, we take a look at the D-backs’ 60th win of the season, by the numbers.
30
After his double in the fourth inning, Pollock became the first player in Major League Baseball this season to register 30 doubles and 30 stolen bases. Coming up a triple short of the cycle, Pollock was a thorn in Cincinnati’s side all night long, finishing the game 4-for-5 with a double, two stolen bases and a solo home run.
A.J. Pollock picks up right where he left off: http://t.co/r9aOLqgMvK pic.twitter.com/6DbO9QpQje
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) August 21, 2015
5-0
De La Rosa extended his post-All-Star break undefeated streak to 5-0 after pitching seven solid innings surrendering seven hits and ceding two earned runs versus the Reds. Over that span, De La Rosa has posted a 2.54 ERA and is only one of three pitchers in the National League to start the second half of the season 4-0 or better, joining Dodgers starters Zack Greinke and Clayton Kershaw.
21
Coming on to slam the door in the ninth inning, Ziegler made quick work of the Reds, converting his 21st straight save opportunity this season.
.317
Including Friday night’s 1-for-5 outing, which featured a solo home run in the fourth inning, Tomas is batting .325 (13-for-41) with one double, two home runs and four RBI over his last 11 games. Tomas also entered the game leading all National League rookies with 33 multi-hit games this season.
Adiós, béisbol: http://t.co/CIDfVWwg4T pic.twitter.com/OXa2Giank1
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) August 22, 2015
19
With two RBI versus the Reds Friday night, Castillo has averaged exactly one RBI over his last 19 games in the D-backs lineup. The 28-year-old backstop has also recorded two doubles, one triple and eight home runs over that stretch.
9
Each of the last nine games between the D-backs and Reds have been decided by three runs or less.
