Cincy Sporting News » Arizona Diamondbacks

Bruce hits 2 HRs, Reds beat Diamondbacks 7-2

admin — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 13:00:17 +0000

Associated Press

Jay Bruce returned from a two-week layoff and homered in each of his first two at-bats Monday night. Bruce missed the last two weeks because of a strained abdomen.

CINCINNATI — No one can call the Cincinnati Reds losers anymore.

Jay Bruce returned from a two-week layoff and homered in each of his first two at-bats Monday night, and the Reds went deep five times in all during a 7-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks that secured their first winning season since 2000.

The Reds’ nine-year streak of losing seasons was their longest in a half-century. The last time they finished above .500, Ken Griffey Jr. was in his first season with his hometown team.

“I don’t know if it means a lot to this group of guys,” starter Bronson Arroyo said. “We weren’t around for all the hard times. We’re a young team. For the organization and the city, it’s got to be satisfying.”

With each win, the NL Central leaders close in on another breakthrough — their first playoff appearance since 1995. They moved seven games ahead of second-place St. Louis, which lost to the Cubs 5-1.

“Winning the division is the next step,” manager Dusty Baker said. “The next step is the playoffs. We’ve got one step out of the way. There’s three or four more to go.”

They’re starting to get some of their injured players back along the way.

Bruce missed the last two weeks because of a strained abdomen. He hit a solo homer and a two-run shot off Barry Enright (6-4), and later added an RBI single.

When he got to the dugout after his second homer, catcher Ramon Hernandez had a question.

“He said, ‘That easy, huh?’ ” Bruce said. “I said, ‘No, it’s not that easy.’ ”

The Reds made it look easy all-around. Drew Stubbs, Joey Votto and Orlando Cabrera added solo homers. Arroyo (15-10) gave up a pair of solo shots in six innings while reaching 15 wins for the third straight season.

Miguel Montero and Ryan Church hit back-to-back homers in the second inning. Arroyo gave up seven hits overall and struck out a season-high eight even though he felt tired.

“The velocity was way down on my fastball,” said Arroyo, who was clocked around 84 mph. “You don’t have your zip sometimes.”

Cincinnati sold only 12,061 tickets — its smallest crowd this season — for the breakthrough win.

The Reds took two of three last weekend from Pittsburgh despite big problems in the bullpen, which blew three save chances and set up a pair of extra-inning games. The home run barrage prevented any late drama this time.

Arizona fell to 0-4 this season against Cincinnati. The Diamondbacks have lost eight of their last nine overall.

The Reds made a trade before the game to help their injury-thinned outfield, acquiring Willie Bloomquist from the Royals. Bloomquist will join the team on Tuesday.

Cincinnati played the weekend series against Pittsburgh with only two fully healthy experienced outfielders — Jonny Gomes in left and Stubbs in center. Bruce was originally out of Monday’s lineup, but Baker changed his mind because outfielder Chris Heisey was sore.

Bruce reassured Baker that he felt fine.

Better than fine, as it turned out.

“That was more than we could ask for right there,” Baker said. “It was a big day for Jay. It was a big day for us. We needed that badly.”

Bruce hit the fifth pitch he saw into the seats in right field, picking up his power surge. The outfielder was working on a stretch of five homers in four games when he pulled an abdominal muscle during batting practice on Aug. 31, forcing him from the lineup.

In his next at-bat, Bruce hit a two-run shot off Enright, who hadn’t allowed more than two homers in any of his other 13 starts during his debut season. Enright gave up seven hits and five runs in only three innings, by far his shortest start so far.

“Balls were middle-up and my breaking ball was flat,” he said.

Game notes

Diamondbacks 3B Mark Reynolds got a day of rest. He has a sore hand and is in an 0-for-23 slump. … Arizona called up C Konrad Schmidt, who batted .315 at Double-A Mobile. … Diamondbacks pinch-hitter Rusty Ryal fouled off 10 pitches with two strikes against LHP Bill Bray. He eventually struck out on the 16th pitch. … It was Bruce’s 19th multihomer game, his fourth this season. He hit three in a 7-1 win over the Cubs on Aug. 27 at Great American Ball Park. … Reds reliever Jordan Smith was ejected by plate umpire John Hirschbeck for complaining about ball-and-strike calls as he left the field. … Brandon Phillips ended an 0-for-15 slump with a single in the eighth.

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D’backs acquire right-handed reliever from Indians

admin — Tue, 18 May 2010 00:36:47 +0000

Associated Press

PHOENIX—The Arizona Diamondbacks have acquired right-handed reliever Saul Rivera from the Cleveland Indians in exchange for cash considerations.

Saul Rivera

Rivera was 2-0 with four saves and a 0.53 ERA during 15 relief appearances for Triple-A Columbus. He was signed by the Indians to a minor league contract on Dec. 21.

Rivera has played part of 13 seasons professionally, including four seasons with the Washington Nationals from 2006-09.

The Diamondbacks on Monday also released right-hander Bob Howry. The 36-year-old Howry went 1-0 with a 10.67 ERA in 14 relief appearances for Arizona this season.

Arizona has by far the worst bullpen statistically in the major leagues.

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Diamondbacks 0, Indians 2

admin — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 23:57:54 +0000

Associated Press

Fausto Carmona struck out three over seven scoreless innings and the Cleveland Indians beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 2-0 Saturday

GOODYEAR, Ariz. — Ian Kennedy has impressed his manager enough to earn a spot in the Arizona Diamondbacks‘ rotation.

Kennedy allowed two runs, including a solo homer to Grady Sizemore, over six innings, but the Cleveland Indians, behind Fausto Carmona‘s seven scoreless innings, beat the Diamondbacks 2-0 on Saturday.

“We penciled him in (to start), but wanted him to win the job,” Diamondbacks manager A.J. Hinch said. “He’s showed that he’s ready.”

The right-hander, acquired from the New York Yankees in a three-team trade, gave up five hits and struck out three.

Kennedy has a 2.79 ERA in five starts covering 19 1/3 innings with four walks and 13 strikeouts.

Carmona has been even more impressive. A 19-game winner in 2007 who struggled so badly in 2009 that he was sent to the minors, he is 3-0 with an 0.45 ERA.

“Amazing things will happen if he attacks the strike zone like this,” Indians manager Manny Acta said. “He threw only 70 pitches, so he went to the bullpen for 15 more.”

Carmona struck out three without a walk, allowing three hits.

“I threw a lot of four-seam fastballs, used the slider early and had a good changeup,” said the 26-year-old, adding that he has moved slightly to the first-base side of the pitcher’s rubber to start his delivery.

Catcher Mike Redmond said that’s only one of a few adjustments made against Arizona’s lineup that featured seven left-handed batters.

“This was a good test for him because in our division (AL Central), there are so many lefties,” Redmond said. “I learned a lot, too, on what he can do to be effective against them.

“He wants to be a great pitcher. He has the stuff to do it and works hard,” Redmond said. “My job is to stay on him to not try and do too much.”

A year ago, Carmona tried harder and harder as losses mounted. He went 5-12 with a 6.32 ERA and spent seven weeks in the minors. Much of that time was spent with mental skills coordinator Julio Rangel on pre-pitch preparation.

“I don’t think about last year anymore,” Carmona said. “That’s negative. I want to stay aggressive, focused on this year. I am ready for the season now.”

Carmona will have one more spring start, Thursday night at Dodger Stadium.

Sizemore and Jhonny Peralta each went 2 for 3 for the Indians. Travis Hafner drove in Cleveland’s second run with a sixth-inning sacrifice fly.

Game notes
Diamondbacks SS Stephen Drew went 1 for 3, and is hitting .419. He turned a soft hit to left-center into a double. … OF A.J. Pollock, the Diamondbacks’ first-round pick in 2009, had surgery on a broken right elbow. … Sizemore, who had abdominal and left elbow surgery in September, is hitting .393 with two homers and 10 RBIs. He has reached base safely in 13 of his last 19 plate appearances — eight hits and five walks. … Not much keeps Hall of Famer Bob Feller from signing autographs throughout every Indians home game in spring training, but the 91-year-old took a proud pause to watch the U.S. Navy Leap Frogs parachute into the ballpark before the game. Feller served four years in the Navy during World War II.

Reds 13, Diamondbacks 7

admin — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 15:28:34 +0000

Associated Press

Cincinnati Reds' Miguel Cairo, right, is congratulated in the dugout after scoring in the fifth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks in a Cactus League spring training baseball game in Tucson, Ariz., on Tuesday, March 16, 2010.

TUCSON, Ariz. — Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Edwin Jackson wasn’t his usual sharp self in a 13-7 loss to the Cincinnati Reds.

But that wasn’t a concern this early in spring training for the right-hander, who is expected to be the Diamondbacks’ No. 2 starter.

He allowed seven runs and six hits in 2 1/3 innings. He gave up a solo home run to Jay Bruce, walked two, struck out none and threw a wild pitch during a blustery afternoon at Tucson Electric Park. The wind at game time was 19 mph.

“Probably rushing a little bit. I didn’t really have a feel for any pitch. That’s never a good thing when you never establish a feel for any pitch,” said Jackson, who is 0-1 with an 8.59 ERA. “Couple balls up. They put them in play.”

Asked if it was a concern, Jackson smiled.

“If it was a concern for me right now, we’d have big problems,” he said. “If one outing was a concern, (manager) A.J. (Hinch) would need to pull me into his office and have a nice little talk with me.”

“I’ve had plenty outings where you come in and it wasn’t what you wanted to do,” he added. “All you can do is go back and analyze the situation and go from there.”

He said he was still able to get his work in. And he is healthy.

Hinch said Jackson, who joined the Diamondbacks in December from the Detroit Tigers, just had an off day.

“It looked like he had a hard time gripping the ball,” Hinch said.

“Everything from the get-go, he was fast with his delivery, had a lot of velocity coming out, but his command was off. He was a little jumpy off the rubber.”

For the Reds, starter Johnny Cueto allowed two runs in 3 2/3 innings. He struck out one and walked one.

Drew Stubbs entered the game hitting 2 for 20, but went 2 for 3 with a double and triple and two RBIs to improve his average to .174.

“Just putting together quality at-bats,” he said. “It’s all I’m concerned about.”

Bruce went 2 for 3 with two RBIs and his second homer of the spring. He is batting .391.

It was the Reds’ first trip to Tucson since the team moved to its spring complex in Goodyear. The Reds will also travel to Tucson on March 25 to play the Colorado Rockies.

Diamondbacks 10, Reds 4

admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:13:52 +0000

Associated Press

GOODYEAR, AZ - MARCH 09: Justin Upton #10 of the Arizona Diamondbacks at bat during a Spring Training game against the Cincinnati Reds on March 9, 2010 at Goodyear Ballpark in Goodyear, Arizona.

GOODYEAR, Ariz. (AP) — Justin Upton hit a two-run homer, and the Arizona Diamondbacks roughed up right-hander Aaron Harang in his first spring training start on Tuesday, pulling away to a 10-4 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.

Upton got a six-year, $51.25 million deal – the second-largest in franchise history – last week. The 22-year-old outfielder singled home a run and had a two-run shot off Matt Maloney, who is competing for the Reds’ fifth starter role.

Harang, already picked to start his fifth straight season opener, lasted only 1 1-3 innings. He gave up four hits, including three doubles, and walked one, allowing three runs overall.

The right-hander is coming off two tough seasons. He went 6-17 in 2008 and was 6-14 last season, when he needed an emergency appendectomy in August. At the recommendation of pitching coach Bryan Price, Harang has been trying to shorten his stride to the plate this spring.

“It’s still early on, so I’m not worried about it,” Harang said. “There is still some fine-tuning. I’ve pitched a certain way for a long time. If you watch tape from the last two years, you can see I’ve increased my stride six or seven inches from what it was.”

When spring training began, manager Dusty Baker was noncommittal about whether Harang would start a fifth straight season opener. He has since decided to stay with Harang.

“The ball was coming out of Aaron’s hand real nice today,” Baker said. “He got two strikes on almost everybody but couldn’t put them away. He threw 50 pitches in a short period of time.”

Diamondbacks starter Billy Buckner went three innings and gave up solo homers by Jay Bruce and Ryan Hanigan. Bruce also singled, raising his spring average to .500. The outfielder missed two months last season with a broken wrist.

Buckner made 13 starts last season and is trying to win a spot in the rotation. Hanigan’s homer appeared to be wind-blown.

“I thought Buckner threw the ball well for the most part,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “He got a couple balls up a little bit. It was somewhat tough conditions for him, but he persevered. It was important to get him three innings. He’s really, really focused on competing for this job. This is one of the first real opportunities to break into the big leagues.”

NOTES: Arizona’s Brandon Webb played catch again on Tuesday. Webb is coming back from shoulder surgery in August. “We have to see how he recovers,” Hinch said. “We have to let him do a couple of days of long toss.” If Webb comes through the throwing sessions without problem, he will then try throwing off a mound. … Reds LH Bill Bray, who is recovering from reconstructive elbow surgery, threw 25 pitches to minor leaguers during batting practice. … The Reds added a “B” game against Cleveland on Sunday morning to get their pitchers some work.