The Skinny: Brandon Webb returned to his old form, slinging 8 scoreless innings, allowing only 5 hits on Friday night. But Webb then had to white-knuckle it in the dugout as the Diamondbacks’ bullpen made things interesting before holding on for a 3-2 win over Cincinnati, breaking a 6-game losing skid.
Chris Young gave the Diamondbacks the lead with an rbi single scoring David Eckstein in the 6th inning. Arizona tacked on two more in the 8th when Reds’ reliever Bill Bray walked Adam Dunn with the bases loaded, and Mike Lincoln uncorked a wild pitch also with the bases loaded that allowed Eckstein to score to make it 3-0. The D-Backs would need every one of those runs.
Brandon Lyon, who has registered only 2 saves in a month came on to work the 9th, and once again made it an adventure. Lyon got Joey Votto to fly out to right to begin the 9th, but then Edwin Encarnacion singled to center. Lyon registered the second out by fanning Jay Bruce. Pinch-hitter Javier Valentin singled pushing Encarnacion up to second. Corey Patterson got on via an infield single to load the bases for Jeff Keppinger, who pinch hit for catcher Paul Bako. Keppinger singled to right, scoring two and making it 3-2 Diamondbacks. That would end the night for Lyon, who was replaced by the resurgent Chad Qualls. Qualls struck out pinch-hitter Jerry Hairston Jr. to end the game and notch his 3rd save of the season.
More on Webb: Webb gets his 20th win on his 4th attempt to reach the milestone. He is only the third pitcher in Diamondbacks’ history to win 20 in a season, joining teammate Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling, who each did it twice. He also joins Cleveland’s Cliff Lee as the only 20 game winners in the majors this season. Lee improved his record to 22-2 this season with a 12-5 win over Kansas City.
Offensive woes continue: The Diamondbacks won despite only getting 5 hits, and missing a big opportunity to blow the game wide open in the 8th. Arizona had the bases loaded with one out, and scored two runs without the benefit of a hit. They got offense from a bases loaded walk and a wild pitch with the bases loaded.
Repercussions: The Diamondbacks won, but failed to pick up ground on the red-hot Los Angeles Dodgers, who beat Colorado 7-3 in Denver on Friday. The Diamondbacks remain 3.5 games out of first place, while Colorado’s loss all but eliminates them from playoff contention. The Rockies are now 9.5 games out of first.
Here’s what others are saying about Brandon Webb’s 20th win of the season…
The series continues Saturday at Chase Field as Randy Johnson goes to the hill for the Diamondbacks opposed by Cincinnati ace Edinson Volquez. First pitch is at 5:10 in downtown Phoenix.
