D-Backs fight back for 6-5 win in front of sparse crowd at Chase

Before Monday night’s game between the Diamondbacks and the Padres, I joked via Twitter that it may have been friends and family night at Chase Field.

Turns out, the attendance of 17,528 at Chase Field was the 2nd lowest in team history. The smallest crowd ever was on April 26, 2007 when 16,792 turned out to watch the Diamondbacks beat the Padres 7-4. And it turns out, those who stayed home missed a pretty entertaining game.

Mark Reynolds singled in Justin Upton with the winning run with 2 outs in the 9th, giving the D-Backs a 6-5 walkoff win.

Chad Tracy’s pinch-hit solo home run off of San Diego reliever Luke Gregorson in the 8th tied the game at 5 apiece. It was Tracy’s 5th home run of the year, and 4th career pinch hit shot. The Diamondbacks had pulled to within 1 earlier in the 8th when Gerardo Parra plated Miguel Montero with an rbi single.

Arizona struck first in the first when Justin Upton’s sac fly scored Felipe Lopez. San Diego answered with 2 in the 2nd. Upton then gave the D-Backs the lead again with a 2-run blast off of Padres’ starter Walter Silva. The blast snapped an 0 for 18 drought for Upton.

The Padres tied it in the 5th when their All-Star first baseman Adrian Gonzalez drove in Everth Cabrera with an rbi single. Kouzmanoff’s rbi double gave San Diego the lead in the 7th, and the Padres tacked on another run in the 8th. After stealing second, Cabrera then stole third and scored as Miguel Montero’s throw sailed into left field to make it 5-3.

Arizona fought back in the 8th on an rbi single by Gerardo Parra, which set the stage for Tracy’s game-tying solo shot.

The Diamondbacks won their 3rd straight, the first time they’ve accomplished that since May 20th through the 24th when they notched a season-high 4 straight victories over Florida and Oakland.

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The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

The Good

• This team is showing some fight for the first time in a long time. For the third straight day, the Diamondbacks have fought back from deficits to win, and Mark Reynolds, who was vocal in his criticism of Arizona’s recent play on Friday, has been at the center of all 3 victories.
• Jon Garland. The lanky right hander didn’t get a win tonight, but he did notch a quality start, allowing just 3 runs over 6 innings. For someone who has struggled at Chase Field as badly as Garland has this year, Monday’s performance was a good sign.

The Bad

• Sloppiness. Despite the win, the Diamondbacks were a little careless again on Monday, committing two errors while Arizona pitchers uncorked 2 wild pitches.

The Ugly

• The attendance. There’s a lot of factors contributing to Monday night’s figure of 17,528, the 2nd smallest in Diamondbacks’ history. The Padres aren’t a big draw…it’s the middle of summer and families are on vacation…the economy is still tight…oh, and the Diamondbacks were 19 games out of first entering tonight’s action. Hopefully, the recent upswing in the D-Backs’ play will equal more fans pouring through the turnstiles for the remaining 6 games on this homestand.

Highlights from ESPN/Fox Sports Arizona

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