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September 6, 2012

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Cahill excels as D-backs subdue Giants By Steve Gilbert / MLB.com http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2012_09_05_arimlb_sfnmlb_1&mode=recap&c_id=ari Cashner back from DL to face D-backs at Petco By Tyler Emerick / MLB.com http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2012_09_07_arimlb_sdnmlb_1&mode=preview Eaton getting comfortable in big leagues By Steve Gilbert / MLB.com | 09/05/12 10:41 PM ET http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120905&content_id=37957288&notebook_id=37967022&vkey=notebook_ari&c_id=ari Arizona Diamondbacks' Trevor Cahill flirts with a no-hitter in win against San Francisco Giants By Nick Piecoro / The Arizona Republic http://www.azcentral.com/sports/diamondbacks/articles/20120905arizona-diamondbacks-trevor-cahill-flirts-no-hitter-san-francisco-giants.html Eaton overlooked; tempers flare; & other stuff By Nick Piecoro / The Arizona Republic http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/NickPiecoro/171414 Arizona Diamondbacks' Brad Ziegler recalls line-drive scare from '04 season By Nick Piecoro / The Arizona Republic http://www.azcentral.com/sports/diamondbacks/articles/20120905arizona-diamondbacks-brad-ziegler-recalls-line-drive-scare-brandon-mccarthy.html San Francisco Giants pose all-around threat this season By Nick Piecoro / The Arizona Republic http://www.azcentral.com/sports/diamondbacks/articles/20120905san-francisco-giants-pose-all-around-threat-2012-season.html Cahill takes no-hit bid into 7th, D-backs top SF By The Associated Press http://hosted2.ap.org/azmes/b62a75b5f70e4dbdbd19c982186da1a6/article_2012-09-06-diamondbacks-giants/id-9548ddd39afa4ff6bd2ba823f4915767 Giants rally falls short in 6-2 loss to D-backs By The Associated Press http://hosted2.ap.org/azmes/b62a75b5f70e4dbdbd19c982186da1a6/article_2012-09-06-bbn-giants/id-daa8f3a2e87d4351b3f96a36fd0752cd Cahill carries no-hitter into 7th for D-backs By The Associated Press http://hosted2.ap.org/azmes/b62a75b5f70e4dbdbd19c982186da1a6/article_2012-09-06-diamondbacks-giants/id-6fb16f69a25a481eb5f2f2940f542f8f Does Adam Eaton make Chris Young expendable? By José Youngs / ArizonaSports.com http://arizonasports.com/42/1573379/Does-Adam-Eaton-make-Chris-Young-expendable A closer look: Cahill, D-backs defeat Giants to win series By Daria Del Colliano / ArizonaSports.com http://arizonasports.com/42/1573243/A-closer-look-Cahill-Dbacks-defeat-Giants-to-win-series

NL Rookie of the Year: Wade Miley's competition By ArizonaSports.com http://arizonasports.com/42/1572868/NL-Rookie-of-the-Year-Wade-Mileys-competition Giants' Sandoval, D'backs' McDonald Scuffle In San Francisco By Al Yellon / SBNation.com http://mlb.sbnation.com/2012/9/6/3296347/pablo-sandoval-john-mcdonald-scuffle-video-san-francisco-giants-diamondbacks-news New prospect rankings released; D-backs are No. 3 By Steve Gilbert / MLB.com http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120906&content_id=37994350&vkey=news_ari&c_id=ari

Arizona's Cahill Toys With No-Hitter By The Sports Xchange http://www.thedenverchannel.com/sports/31415900/detail.html News Headline: Eaton promoted to major leagues By Dayton Daily News - Online Cahill, D’backs tame Giants, 6-2 By The San Francisco Chronicle http://www.sfgate.com/giants/slideshow/Cahill-D-backs-tame-Giants-6-2-48555.php Giants going with hot bat in left field By Jay Lee / MLB.com http://sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120905&content_id=37956946&notebook_id=37964144&vkey=notebook_sf&c_id=sf

Aces Take Game 1 Over Sacramento By Reno Aces http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120906&content_id=37979974&vkey=news_t2310&fext=.jsp&sid=t2310 Reno Aces notes: Adam Eaton leaves big void in lineup By The Reno Gazette-Journal http://www.rgj.com/article/20120906/SPORTS03/309060017/1018 Aces again get playoff jump on River Cats By Matt Kawahara / The Sacramento Bee http://www.sacbee.com/2012/09/06/4792109/aces-again-get-playoff-jump-on.html

BayBears Announce Bennett as General Manager By Mobile BayBears http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120906&content_id=37990176&vkey=news_t417&fext=.jsp&sid=t417

Rawhide Select Jennifer Pendergraft as New General Manager By Visalia Rawhide

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http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120905&content_id=37932408&vkey=news_t516&fext=.jsp&sid=t516

Town Hall Meeting scheduled By South Bend Silverhawks http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120904&content_id=37867798&vkey=news_t550&fext=.jsp&sid=t550

Boise 3, Yakima 2 By John Hadden / Yakima Bears http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120906&content_id=37979212&vkey=news_t419&fext=.jsp&sid=t419

Glenn walk-off HR lifts O's to win By Missoula Osprey http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120906&content_id=37988542&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&sid=t518 Osprey walk-off keeps pennant hopes alive By The Missoulian http://missoulian.com/sports/osprey/osprey-walk-off-keeps-pennant-hopes-alive/article_9c1bc0ac-f7d7-11e1-b9df-0019bb2963f4.html

September 5, 2012 • MLB.com

http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/mlb_news_index.jsp

September 5, 2012 • Sports.yahoo.com

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/morenews

September 5, 2012 • MLB.com http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/transactions

September 5, 2012 • USA Today http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/alnotes.htm

September 5, 2012 • USA Today http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/nlnotes.htm

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Cahill excels as D-backs subdue Giants By Steve Gilbert / MLB.com http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2012_09_05_arimlb_sfnmlb_1&mode=recap&c_id=ari SAN FRANCISCO -- Trevor Cahill flirted with a no-hitter for six innings. The D-backs right-hander did not wind up with the no-no, but his team did get the 6-2 win over the Giants on Wednesday night. With the win, the D-backs captured two of three games in the series and are 4-3 on their current road trip, which continues with Friday's opener of a three-game series vs. the Padres. The D-backs suffered two tough losses to finish up their series with the Dodgers and then blew a ninth-inning lead against the Giants on Monday. That made their two wins to wrap things up feel even better. "I think we have some character and we have some grit," D-backs manager Kirk Gibson said. "The frustrating thing is you could look back and we probably could have won every game we played [on this trip]. Give them credit for not dialing out, staying intense, played a very good game, bats came alive, pitching's been good." Cahill's pitching was really good, especially for the first six innings as he kept the sellout crowd at AT&T Park quiet while he was just a sixth-inning walk away from being perfect. "My bullpen [session] wasn't that great," Cahill said. "Usually pitchers always joke when you feel bad in the bullpen, you always feel better in the game. When you are really good in the bullpen, you're like, 'Uh oh.' I felt good early on; I was just trying to throw strikes. The defense was good behind me, and I was just trying to let them put it in play, just trying to work down in the zone. That was just kind of the game plan." So when did he realize that he had a no-hitter working? "I have no idea," Cahill said. "You think about it all the time, I guess, but it's mostly I felt like the first time through, I thought, 'I'm feeling good, I'm working down in the zone and they're putting the ball in play for ground-ball outs.' After that, your adrenaline gets up and I was maybe trying to do too much at the end and just kind of got a little bit tired." Rookie center fielder Adam Eaton kept the no-no alive when he made a diving catch in left-center on Angel Pagan's liner to end the sixth. That, though, was a sign to Gibson that maybe Cahill had too much adrenaline going or was simply getting tired. "As the game went on, you saw there in the sixth inning when Eaton made the catch, some balls started to get elevated, so you could tell he was getting balls up a little bit," Gibson said. The no-hitter came to an end when Marco Scutaro led off the seventh with a sharp single to right. Cahill (10-11) ended up lasting 6 1/3 innings while allowing two runs on two hits. "Good effort, great game for us," Gibson said. By that point, the D-backs had built a 6-0 lead against Madison Bumgarner and a pair of relievers. Arizona scored single runs in the first and fourth innings before breaking out for four in the seventh. Three of the four runs in the inning came after two outs thanks to an RBI single by Paul Goldschmidt and a two-run double by Chris Johnson.

"It was a good series," Gibson said. "It was a very volatile environment, very intense, very spirited tonight. These guys certainly bring out the best in you." After the Giants scored a pair of runs in the seventh, tempers flared in the top of the eighth. Eaton hit a grounder to first base that Brandon Belt fielded and tossed to Pablo Sandoval to force out John McDonald at third. Sandoval was a little in front of the bag when he fielded the throw, so rather than step on the base, he went to tag McDonald. McDonald appeared to stumble heading into third and made contact with Sandoval. McDonald fell to the ground in foul territory, and when he got up, Sandoval went over and bumped him with his chest. Both benches emptied, but after some pushing and shoving, order was quickly restored. "I was trying to slide into third and he caught the ball in front of the bag and kind of took the slide away," McDonald said. "So I tried to go around him and I didn't make it. I tripped trying to go from sliding feet first to diving to go around him. I tripped and went right into him." Said Sandoval, "It's part of the game. It happens. Those moments, you don't think about it. I'm not that kind of guy. I don't like fights. I tried to calm myself down a little bit."

Cashner back from DL to face D-backs at Petco By Tyler Emerick / MLB.com http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2012_09_07_arimlb_sdnmlb_1&mode=preview The last time Padres right-hander Andrew Cashner faced a highly touted D-backs pitching prospect, he left after just two innings with a shoulder injury, forcing him to spend upward of two months on the shelf. Now healthy again, Cashner will make his first appearance for the Padres on Friday since July 3 when he went up against Trevor Bauer. This time, however, the San Diego power arm will go up against a different D-backs young gun, Tyler Skaggs, in the opener of a weekend set. Cashner started the season in the Padres' bullpen and posted a 3.81 ERA in 27 games. He later moved into the starting rotation where he had a 2.53 ERA in three starts before the injury. In his most recent Minor League rehab outing, the 25-year-old allowed three runs on four hits over 56 pitches. "I'm ready to go," Cashner said. "I got my three rehabilitation outings in and felt good. I worked on some stuff, getting strike one, following it up with strike two, going after hitters early in the count." On the other side, Skaggs will be looking to continue his hot start to the big league life. In his first three starts with the D-backs, the 21-year-old has allowed just five earned runs over 17 1/3 innings. He took a no-decision in his last outing, giving up one run on five hits over five runs against the Dodgers. After attending plenty of games at Dodger Stadium as a kid, pitching in Los Angeles was a big thrill for the rookie, who had family and friends in attendance. "It was unbelievable," Skaggs said after the game. "Exciting. It's nice to know you have people in the L.A. crowd rooting for you, so it was fun. When I was warming up in the bullpen, I had a lot of friends watching me."

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Padres: Volquez's next start pushed back Pitcher Edinson Volquez will have his scheduled start on Saturday pushed back until Tuesday due to a troublesome blister on his right thumb. San Diego manager Bud Black said before Wednesday's game that rookies Casey Kelly and Andrew Werner will pitch Saturday and Sunday, respectively, against the D-backs at Petco Park. Volquez, who has had issues recently with the blister, will have his start pushed back three days when the Padres play host to the Cardinals. "It's been troubling him over his last few starts, so we felt it was time to let it heal," Black said. D-backs: Hill close to third cycle Infielder Aaron Hill was one swing away from history Tuesday night as he needed a triple to record his third cycle of the season. Hitting for the cycle is an accomplishment in and of itself, but had Hill found a way to triple in one of his final three plate appearances, he would have become the first player in Major League history to hit three cycles in a season. As it is, Hill's two cycles put him in a very small group. The only other player to hit two cycles in the same season since 1900 was Babe Herman, who accomplished it in 1931. Hill legged out an infield single, was walked intentionally and singled to left-center in his final three trips to the plate. "Hopefully I'll get another shot at it," Hill said. "You just go up there and try to find a pitch to hit, and if it happens to be the one that completes a cycle, that's awesome, but if you get any kind of hit, it's awesome." Worth noting • The Padres have won six straight games against the D-backs. • D-backs reliever Brad Ziegler has held opponents scoreless in 14 of his last 16 road games.

Eaton getting comfortable in big leagues By Steve Gilbert / MLB.com | 09/05/12 10:41 PM ET http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120905&content_id=37957288&notebook_id=37967022&vkey=notebook_ari&c_id=ari SAN FRANCISCO -- The text messages started rolling in to D-backs outfielder Adam Eaton's phone Tuesday when word of his promotion started trickling out, and they have not stopped yet. "I've heard from tons of people," Eaton said. "It's very humbling." Eaton picked up a couple of hits in his Major League debut Tuesday night, and while the ball from his first hit, off the Giants' Ryan Vogelsong, is safely tucked away, his teammates did have some fun with him. They took a different ball and wrote on it: "First Major League hit, bloop double off Ryan Volkswagon." Eaton dove for a ball in the first inning that he did not even come close to, and by the end of the game, his teammates had a screenshot of the play printed out and on the door leading out of the clubhouse. The caption said, "I think I can, I think I can. Nope."

"It's always nice to get ragged on," Eaton said. "It's fun; I enjoy it." Tuesday was the 151st consecutive sellout at AT&T Park, and Eaton had never played in front of that many people. On Wednesday, he figured to be more at ease out there. "It's a little more comforting," he said. "I know what to expect a little more. All 41,000 seemed like they wanted to kill me. It was a fun experience. I think it was a baptism-by-fire type thing. I enjoyed it, it was fun and I'm looking forward to it tonight." Hill not dwelling on just missing third cycle SAN FRANCISCO -- D-backs infielder Aaron Hill was one swing away from history Tuesday night. In his first three at-bats against the Giants, Hill had a double, single and home run, which left him just a triple away from hitting for the cycle. Hitting for the cycle is an accomplishment in and of itself, but had Hill found a way to triple in one of his final three plate appearances, he would have become the first player in Major League history to hit three cycles in a season. As it is, Hill's two cycles put him in a very small group. The only other player to hit two cycles in the same season since 1900 was Babe Herman, who accomplished it in 1931. D-backs manager Kirk Gibson said the dugout was abuzz about the possibility of Hill doing it again, but Hill does not like to focus on it. Hill legged out an infield single, was walked intentionally and singled to left-center in his final three trips to the plate. "Hopefully I'll get another shot at it," Hill said. "You just go up there and try to find a pitch to hit, and if it happens to be the one that completes a cycle, that's awesome, but if you get any kind of hit, it's awesome." Kennedy having trouble with containing homers SAN FRANCISCO -- The home runs keep piling up for D-backs right-hander Ian Kennedy. Kennedy is tied with Joe Blanton for the most homers allowed in the National League with 27. "Solo home runs, they're going to happen," Kennedy said. "I wish they didn't, but the two-run homer [Tuesday] night, especially after they scored one, those are the ones you try to avoid. It's not like I'm going out there trying to not give up homers because it's just going to happen." The two-run homer was hit by Brandon Belt, and it sailed into McCovey Cove beyond the right-field wall. "He did a really good job of hitting in keeping that fair, but I'm getting tired of saying that," Kennedy said. "I've said that a couple of times this year."

Arizona Diamondbacks' Trevor Cahill flirts with a no-hitter in win against San Francisco Giants By Nick Piecoro / The Arizona Republic http://www.azcentral.com/sports/diamondbacks/articles/20120905arizona-diamondbacks-trevor-cahill-flirts-no-hitter-san-francisco-giants.html

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SAN FRANCISCO - On some nights, Trevor Cahill's sinker will dip and dive as if were burdened by weights. It can look like a ball for most of the 60 feet, 6 inches of ground it covers before it will suddenly -- and incredibly -- fall over the white of the plate for a strike. The pitch can bear an uncanny resemblance to the one former Diamondbacks pitcher Brandon Webb used to throw. And it can be nearly unhittable, which is precisely what it was on Wednesday night at AT&T Park. Cahill flirted with perfection and a no-hitter, but he had to settle for a 6-2 win, a game that gave the Diamondbacks what lately would qualify as a rare series victory. It's just the Diamondbacks' fourth win in their past 13 games and was their first series win since Aug. 17-19, when they swept the hapless Houston Astros. Cahill did not allow a baserunner for the first 51/3 innings, getting eight ground balls and five strikeouts as he retired the first 16 batters he faced before issuing a one-out walk to Brandon Crawford. He didn't allow a hit until the seventh, when Marco Scutaro led off by lining a clean single to right field. That broke up the no-hitter, but it would have ended sooner were it not for a tremendous play by the Diamondbacks' newest player, Adam Eaton. With Crawford on second, the Giants' Angel Pagan smoked a Cahill offering into center field. It looked like it would put the Giants on the board -- the Diamondbacks' lead was only 2-0 at the time -- but out of nowhere came Eaton to make a diving catch. A day after his teammates poked fun at him for an unsuccessful attempt at a diving catch in his major-league debut on Tuesday night, Eaton's lunging catch preserved Cahill's no-hitter and his shutout. Neither lasted much longer. After the Diamondbacks scored four times off Giants lefty Madison Bumgarner and reliever Jean Machi in the top of the seventh, Scutaro singled to start the bottom of the inning. Two batters later, Buster Posey hit a topper toward the mound that Cahill couldn't handle for the Giant's second hit. And after Cahill loaded the bases by walking Hunter Pence, Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson had seen enough. Lefty Mike Zagurski entered and gave up a two-run single to the Giants' Brandon Belt before wiggling out of further trouble by getting Ryan Theriot to bounce into an inning-ending double play. Things got even more interesting a half-inning later when the Giants' Pablo Sandoval and the Diamondbacks' John McDonald got tangled up at third base on a tag play. Sandoval tagged out McDonald, who tumbled into foul territory. Sandoval followed, clearly angry about something, and both benches emptied, though order was quickly restored before any punches were thrown. D-Backs 6, Giants 2 Recap: Right-hander Trevor Cahill took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and the Diamondbacks scored four runs off Giants lefty Madison Bumgarner as they defeated the San Francisco Giants 6-2 on Wednesday night at AT&T Park in San Francisco. Cahill's night: Cahill has had an inconsistent first season with the Diamondbacks, but he seemed to have his best sinker working against the Giants. He retired the first 16 batters he faced and didn't allow a hit until Marco Scutaro shot a single to right to open the seventh inning.

The Giants got their first baserunner in the sixth inning when Cahill walked Brandon Crawford on four pitches. Eaton's impact: Diamondbacks rookie Adam Eaton made his presence felt in his second career game. He singled to center and scored in the first inning and singled again in the seventh and scored again on Aaron Hill's double to left. Eaton also made an excellent defensive play in center field to keep Cahill's no-hitter alive in the sixth. With a runner on second, Giants outfielder Angel Pagan hit a hard liner into shallow center, where Eaton made a diving catch to take a hit away. Tempers flare: The benches emptied in the top of the eighth inning when Diamondbacks infielder John McDonald and Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval got into a skirmish at third base. Sandoval took a throw from first baseman Brandon Belt and went to apply a tag on McDonald, who was running hard into third base. The two collided and Sandoval began to go after McDonald, prompting the benches to empty. Only words, not punches, were exchanged.

Eaton overlooked; tempers flare; & other stuff By Nick Piecoro / The Arizona Republic http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/NickPiecoro/171414 Diamondbacks rookie Adam Eaton led all of minor league baseball in average, hits, doubles and runs scored. He was second in on-base, eighth in OPS and was named the Rookie of the Year and the Most Valuable Player of the Pacific Coast League. And he wasn‘t named Baseball America‘s Minor League Player of the Year this week. In fact, reporter J.J. Cooper said he wasn‘t even on the short list of candidates. Full disclosure: I don‘t really disagree with their selection. Kansas City Royals prospect Wil Myers didn‘t have a demonstrably better season than Eaton, but given what Baseball America is all about, his selection as their POY makes perfect sense. ―The best way I can put it is, it‘s a sliding scale,‖ Cooper said Wednesday over the phone. ―If the best prospect in the game has one of the top two seasons in the minors, that guy is probably going to win it. If a guy we think is a solid prospect, say one of the top 100 prospects, has a season that is quite clearly the best where there‘s no comparison, that guy very well may win it. But if they‘re pretty equivalent, our tie is always going to go to the better prospect.‖ Eaton hit .375 with a .978 OPS in 613 plate appearances, the vast majority of which came with Triple-A Reno. Myers hit .314 with a .987 OPS in 591 plate appearances, about three-quarters of which came with Triple-A Omaha. Eaton entered the season as a borderline prospect, a player whose size raised enough questions to keep him off of most of the prospect rankings. Myers, on the other hand, has been a highly regarded player since his draft year in 2009, and he entered this season as one of baseball‘s top prospects. Their seasons were similar. Myers got the nod.

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And here‘s the other thing: Neither of those guys even had the best minor league season. In Double-A Reading for the Phillies, Darin Ruf hit .317 with 38 homers and a 1.028 OPS. Ruf‘s year trumps both Myers and Eaton, but Ruf is 26 years old and still in Double-A, and according to Cooper, ―isn‘t a prospect by any stretch of the imagination.‖ Cooper wanted to make clear that he‘s a believer in Eaton. ―(John Manual and I) were talking about Eaton on our podcast today (note: go to the 41-minute mark) and we both said we see Adam Eaton as a big league regular and a very solid big league regular,‖ he said. ―He‘s done a lot to get himself from where he was drafted (19th round) to where he looks like a big league regular.‖ Baseball America wants to have a POY list that, when you look back in five years, you recognize all the names as big league stars. And, if you look at the past six years of POYs, they‘ve done a pretty good job: Mike Trout, Jeremy Hellickson, Jayson Heyward, Matt Wieters, Jay Bruce, Alex Gordon. So Eaton isn‘t regarded as the better prospect? Well, it‘s true. And Eaton probably wouldn‘t want it any other way. This fits in better with the Adam Eaton Narrative anyway. Gives him just one more thing about which he can prove folks wrong. *** Strange thing happened in the eighth inning. Pablo Sandoval got upset at John McDonald, of all people, and the benches emptied. It sounded after the game – at least, going by what I was told Sandoval was saying to a Spanish-speaking reporter – that Sandoval kind of realized that he‘d overreacted. Anyway, here‘s what happened: First and second. Bouncer to first. Brandon Belt throws across the diamond to Sandoval, who, instead of just touching third, decides to try to tag McDonald. ―I was trying to slide into third and he caught the ball in front of the bag and kind of took the slide away,‖ McDonald said. ―So I tried to go around him and I didn‘t make it. I tripped trying to go from sliding feet first to diving to go around him. I tripped and went right into him.‖ So McDonald‘s arms kind of go up and his elbow fly at Sandoval, who interprets this as aggression and gets upset. Sandoval thought McDonald was coming in high with the elbows and was going to hit him in the face and just reacted. He said later that he knows McDonald is a good person from having played against him in the past. Anyway, the best part about it: Seeing Paul Goldschmidt high-tail it across the diamond from the visitors‘ dugout along the first base line. He was the first teammate to arrive. *** Dan Bickley‘s take on the 2012 Diamondbacks. *** When I was complaining about 40-man roster limits here on my blog the other and on Twitter Tuesday night, I had no idea they were considering making rules changes. But they are, as Scott Miller writes. *** Adam Kilgore on how baseball teams insure contracts.

*** It was Werner Herzog‘s birthday. Here‘s a Q&A he did with Errol Morris. *** They‘re making a sequel to Before Sunrise/Before Sunset. This is amazing news. *** Yasushi Kikuchi took a great picture of the rainbow that appeared above AT&T Park.

Arizona Diamondbacks' Brad Ziegler recalls line-drive scare from '04 season By Nick Piecoro / The Arizona Republic http://www.azcentral.com/sports/diamondbacks/articles/20120905arizona-diamondbacks-brad-ziegler-recalls-line-drive-scare-brandon-mccarthy.html SAN FRANCISCO - When Brad Ziegler heard about the line drive that struck A's pitcher Brandon McCarthy, he stopped in his tracks and started to worry about his former teammate. "When that happens, it's not about baseball," Ziegler said. "It's about life. He's got a great wife and I know the guys in Oakland love him. He's a friend more than he's a teammate to a lot of those guys. Their primary concern is going to be for his well-being. Hopefully he's going to be just fine and recover really quickly." But Ziegler couldn't help but have flashbacks to 2004, when, as a minor-leaguer in the Oakland farm system, he was hit in the head by a line drive and spent six days in intensive care. While pitching in the playoffs for Modesto, Ziegler was struck in the right temple by a line drive off the bat of San Jose's Fred Lewis. Like McCarthy, Ziegler did not lose consciousness, but he felt dizzy when he tried to stand up and needed to be helped off the field. "That's when they noticed my ear was bleeding, too," Ziegler said. "It was internal, bleeding out from inside my ear." He was diagnosed with a skull fracture at the hospital and sent home, told to come back for further tests the next morning. That's when they noticed a spot detected on an initial MRI had swelled, and he was admitted to the ICU, where they monitored his brain for swelling and put him on anti-seizure medication. Ziegler considers himself lucky. He returned the next season and continued his trek to the big leagues. When he thinks back on it, the best lesson he can take from it is in pitch execution. "You think about the pitch and it wasn't a good pitch," Ziegler said. "It was up, and of course the guy's going to hit the ball if you throw it right there. You don't ever expect it to come back and hit you. It's just one of those things where, if I would have made a better pitch, it wouldn't have happened." Kennedy's struggles Right-hander Ian Kennedy's consistency problems continued on Tuesday night, when he gave up five runs in 52/3 innings against the Giants. He had one of his better outings of the year in his previous start, when he tossed 61/3 shutout innings against the Dodgers. Some, including manager Kirk Gibson, have suggested Kennedy could benefit from using his breaking ball more often. But Kennedy on

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Wednesday said he doesn't think his game plan needs to change as much as he needs to improve his pitch execution. "I think people say that when you start struggling," he said. "I've had this happen before. You struggle and people think you should do things different, but when you're having success, you're doing everything great. I think that's just him trying to help." Kennedy noted that he was beat on a curveball he threw to the Giants' Pablo Sandoval, saying the pitch was poorly executed. Short hops Second baseman Aaron Hill didn't hit for the cycle on Tuesday night, falling a triple shy, but he did record five hits, giving him three games this season in which he's recorded four or more hits. "He's really found a swing that's simple," Gibson said. "The way his lower half interacts with his upper half and how he gets back to his ready position, there's not a lot of movement." Gibson sounded as if he would be hesitant to use center fielder Chris Young (right quad), who was out of the lineup for the second consecutive day.

San Francisco Giants pose all-around threat this season By Nick Piecoro / The Arizona Republic http://www.azcentral.com/sports/diamondbacks/articles/20120905san-francisco-giants-pose-all-around-threat-2012-season.html SAN FRANCISCO - The Diamondbacks never have had much success at AT&T Park, particularly over the past four seasons, but typically the San Francisco teams they would encounter would be fully armed. That is, they'd be loaded with great pitching not much else. But in the first two games of their series here, the Diamondbacks got a glimpse of a new-look opponent that - offensively, at least - no longer can be referred to as gentle Giants. "It's not one guy in the lineup," Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval said. "Every day we've got a different guy that day. When you have players like that, a team like that, some young guys and you mix it up with veteran guys, you can keep fighting to get to the playoffs." Despite a lot of things, the Giants are in position to play October baseball. They've overcome a brutal season from erstwhile ace Tim Lincecum. They lost closer Brian Wilson to elbow surgery. And even after losing their best hitter, Melky Cabrera, the Giants haven't skipped a beat, going 13-6 since Cabrera was busted for performance-enhancers. They entered Wednesday with a 4 1/2-game lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West and a 94 percent chance to reach the postseason, according to Baseball Prospectus' playoff odds. Lately, their offense has been the biggest reason for that. Since Aug. 3, the Giants are hitting .293 and averaging close to six runs per game. Overall, they're averaging 4.38 runs per game, seventh in the NL. "We've been putting more runs on the board," center fielder Angel Pagan said. "You could see the at-bats we've been putting together lately. In the second half, it's been pretty good. In games that we're trailing, we grind out at-bats and try to come back. We've been showing a lot of heart." Even in their championship season in 2010, the Giants seemed to rarely stray from their winning formula. They'd get great starting pitching, scratch across just enough runs and hand the ball over to a dominant bullpen.

Things have been different lately. Their starters are still good, but not quite as good. Over the Giants' past 10 games, their starters have posted a 6.57 ERA. Still, San Francisco has managed to win six of those games. The 2010 club had offense but of a different kind. That team had power hitters, ranking sixth in the league in homers and slugging. This year's team is last in the NL in home runs. "I think this lineup used to have a lot of power, but when they brought me and Melky over, it was more to add some speed, get some people who can score from first base," said Pagan, who was acquired in a December trade with the New York Mets. "That can be a difference." Cabrera was a difference maker, hitting .346 with a .906 on-base-plus-slugging, but he's been out since Aug. 15. "You know, you lose one guy, we've got 24 more guys on the roster," Sandoval said. "Everyone has that goal to make it to the playoffs. We lost one of the best hitters on the team, but we've still got nine guys in the lineup working to do our thing."

Cahill takes no-hit bid into 7th, D-backs top SF By The Associated Press http://hosted2.ap.org/azmes/b62a75b5f70e4dbdbd19c982186da1a6/article_2012-09-06-diamondbacks-giants/id-9548ddd39afa4ff6bd2ba823f4915767 SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Trevor Cahill did not feel particularly good in the bullpen before the game. Once he got on the mound, though, everything started to click. Cahill took a no-hitter into the seventh inning to help the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the San Francisco Giants 6-2 Wednesday night in a game in which the benches cleared after a play at third base. Cahill didn't give up a hit until Marco Scutaro's leadoff single in the seventh. He allowed another single and loaded the bases on a walk before being lifted after 6 1-3 innings. "Usually pitchers joke, when you feel bad in the bullpen you feel good in the game," Cahill said. "I felt good early on and I just tried to throw strikes, and the defense was good behind me so I tried to let them put it in play." Cahill (10-11) retired the first 16 batters he faced in earning his 50th career win. He allowed two runs, walked two and struck out five in the Diamondbacks' second straight win over the NL West leaders. "Sometimes I get too rushed," Cahill said. "It's one of those things where I want to work quick and you can work too quick where you lose your thoughts out there." Chris Johnson doubled, tripled and drove in two runs for Arizona. Pablo Sandoval took exception with John McDonald, who came into third base without sliding in the eighth on a force play. Diamondbacks coach and former Giant Matt Williams stepped in immediately as both benches cleared. "I was trying to slide into third but he caught the ball in front of the bag and kind of took the slide away," McDonald said. "I tried to go around him and I didn't make it. I kind of went from sliding feet first to trying to dive around him. I tripped and fell into him. There's not any more to it than that." Sandoval said he realized later it was nothing intentional.

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"At the moment in the game you don't really think about it," he said. "He was trying to get to third base. No big deal." Madison Bumgarner (14-10) lost his third straight start after giving up four runs on seven hits over 6 1-3 innings. He walked two and struck out five. Aaron Hill, Miguel Montero and Paul Goldschmidt also drove in runs for Arizona, which opened its current road trip with two wins at Los Angeles. Brandon Belt drove in two runs for the Giants, who have lost three of their last four games to the Diamondbacks. Adam Eaton, who had two hits for the second straight night, made two nice running catches in the sixth to keep the no-hitter going. He robbed Xavier Nady on a ball he ran back on and then robbed Angel Pagan with a diving catch coming in. Nady later left the game with a strained left hamstring. Cahill lost his bid for a perfect game when he walked Brandon Crawford with one out in the sixth. "He was hitting the corners and mixing it up," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "His ball moves a lot and we couldn't do much with him." Johnson also made a superb play on a ball that was deflected by Cahill in the second, nailing Belt at first. Montero's single in the first gave the Diamondbacks a 1-0 lead. McDonald singled home a run in the fourth. The Diamondbacks tacked on four runs in the seventh, with Johnson's two-run single against Juan Machi the big hit. Hill doubled home a run and Goldschmidt singled in a run. Cahill got an out after the first hit he allowed and left the game after Buster Posey's infield single and Hunter Pence's walk. Mike Zagurski gave up Belt's two-run single. NOTES: Giants RHP Clay Hensley (right groin strain) threw to hitters and should be available when he's eligible to come off the DL on Tuesday. ... Giants OF Justin Christian (left wrist sprain) will also be activated when he's eligible on Friday. ... Crawford committed his first error since July 28. ... RHP Tim Lincecum (8-14, 5.21 ERA) will start for the Giants on Friday night. He is 2-1 with a 2.55 ERA against the Dodgers this season. ... Arizona LHP Tyler Skaggs (1-0, 2.70) will make his second major league start Friday against the Padres. He's the second-youngest pitcher to make his first big league start in a Diamondbacks uniform. ... The Giants used 24 pitchers in the series. ... Cahill threw 67 pitches through six innings.

Giants rally falls short in 6-2 loss to D-backs By The Associated Press http://hosted2.ap.org/azmes/b62a75b5f70e4dbdbd19c982186da1a6/article_2012-09-06-bbn-giants/id-daa8f3a2e87d4351b3f96a36fd0752cd SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Giants manager Bruce Bochy would like to give his bullpen a rest — and not only on the team's scheduled day off. "There are some tired arms down there," Bochy said after San Francisco lost 6-2 to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday night. "We did use a lot of them." The Giants, who maintained their 4 1/2 game in the NL West because Los Angeles fell to the San Diego Padres 4-3, have an off day before hosting the Dodgers in a three-game series beginning Friday night.

Bochy used 24 pitchers in the three-game set against the Diamondbacks. "As a group, the starters are not throwing quite as well," Bochy said. "Pitching is what got us here and I'm confident they'll get it together." Tim Lincecum gets the first shot at the Dodgers. "It is a big series," Bochy said. "This is September baseball. You're watching the scoreboard and it's going to be intense. This is why you play the game." Xavier Nady left the game in the seventh inning with a strained left hamstring and will receive an MRI on Thursday. "He knew he hurt it right away," Bochy said. "This is a big blow for us because he was swinging the bat well. We'll have to get creative out there." Nady was brought in to solidify left field, the position Melky Cabrera played before his 50-game suspension. Trevor Cahill took a no-hitter into the seventh inning in a game in which the benches cleared after a tag play at third base. Cahill didn't give up a hit until Marco Scutaro led off the seventh with a single. He allowed another single and walked the bases loaded before being lifted for a reliever after 6 1-3 innings. Cahill (10-11) retired the first 16 batters he faced in earning his 50th career win. He allowed two runs, walked two and struck out five in the Diamondbacks second straight win over the NL West-leading Giants. Pablo Sandoval took exception with John McDonald, who came into third base without sliding in the eighth on a force play. Diamondbacks' coach and former Giant Matt Williams stepped in immediately as both benches cleared. "Pablo felt like he elbowed him in the chest," Bochy said. "It's not a big deal. The game wasn't very pretty for us at all." Madison Bumgarner (14-10) lost his third straight start after giving up four runs on seven hits over 6 1-3 innings. He walked two and struck out five. Brandon Belt drove in two runs for the Giants, who have lost three of their last four games to the Diamondbacks. Cahill lost the perfect game when he walked Brandon Crawford with one out in the sixth. Cahill got an out after the first hit and left the game after Buster Posey's infield hit and Hunter Pence's walk. Mike Zagurski gave up Belt's two-run single. NOTES: Giants RHP Clay Hensley (right groin strain) threw to hitters and should be available when he's eligible to come off the DL on Tuesday. ... Giants OF Jason Christian (left wrist sprain) will also be activated when he's eligible on Friday. ... Crawford committed his first error since July 28. ... RHP Tim Lincecum (8-14, 5.21) will start for the Giants on Friday night. He is 2-1 with a 2.55 ERA against the Dodgers this season. ... Cahill threw 67 pitches through six innings.

Cahill carries no-hitter into 7th for D-backs By The Associated Press

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http://hosted2.ap.org/azmes/b62a75b5f70e4dbdbd19c982186da1a6/article_2012-09-06-diamondbacks-giants/id-6fb16f69a25a481eb5f2f2940f542f8f SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Trevor Cahill took a no-hitter into the seventh inning, helping the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the San Francisco Giants 6-2 Wednesday night in a game in which the benches cleared after a tag play at third base. Cahill didn't give up a hit until Marco Scutaro led off the seventh with a single. He allowed another single and walked the bases loaded before being lifted for a reliever after 6 1-3 innings Cahill (10-11) retired the first 16 batters he faced in earning his 50th career win. He allowed two runs, walked two and struck out five in the Diamondbacks second straight win over the NL West-leading Giants. Chris Johnson doubled, tripled and drove in two runs for Arizona. Pablo Sandoval took exception with John McDonald, who came into third base without sliding in the eighth on a force play. Diamondbacks' coach and former Giant Matt Williams stepped in immediately as both benches cleared. Madison Bumgarner (14-10) lost his third straight start after giving up four runs on seven hits over 6 1-3 innings. He walked two and struck out five. Aaron Hill, Miguel Montero and Paul Goldschmidt also drove in runs for Arizona, which opened its current road trip with two wins at Los Angeles. Brandon Belt drove in two runs for the Giants, who have lost three of their last four games to the Diamondbacks. Adam Eaton, who had two hits for the second straight night, made two nice running catches in the sixth to keep the no-hitter going. He robbed Xavier Nady on a ball he ran back on and then robbed Angel Pagan with a diving catch coming in. Cahill lost the perfect game when he walked Brandon Crawford with one out in the sixth. Johnson also made a superb play on a ball that was deflected by Cahill in the second, nailing Belt at first. Montero's single in the first gave the Diamondbacks a 1-0 lead. McDonald singled home a run in the fourth. The Diamondbacks tacked on four runs in the seventh, with Johnson's two-run single against Juan Machi the big hit. Hill doubled home a run and Goldschmidt singled home a run. Cahill got an out after the first hit and left the game after Buster Posey's infield hit and Hunter Pence's walk. Mike Zagurski gave up Belt's two-run single. NOTES: Giants RHP Clay Hensley (right groin strain) threw to hitters and should be available when he's eligible to come off the DL on Tuesday. ... Giants OF Jason Christian (left wrist sprain) will also be activated when he's eligible on Friday. ... Giants INF Brandon Crawford committed his first error since July 28. ... RHP Tim Lincecum (8-14, 5.21) will start for the Giants on Friday night. He is 2-1 with a 2.55 ERA against the Dodgers this season. ... Diamondbacks LHP Tyler Skaggs (1-0, 2.70) will make his second major league start Friday against the Padres. He's the second-youngest pitcher to make his first major league start in a Diamondbacks uniform. ... The Giants used 24 pitchers in the series. ... Cahill threw 67 pitches through six innings.

Does Adam Eaton make Chris Young expendable? By José Youngs / ArizonaSports.com http://arizonasports.com/42/1573379/Does-Adam-Eaton-make-Chris-Young-expendable To say Adam Eaton dominated minor league pitching would be an understatement. He destroyed the pitchers he faced in the Class-AAA Pacific League. Standing only 5-foot-8, Eaton's size didn't stop him from putting together one of the most dominant hitting seasons in minor league history. He led all of the minors with a .375 average, 198 hits, 47 doubles and 130 runs, and was second with a .456 on-base percentage. His stellar minor league season ended with him being named the MVP of the PCL and a call up to the big leagues. Now Diamondbacks fans will get to see firsthand what the diminutive outfielder can do for their team. The Diamondbacks brought in the prospect and inserted him into the leadoff spot after center fielder Chris Young suffered a leg injury during Monday's game in San Francisco. Eaton made an immediate impact the next day, singling and doubling in the Diamondbacks' 8-6 extra inning win over the division-leading Giants. "He just brings energy into the park," Diamondback General Manager Kevin Towers told Arizona Sport 620's Doug and Wolf. "He seems to be one of those guys that is always in the middle of something good. He's been on winning-type ball clubs so I don't think it's a coincidence he shows up, gets in the lineup and we in a game that we haven't been winning over the last couple weeks." Eaton's emergence this season is among the reasons the D-backs may look to trade a veteran outfielder like Young this winter to create a spot for him and fill a position they lack depth in. However, Towers made it clear he is going to wait for the season to come to end before he even thinks about trade talks. "We'll have a much better idea about it in the offseason," said Towers. "We'll look at him next month and we'll sit down with our baseball operation staff and evaluate who we have, what's out there and what our needs are. We'll approach that once the 2012 season is over. I don't want to get in into predicting what our lineup is going to look like and who's going to be here and who's not going to be here in 2013 until this season is over."

A closer look: Cahill, D-backs defeat Giants to win series By Daria Del Colliano / ArizonaSports.com http://arizonasports.com/42/1573243/A-closer-look-Cahill-Dbacks-defeat-Giants-to-win-series Arizona Diamondbacks starter Trevor Cahill throws to the San Francisco Giants during the first inning of a baseball game on Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2012, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez) Sure, you could read the box score and know who won, but we all know that won't tell you everything that happened in a baseball game. So, we will give you a closer look, providing you with the analysis, quotes and notes from the D-backs' September 5 win against the Giants. Final score: Diamondbacks 6, Giants 2. The Good: Trevor Cahill (10-11) tossed a gem for the D-backs in their series-finale win over the Giants. The right-hander took a no-hitter into the 7th inning Wednesday night before Marco Scutaro stroked a single to end the bid.

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Cahill pitched 6 1/3 innings and allowed just two runs on two hits with five strikeouts and two walks. He earned his 50th career victory. The D-backs offense also impressed in support of Cahill's impressive performance. Third baseman Chris Johnson doubled, tripled and had two RBIs on the night. Aaron Hill, Miguel Montero and Paul Goldschmidt also drove in runs for the D-backs. The Bad: After Cahill lost his no-hit bid in the 7th inning, he allowed another single and walked the bases loaded before manager Kirk Gibson made the call to the bullpen. Noted: The D-backs and Giants benches cleared after San Francisco third baseman Pablo Sandoval and Arizona shortstop John McDonald got heated after a tag play in the eighth inning at third base. Adam Eaton, who made his debut with the big club Tuesday night, had two hits for the second consecutive night. He also made two spectacular catches in the field on balls hit by Xavier Nady and Angel Pagan. He Said It: "Usually pitchers joke, when you feel bad in the bullpen you feel good in the game," Trevor Cahill said. "I felt good early on and I just tried to throw strikes, and the defense was good behind me so I tried to let them put it in play." Up Next: The D-backs have the day off on Thursday before opening a three-game series against the San Diego Padres this weekend. Rookie left-hander Tyler Skaggs (1-0, 2.70) will get the call for the D-backs on Friday. He will be opposed by right-hander Andrew Cashner (3-3, 3.44) for San Diego. (Slideshow embedded on website)

NL Rookie of the Year: Wade Miley's competition By ArizonaSports.com http://arizonasports.com/42/1572868/NL-Rookie-of-the-Year-Wade-Mileys-competition Wade Miley has been one of the few bright spots in an otherwise dark and dreary season for the Arizona Diamondbacks. The rookie left-hander has been a revelation since joining the starting rotation on April 23, becoming the staff's ace, an All-Star, and a National League Rookie of the Year candidate. But what are the 25-year-old's chances of taking home the hardware? Here's a look at not only Miley's statistics, but those of some of the strongest challengers for the award that goes to the NL's top rookie. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wade Miley, SP, Arizona Diamondbacks 14-9, 2.90 ERA, 117 strikeouts, 1.12 WHIP Miley missed a chance to notch his 15th win Sunday in his last outing against the Dodgers -- although he didn't pitch badly. The lefty allowed nine hits and three earned runs in 6.2 innings of work. The Dodgers scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth against the Arizona bullpen to secure a 5-4 win. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bryce Harper, CF, Washington Nationals

.259 BA, 17 HR, 47 RBI, 77 R, 13 SB Harper hit two home runs in the Nationals 9-1 rout of the Chicago Cubs Wednesday. This was the second multihomer game of the 19-year-old's young career. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Todd Frazier, 3B, Cincinnati Reds .289 BA, 18 HR, 62 RBI, 50 R Frazier went 1-for-4 in the Reds 6-2 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies Wednesday. The Reds third baseman won National League Rookie of the Month honors for August. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yonder Alonso, 1B, San Diego Padres .272 BA, 7 HR, 47 RBI, 39 R Alonso went 1-for-3 with a walk in the Padres 4-3 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers Wednesday night. He is 4-for-20 with a double and an RBI over the last seven days. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Norichika Aoki, OF, Milwaukee Brewers .287 BA, 7 HR, 35 RBI, 64 R, 22 SB Aoki went 1-for-4 with two runs scored and a walk in the Brewers' 8-5 win in Miami Wednesday night. Aoki extended his hitting streak to nine games.

Giants' Sandoval, D'backs' McDonald Scuffle In San Francisco By Al Yellon / SBNation.com http://mlb.sbnation.com/2012/9/6/3296347/pablo-sandoval-john-mcdonald-scuffle-video-san-francisco-giants-diamondbacks-news There was a typical baseball "fight" in San Francisco Wednesday night; lots of milling around, no punches thrown. Sep 6, 2012 - Wednesday night in San Francisco, the Giants were no-hit by the Diamondbacks' Trevor Cahill through six innings. They did break through in the seventh, scoring a couple of runs, but by then the game was pretty much out of hand; Arizona led 6-2 going into the eighth inning. In the top of the eighth, D'backs shortstop John McDonald led off with a single and was singled to second by Ryan Wheeler. The next hitter, rookie Adam Eaton, hit a ground ball to first baseman Brandon Belt, who threw to Pablo Sandoval at third in an attempt to get McDonald. That's when this happened: Sandoval tagged McDonald; McDonald took exception, apparently, to how hard Sandoval tagged him. Sandoval took exception, apparently, to McDonald elbowing him in the chest after the tag. The two exchanged words; third-base umpire Greg Gibson held Sandoval back (no easy feat, as you might imagine), so there was no real fight, just a lot of cream-clad Giants and rust-colored Diamondbacks milling around third base until order was restored. The D'backs eventually won the game 6-2 and crept to within 6½ games of the second wild-card spot; despite the loss, the Giants maintained their 4½-game lead in the NL West when the Dodgers lost to the Padres.

New prospect rankings released; D-backs are No. 3 By Steve Gilbert / MLB.com http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120906&content_id=37994350&vkey=news_ari&c_id=ari There are many ways to measure success in the Minor Leagues, and while winning percentage is not the major one for D-backs farm director Mike Bell, it is one of his yardsticks.

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"I don't know if there's a correlation between winning in the Minor Leagues and Major Leagues ... but I think it's important for our guys to experience what that's like," Bell said. There's been plenty of winning down on the farm for Arizona, with four teams qualifying for their league playoffs. The system has also provided help at the Major League level, with pitchers Patrick Corbin and Tyler Skaggs -- along with position players like Jake Elmore and Adam Eaton -- contributing. "We have prospects scattered throughout the different levels," Bell said. If MLB.com's prospect rankings are any indication, the D-backs' farm system is among the best in the game. Graduated Left-hander Wade Miley was ranked No. 12 on the list this spring when he seemed to be a long shot to make the big league team. Miley wound up grabbing the final spot on the staff, and after a few relief appearances, he was moved into the rotation and has not looked back. Miley was Arizona's lone All-Star representative this season, and his strong performance has made him a front-runner for the National League Rookie of the Year Award. Dropped off Outfielder Bobby Borchering was the team's top pick in 2009, but he struggled to find a position defensively. The team tried him at third and first before moving him to the outfield. With the D-backs trying to plug an immediate need at third base, Borchering was dealt to the Astros in July in exchange for Chris Johnson. New faces The D-backs jumped at the chance to draft high school catcher Stryker Trahan with their first pick in the 2012 First-Year Player Draft. Trahan is advanced as a hitter, so much so that he probably could have handled Class A pitching this year. He showed good defensive improvement and became more comfortable in his stance/setup, and he was throwing and blocking balls better by the end of the Arizona Rookie League season. Chase Anderson is another newcomer to the list. The right-hander dealt with some elbow issues during the year, but when healthy, he was outstanding for Double-A Mobile. He'll get more of an opportunity against even better competition in the Arizona Fall League. Outfielder Adam Eaton jumped 10 spots. The undersized outfielder was a 19th-round pick in 2009, so he had to prove himself at every level. He has done just that, and after being named the Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year in the Pacific Coast League, the D-backs gave him a September callup. With center fielder Chris Young battling a bad quadriceps muscle, Eaton should get a chance to show what he can do. A solid September could force the D-backs to make room for him in the outfield next season. Top 100 representation The D-backs have four players listed in the Top 100: Trevor Bauer (No. 6), Skaggs (No. 10), Archie Bradley (No. 19) and Matt Davidson (No. 48).

Even with the graduations of top prospects such as Miley and fellow left-hander Corbin, the D-backs moved up in the prospect point rankings. Entering this season, the D-backs ranked fifth with 253 points, and they now finish No. 3 on the list with 321 points. "The only way we're able to do that is to draft and develop quality players," Bell said. "It's a credit to our scouting department, our scouts and our staff in the system."

Arizona's Cahill Toys With No-Hitter By The Sports Xchange http://www.thedenverchannel.com/sports/31415900/detail.html Trevor Cahill flirted with the third no-hitter in franchise history Wednesday to help the Arizona Diamondbacks win the rubber game of a series at San Francisco. Cahill retired the first 16 batters he faced before walking Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford in the sixth inning of the D-backs' 6-2 victory at AT&T Park, and he did not give up a hit until Marco Scutaro lined a 2-0 fastball into right field as the leadoff batter in the seventh. The Giants did not get the ball out of the infield until Pagan flied out to center fielder Adam Eaton to lead off the fourth inning. After getting three ground balls in the first inning, Cahill struck out five of the next six batters he faced. He got the side looking in the third inning. "When he's getting ground balls, you know he's on. That sinker doesn't stop moving," said D-backs third baseman Chris Johnson, who had a triple and doubled in two runs in a four-run seventh inning. Eaton, making his second career start after being purchased from Class AAA Reno on Tuesday, saved the no-hitter in the sixth with a diving catch of Pagan's sinking line drive with two outs. It was a 2-0 game at the time. Randy Johnson threw the D-backs' first no-hitter, a perfect game at Atlanta on May 18, 2004. Edwin Jackson had a no-hitter at Tampa Bay on June 25, 2010. Cahill gave up one more hit before leaving with one out in the seventh. Buster Posey reached on an infield single with one out in the inning when Cahill was unable to barehand his chopper between the mound and third. After Hunter Pence walked to load the bases, Cahill was replaced by left-hander Mike Zagurski, who gave up a two-run single but prevented further damage by getting an inning-ending double play. Cahill has one of the D-backs' two shutouts this season, beating San Diego 6-0 on June 3. He gave up six hits and walked three while striking out five. Cahill induced four double play grounders that game, when the Padres got only one runner as far as third base. Joe Saunders shut out Miami on April 27.

News Headline: Eaton promoted to major leagues By Dayton Daily News - Online News Text: Adam Eaton's journey to the big leagues began, as it does for so many players, in the backyard. When Eaton was 7, he and his older brother Zack founded the Backyard Baseball League behind their house on the north side of

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Springfield. Their neighborhood friends played. Their mom Robin sang the National Anthem. Their dad Glenn banned them for a couple of days after they dented his shed with a ball, but otherwise supported his sons' dedication. ―I came home from work one day, and they had wagons hauling dirt from an empty lot,‖ Glenn said. ―They actually built a pitcher's mound in my backyard. Adam was the smallest and the youngest back then.‖ If those backyard games didn't flash through Adam's mind Tuesday night when he hit leadoff for the Arizona Diamondbacks at AT&T; Park in San Francisco against the Giants, it's a testament to his focus. The 2007 Kenton Ridge graduate and former Miami University outfielder was promoted by the Diamondbacks on Monday night, becoming the 23rd Major League Baseball player in Clark County history. Eaton's promotion from Triple-A Reno wasn't a surprise — he was named the Pacific Coast League Rookie of the Year and MVP last week and hit .381 — but the timing was. There was talk that Eaton wouldn't get the call until after Reno's playoff run. Also, he had just returned to the lineup after missing time with a concussion. ―I wasn't expecting it at all,‖ Eaton said Tuesday afternoon, before his first game. ―I came home after a day game, and I was sitting on the couch watching the Diamondbacks game. Mike Bell, the head of player development, called and asked me how my head was. I said I felt great. He said, ‗You're going up to the major leagues tomorrow. Get your stuff packed and get ready.' I started running around the house.‖ Eaton shared the moment with his fianceè, Katie Osburn, a former Miami University softball player, who was with him and flew Tuesday to San Francisco with him. Then he called his parents. ―It's surreal,‖ Glenn said. ―We keep pinching ourselves.‖ Glenn and Robin caught a 5:50 a.m. flight out of Dayton on Tuesday to San Francisco. Zack Eaton was also flying in, as was Osburn'sparents and Miami University hitting coach Jeremy Ison. Adam spent all day, when he wasn't traveling, calling former coaches to thank them for their support. He said the moment was theirs as much as his. Eaton is the first Clark County native to make his Major League debut since North graduate Jimmy Journell pitched for the Cardinals in 2003. Three Kenton Ridge grads preceded Eaton in the majors: Dave Burba, who debuted with the Mariners in 1990; Rick White (Pirates, 1994); and Dustin Hermanson (Padres, 1995). All three of those former Cougars were pitchers, and Eaton is the first Major League position player from Clark County since Tecumseh grad Larry Owen debuted with the Braves in 1981. Mark Miller, of the Springfield/Clark County Baseball Hall of Fame, said Eaton is the fifth big league outfielder from Clark County and the first since 1940. ―Historically, Adam adds to what is a very rich history of success by local baseball players,‖ Miller said. ―His promotion to the Diamondbacks speaks highly of local player development for a community our size.‖ Eaton was drafted in the 19th round in 2010 after three seasons at Miami. None of the 18 players selected by the Diamondbacks ahead of him that season have made the majors. Only seven of the 50 players

taken in the first round that year, including supplemental picks, have played in the big leagues. Eaton has always bucked the odds, even at Kenton Ridge, where he played under longtime coach Tom Randall. ―We started him with the JV team,‖ Randall said. ―We were playing at home, and the JVs were away. I asked (JV coach) Bob Hess, ‗How's that Eaton kid doing?' He said, ‗Well, just OK.' After they had played four or five games, Aaron Shaffer, the present coach, who was helping coach the JV, said, ‗Coach, Hess is kind of hogging Eaton. I think he's ready to come up and play for you. He's 20-for-24.' I said, ‗What?!' ‖ The next Saturday, Eaton made his varsity debut by going 5-for-9 with three doubles in a doubleheader. In his career, he helped lead the Cougars to regional championship games in 2004 and 2005 and a state runner-up finish in 2007. But it all started in the backyard. ―Practice is what it comes down to,‖ Eaton said. ―I remember putting a net out in my backyard to get ready for the season. You could never find me away from a bat and ball.‖

Cahill, D’backs tame Giants, 6-2 By The San Francisco Chronicle http://www.sfgate.com/giants/slideshow/Cahill-D-backs-tame-Giants-6-2-48555.php (Slideshow embedded on website)

Giants going with hot bat in left field By Jay Lee / MLB.com http://sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120905&content_id=37956946&notebook_id=37964144&vkey=notebook_sf&c_id=sf SAN FRANCISCO -- Xavier Nady started in left field against the D-backs on Wednesday against right-handed starter Trevor Cahill, breaking up the platoon the Giants had been utilizing with Gregor Blanco, who bats left-handed. "To be honest, he's just swinging the bat better than Blanco right now," manager Bruce Bochy said of Nady. The Giants have stuck with the two-man platoon, though infielders Ryan Theriot and Joaquin Arias have taken fly balls in left field. Rookie Francisco Peguero also remains an option. "We're talking about the other options, to be honest, but right now we're sticking with those two," Bochy said. Entering Wednesday, Nady had gone 4-for-10 with three RBIs since joining the Giants last Saturday, while Blanco has batted .244 (11-for-45) in his last 16 gmes, with 18 strikeouts in that span. Bochy said Justin Christian is set to return Friday from his sprained wrist when he is eligible to be activated from the disabled list and that he will provide further late-game depth at the position. "He could be a double-switch guy, maybe even start against a lefty," Bochy said. "He'll give us some more speed on the bench, and he's a guy I can use late in the ballgame." Relievers ready for action despite record game SAN FRANCISCO -- After tying a Major League record by using 11 pitchers in Tuesday's 8-6 loss to the D-backs, Giants manager Bruce

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Bochy said that all his relief pitchers would be available in Wednesday's series finale. "They're all doing OK," Bochy said before the game. "Sure, you'd like to give [Sergio] Romo a break, but the rest of them are available. They didn't throw too much as far as workload or pitches." Only Dan Runzler and Brad Penny weren't used out of the 12-man bullpen Tuesday, with Romo (two innings) and Dan Otero (1 1/3 innings) being the only ones to go for more than an inning. Bochy's recent bullpen approach has weighed heavily on matchups, with the Giants relying on a rotation of multiple pitchers to combine for outs late in games. In other words, relievers are on notice that they can get their number called at any moment. "You just have to stay mentally ready at all times," Otero said. "They always say baseball is 80 percent mental and 20 percent physical, and there's definitely some truth to that, especially being in the bullpen. Every day you have to stay mentally ready and stay sharp, because if you have to come in and get one out, you better get that out and do your job." The Giants also plan on adding Clay Hensley, who is recovering from a right groin strain, to the bullpen when he is eligible to come off the disabled list Tuesday. "He got some good work in facing hitters today, and he'll be ready to go when he can come off," Bochy said Wednesday. Crawford showing off superb defense SAN FRANCISCO -- An impressive defensive play from Brandon Crawford prevented an Arizona run in the seventh inning of Tuesday's 8-6 loss in extra innings, which drew the praise of manager Bruce Bochy before Wednesday's rubber game. With runners on first and third and one out, Jose Mijares coaxed a high chopper up the middle from Ryan Wheeler. Crawford charged all the way from short to snag the grounder, tag out Miguel Montero on the way to second and fire to first to get Wheeler for the inning-ending double play. "That was one of the better plays I've seen, especially with what was at stake with the runner on third base," Bochy said. "How heads-up it was, how quick he was, how it developed -- it was a tremendous play." After Crawford's earlier struggles at the position this season, Bochy said that he has heard from other managers who have noted Crawford's improved and polished play, and that he feels Crawford could be a future Gold Glove candidate, if not already being one this season. "This kid's last two, three months, I don't know who else has played better," Bochy said. "That's how good he has been."

Aces Take Game 1 Over Sacramento By Reno Aces http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120906&content_id=37979974&vkey=news_t2310&fext=.jsp&sid=t2310 WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif.–Trevor Bauer and four Aces relievers combined to shut down the Sacramento River Cats Wednesday night, as Reno escaped with a 3-1 victory in Game 1 of the Pacific Conference Championship Series at Raley Field.

Reno capitalized on a Sacramento error in the third and scored runs on a Tyler Kuhn double and a Mike Jacobs sacrifice fly to take a 2-0 lead. The River Cats clawed back with a run in the fourth, but that was all they'd get. Tyler Bortnick added an insurance run in the ninth to put the game away for good. Bauer (1-0) held Sacramento to just an unearned run on three hits over 5.0 innings. After his exit, Joe Paterson, Sam Demel, Jensen Lewis and Jonathan Albaladejo each registered a scoreless frame to close out the victory. The hard-luck loss fell to River Cats starter Bruce Billings (0-1), who surrendered just two unearned runs with 10 strikeouts through 6.0 innings of work. At the dish for Reno, A.J. Pollock singled twice for the Aces' lone multi-hit effort. Four of Reno's seven hits went for extra bases. Game 2 is set for Thursday night at Raley Field. RHP Daniel Cabrera (1-1, 3.00 ERA) gets the ball for Reno, while RHP Jesse Chavez (8-5, 3.77 ERA) counters for the River Cats. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. PT. The game can be listened to live on Fox Sports 630 AM or by visiting RenoAces.com. Additionally, the Freight House District will host a watch party with food and drink specials available. Game 3 and 4 and 5 (if necessary) will move to Aces Ballpark. Playoff tickets are on-sale now at RenoAces.com, by calling (775) 334-7000 or by visiting the Aces Ballpark Ticket Office.

Reno Aces notes: Adam Eaton leaves big void in lineup By The Reno Gazette-Journal http://www.rgj.com/article/20120906/SPORTS03/309060017/1018 As the regular season came to an end Monday, Aces manager Brett Butler assumed the roster he had at that time would be the one he would have to work with when the playoffs began Wednesday night. But Diamondbacks center fielder Chris Young came up with a quad injury later Monday, and Arizona moved quickly to bring up Adam Eaton, who made his major league debut Tuesday in San Francisco. ―He gives you that spark, that sixth tool. You can‘t replace that; it‘s hard to replace that,‖ Butler said before Game 1 of the Pacific Conference championship series. ―Eaton should have been up there a month ago, we all know that. It was nice while we had him. ―Now, we have to move on without him.‖ Eaton led the PCL in eight offensive categories, including average, and last week was named the league‘s MVP. His loss creates a void unlikely to be filled. ―It changes the way we are going about things,‖ Butler said. ―But there is more than one way to win in this game.‖ A.J. Pollock moved into the leadoff spot and slid over to center field from right, and Brent Clevlen moved from left to right. Tyler Kuhn moved from second base to left and hit second in the order, and Taylor Harbin slid from shortstop to second. Wladimir Sutil started at shortstop Wednesday. NINE STRONG Outfielder Keon Broxton was promoted from High-A Visalia to take Eaton‘s spot on the roster. But the 22-year-old shouldn‘t expect much more than a pinch-hitting appearance or be a late defensive replacement.

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―It‘s great experience for him, but I don‘t see him getting in there too much,‖ Butler said. That could go for the rest of the Aces‘ bench, as well. ―These guys are probably going to be the ones who play, the nine,‖ Butler said of the lineup he used in the series opener. That included Josh Bell, whom Butler indicated will probably be the designated hitter each game. ROTATION UNCERTAINTY The River Cats had yet to announce who their starter for Games 4 and 5 would be, should those games be necessary. ―It depends on how these first three games go,‖ Sacramento manger Darren Bush said. ―If you lose the first two games, the Game 5 starter might not pitch, so you want him to be available. You have to manage and play to win each game. There may not be a Game 4 or a Game 5.‖ Jesse Chavez will pitch tonight‘s Game 2, and Dan Straily is scheduled to start Friday‘s Game 3 in Reno. Straily, though, could be summoned to the majors after the A‘s Brandon McCarthy was hit in the head by a line drive Wednesday afternoon. ―I haven‘t heard anything yet,‖ Bush said.

Aces again get playoff jump on River Cats By Matt Kawahara / The Sacramento Bee http://www.sacbee.com/2012/09/06/4792109/aces-again-get-playoff-jump-on.html At this point, the River Cats must be able to conjure up a pretty detailed image of what Trevor Bauer looks like pitching from the stretch. Bauer, the Reno Aces' quirky, hard-throwing right-hander, threw 11 innings this season against the River Cats in which they put 18 runners on base. What they had to show for it, though, was three runs and, after a 3-1 loss to Bauer and the Aces on Wednesday night, a 1-0 series deficit in the opening round of the Pacific Coast League playoffs. The River Cats will attempt tonight to split their two games at home before the best-of-five series shifts to Reno. If the even-keeled nature of manager Darren Bush isn't enough, they may want to re-examine the opening series of last year's playoffs, when they fell behind Reno 2-0 and came all the way back. "It's still early, and obviously we don't plan on getting to that point," said outfielder Shane Peterson. "We've lost a game before and come back and won. So for now, it's just kind of clear our heads, go home, and it's only one game." Before the game, infielder Grant Green recalled having Bauer "on the ropes almost every single inning" when he faced the River Cats in May, but that they couldn't deliver the big hit that would serve as a knockout blow. With Green the lone holdover from that day's starting lineup, the River Cats encountered much the same problem Wednesday night in front of an announced crowd of 7,105 at Raley Field. Bauer, who throws with a contortionist's motion that helps him hide the ball until late in his delivery, put runners in scoring position in the first, fourth and fifth innings. But Taylor, who singled to start the fourth and

moved to third on a single by catcher Blake Lalli, was the only one to cross home. Bauer bounced a pitch and Taylor, who had crept halfway down the line toward home, froze long enough to draw a throw from catcher Ryan Budde. Taylor then pivoted for home, and third baseman Tyler Bortnick's return throw sailed over Budde's head, allowing Taylor to score. "We left some guys on base, but most of the guys we left in scoring position were with two outs," Bush said. "Bauer did a very good job of making the pitches that he needed to when he needed to make them." Right-hander Bruce Billings struck out five of the first eight Reno hitters he faced and finished with a season-high 10 strikeouts. A one-out error in the third led to the only two runs he allowed, both unearned. Wladimir Sutil hit a slow chopper that Green, charging from third, couldn't pick up. A.J. Pollock singled, Tyler Kuhn flipped a shallow fly ball down the right-field line for a double, Josh Bell drew a walk and Mike Jacobs drove in Pollock with a sacrifice fly. Just like that, Reno led 2-0. Billings and two relievers kept the game within reach, holding the Aces scoreless until Tyler Bortnick's home run off Arnold Leon in the ninth. "(Billings) was locating his pitches all night long," Bush said. "He threw the ball great, gave us a chance to win." Sacramento will try to even the series tonight behind right-hander Jesse Chavez. Bush said he wasn't sure how his rotation for the series might be affected if the A's lose right-hander Brandon McCarthy for an extended period. McCarthy was struck in the head by a line drive during his start Wednesday in Oakland. If the A's need to call up a starter, a strong candidate is Dan Straily, who made three starts in Oakland this season during a brief call-up and is slated to start Game 3 against the Aces on Friday night.

BayBears Announce Bennett as General Manager By Mobile BayBears http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120906&content_id=37990176&vkey=news_t417&fext=.jsp&sid=t417 MOBILE, AL - The Defending Southern League Champion Mobile BayBears Professional Baseball Club are proud to announce the hiring of Heath Bennett as the team's new general manager. Heath Bennett joins the BayBears and HWS Baseball from the Los Angeles Clippers where he spent the last 4 years as Director of Sales and then Senior Director of Sales and Service. During those 4 seasons the Clippers sold at least 2000 new full season tickets each year, including an NBA leading 6500 new full season tickets last season. In addition to growth in the new season ticket base, renewal rates rose each year and the group sales department grew from a bottom third of the league ranking to 5th in group tickets per game during the 2010-11 season. Heath leaves the Clippers with an active sellout streak dating back to the 2010-11 season that stands at 45 consecutive sellouts at STAPLES Center. "Heath is an outstanding, experienced executive with a strong sales background and we are excited to welcome him to the BayBears family," said HWS Baseball and BayBears President/COO Bill Shanahan. "A special thanks to HWS Baseball Vice-President, Mike Gorrasi for securing such a quality and exceptional individual to run the

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day to day operations of this tradition rich franchise." Shanahan continued, "With Heath accepting the GM position, the BayBears organization have taken a huge leap forward in building a strong foundation for 2013 and many years to come!" Prior to his time with the Clippers, Heath worked for Comcast-Spectacor as Director of Sales for the American Hockey League's Philadelphia Phantoms and Director of Group Sales for the HWS owned Modesto Nuts. Heath has also spent time in the sales department of the Philadelphia Eagles. Originally from New York, Heath graduated from the Hackley School in 1996 and Ursinus College (PA) in 2000. "I've been very fortunate to learn the business working with some great franchises across all 4 major sports," said Bennett. "Right now I'm looking forward to getting to know the staff and implementing some of the things I've seen across the industry to enhance the game day experience for our fans here at the Hank," Bennett said. "Mobile is a great city and has such a rich baseball tradition, both big reasons why I am so excited to be joining the BayBears staff, and two of my primary goals are to continue to grow the BayBears as a leader in the community and to bring the best family entertainment value on the gulf coast to Hank Aaron Stadium." Bennett becomes the fourth general manager in the seventeen year history of the BayBears in Mobile and will begin September 20th. Since its inaugural season in 1997, the BayBears have won three Southern League Championships (1998, 2004, 2011) and have been ranked the Number One Minor League Team in the Nation twice by Baseball America, (1998 and 2011). HWS Baseball owns and operates the Mobile BayBears/Southern League (AA Affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Modesto Nuts/California League (Advanced A Affiliate of the Colorado Rockies),the Mahoning Valley Scrappers/New York Penn-League (Short Season A Affiliate of the Cleveland Indians) and the Columbia Blowfish/Coastal Plain League (Summer Collegiate). Hank Aaron Stadium is the home of the Hank Aaron Childhood Home & Museum. For more information, contact the BayBears at 251-479-BEAR (2327) or online at: www.mobilebaybears.com

Rawhide Select Jennifer Pendergraft as New General Manager By Visalia Rawhide http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120905&content_id=37932408&vkey=news_t516&fext=.jsp&sid=t516 Jennifer Pendergraft will take over as the Visalia Rawhide GM, as Team Owner/President, Tom Seidler, shifts his focus to the San Diego Padres. VISALIA - The Visalia Rawhide announced a new General Manager today, as Jennifer Pendergraft was promoted by Rawhide President Tom Seidler. "Jennifer has been an outstanding leader for the Rawhide, and also in the greater Visalia Community," Seidler said. "Each year with the Rawhide, she has earned additional responsibilities and excelled in managing her expanding role. She has already handled most of the responsibilities of a GM. I am confident she and the rest of the staff will lead the Rawhide to continued growth in attendance, expansion in community outreach, and making Rawhide Ballpark more and more of a community gathering place."

Pendergraft has been very active in the Visalia community, including being designated Mardi Gras Queen as the top Creative Center fundraiser in consecutive years (2010-2011). She has also served on the Visalia CVB Sports Committee, graduated from the Visalia Chamber of Commerce Leadership Program and served on the Board of Directors of the Happy Trails non-profit organization. Additionally, she recently joined the Visalia County Center Rotary. "I'm excited to take on this new responsibility," Pendergraft said. "I've enjoyed the challenge of helping build up the organization over the past six years. With our fantastic staff, I look forward to continuing to improve the ballclub and further strengthen our connection with the community." "Jennifer is certainly very well-qualified and deserving of this promotion," California League President Charlie Blaney said. "The California League welcomes her as the new General Manager of the Visalia Rawhide." "We are extremely happy and proud of our relationship with the Visalia Rawhide and the Visalia community," Arizona D-backs Director of Player Development Mike Bell said. "To have Jennifer named the GM of the Rawhide reassures us that this relationship will continue and will surely grow stronger." Tulare County's only professional sports team continues to grow, both on and off the field. Having just set an all-time franchise attendance record for the fourth straight season, the Rawhide will host off-season events at Rawhide Ballpark, including Oktoberfest (Oct 5), Kids Halloween with Fireworks (Sat Oct 27) and several reunions and Holiday parties.

Town Hall Meeting scheduled By South Bend Silverhawks http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120904&content_id=37867798&vkey=news_t550&fext=.jsp&sid=t550 The Silver Hawks will host a town hall meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Kroc Center, 900 W. Western Ave., for the public to ask questions, provide feedback and offer suggestions for additional improvements at the ballpark. The Silver Hawks organization recently increased their 2012 attendance by 68 percent and want feedback from the fans to make it an even better 2013. The town hall meeting is free and open to the public. Can't make it out? Feel free to send us your feedback, thoughts and suggestions via email to: hawks@silverhawks.com and let your voice be heard to make your experience at the ballpark the best it can be.

Boise 3, Yakima 2 By John Hadden / Yakima Bears http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120906&content_id=37979212&vkey=news_t419&fext=.jsp&sid=t419 The Yakima Bears lost 3-2 to the Boise Hawks Wednesday night at Yakima County Stadium in game three of the Northwest League East

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Division series. The win for the Hawks gave Boise a 2-1 series win and propelled the Hawks to the 2012 Northwest League Championship series against Vancouver. The Bears fell behind in the third inning, as a wild pitch with runners on the corners allowed one run to score and that was followed by a bases loaded fly ball single to left field that stretched the Hawks lead to 3-0. The Bears were unable to answer until the eighth inning. Josh Parr led off that eighth inning with a single and Danny Poma reached on a walk. Yogey Perez-Ramos then hit a groundball to second that was thrown away, allowing Parr to score. A Kevin Medrano groundout brought in Poma and put Perez-Ramos at third, but the Bears were unable to bring him in. The score would stay at 3-2 until the end. The loss went on Jose Martinez, who allowed three earned runs on four hits and four walks in four and a third innings. The Bears bullpen, led by two and two thirds innings from Alex Carreras, did not allow a run in the final four and two thirds innings. Hawks starter Felix Pena tossed seven shutout innings to earn the win and Eddie Orozco retired the Bears final five batters to earn the save. The Bears outhit the Hawks 6-5. Steven Rodriguez went 2-for-4 with a double, which was the only extra-base hit of the game. The Bears other hits came from Medrano, Parr, Michael Lang, and Mark Ginther. The Bears finished the 2012 regular season 37-39 and went 1-2 in the playoffs.

Glenn walk-off HR lifts O's to win By Missoula Osprey http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120906&content_id=37988542&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&sid=t518 Justin Thompson pitched the final two innings to pick up the win on Wednesday. Alex Glenn learned a couple of things when he faced Mo Wiley in his final at-bat in Billings on Sunday, and he used that knowledge to give the Osprey a walk-off win on Thursday here at Ogren Park Allegiance Field in front of 2,381 fans. Glenn hit a 1-0 pitch off of Wiley to deep left field for a two-run home run, helping the Osprey shock the Mustangs, 3-2, and make Thursday's regular season finale for both teams a winner-take-all contest. The winner will win the Pioneer League North Division Second-Half title and a playoff berth opposite Great Falls, who won the first half. For Glenn, it was the second home run off of Wiley in four days - the Osprey outfielder hit a solo home run to right field off of Wiley in the top of the ninth inning in the series finale against the Mustangs this past Sunday. It was also the third home run Wiley (3-2) has allowed Glenn drove in all three runs for the Osprey - the first coming on a groundout that scored Michael Perez from third base in the bottom of the seventh inning. By then, Billings had used solo home runs from Jesse Winker and Brandon Dailey to take a 2-0 lead. Other than those two solo shots, the Osprey pitching staff of Chris Thomas, Chris Capper and Justin Thompson (2-2) was excellent, scattering seven hits and a walk while striking out a combined 13 batters. The Osprey were held to six hits -Breland Almadova tripled, while Tyler Bream and Perez doubled. Pedro Ruiz and Andrew Velazquez each singled for Missoula.

The Osprey will continue their crucial North Division showdown with the Billings Mustangs at Ogren Park Allegiance Field on Thursday, with the winner claiming the final North Division playoff berth. The Osprey will send right-hander Ross Gerdeman to the mound opposite Mustangs right-hander Sal Romano. Tickets are available now at the MSO Hub Box Office, located at 140 North Higgins in Downtown Missoula, online at MissoulaOsprey.com and by phone (406) 543-3300.

Osprey walk-off keeps pennant hopes alive By The Missoulian http://missoulian.com/sports/osprey/osprey-walk-off-keeps-pennant-hopes-alive/article_9c1bc0ac-f7d7-11e1-b9df-0019bb2963f4.html Alex Glenn should have the initials ―M.D.‖ inserted behind his name, because he kept the Missoula Osprey‘s playoff hopes alive. Down to their last out of the game, Glenn smacked a two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth to revive Missoula‘s season and give it a 3-2 win over the Billings Mustangs on Wednesday in front of 2,381 fans with elevated heart rates at Ogren-Allegiance Park. A loss in either of their last two games with the Mustangs would eliminate the Osprey from the Pioneer League playoffs. Billings, which led 2-1 heading into the ninth, now must try to do it again on Thursday in the final regular-season game of the year. First pitch is at 7:05 p.m. And to be fair to the Ponies, it appeared they had things sewed up before Glenn took Billings reliever Mo Wiley‘s second offering deep into the darkness that was left-center field. ―I tried to stay calm, but sometimes you just get caught up in the emotions,‖ said Glenn, shortly after hitting arguably the biggest home run in the 14-year history of the Missoula Osprey. ―You try to stay relaxed, stay as cool as possible. But it‘s difficult.‖ Glenn, who has six homers since joining the club on Aug. 17, is one cool customer. His precision at the plate, of late, has been surgeon-esque. Glenn, who was hitting .367 in the previous 10 games, collected all three RBIs for Missoula, but none was bigger than the final blast. ―That was huge,‖ said teammate Jake Lamb, who led off the inning with a walk. ―We were just looking for a base hit, but we‘ll take a walk-off bomb for sure.‖ Lamb, who went 0 for 3, had his 10-game hitting streak snapped. He was one of the many Osprey sluggers who struggled with Billings starter Drew Cisco, who went 6 2-3 innings and struck out nine without issuing a walk. Cisco struck out a batter after giving up a leadoff double to Missoula cleanup hitter Michael Perez in the seventh. Perez then moved up on a wild pitch before Glenn hit a dribbler to the right side of the infield to bring Perez home. That was it for Cisco. ―After they got their starter out – he pitched a helluva game – we had more confidence,‖ Lamb said. ―We started getting better at-bats and putting guys on. Man, that‘s baseball.‖ The O‘s also threatened in the eighth before another pitching change closed the door. Justin Thompson got the win for Missoula. He struck out three batters in two innings as part of a 13-strikeout performance by the O‘s pitchers. Reliever Chris Capper and starter Chris Thomas collected five strikeouts apiece.

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Capper came into a tight spot in the fifth, taking over for Thomas with one out and two men on base. The runners advanced to second and third on a pair of wild pitches, but Capper didn‘t allow them to score. Both of Billings‘ runs came on solo home runs. Brandon Dailey put the Mustangs up 2-0 in the seventh with his fifth homer of the season and Jesse Winker broke a scoreless tie in the third with his solo shot. Missoula (22-15 in the second half) now leads the season series with Billings (21-16) by one game, 8-7, but still needs to win Thursday because the Mustangs own the next tiebreaker should they win. ―We knew we had to take two of them,‖ Glenn said. ―It‘s not pressure, but it is high intensity. But that‘s what you want. That‘s what you dream of.‖ Notes: The first game of the Pioneer League North Division series would be Friday at either Missoula or Billings. Great Falls, the first-half champ, elected to host Game 2 and, if necessary, Game 3.

September 6, 2012 • sports.yahoo.com/mlb/morenews http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/morenews

September 6, 2012

Johnson pitches 7 innings, Marlins beat Brewers 3:54 pm EDT (The Associated Press)

Dodgers-Giants Preview 3:52 pm EDT (The Associated Press)

UPDATE 1-Baseball results 3:42 pm EDT (Reuters)

Braves pull out another 1-0 win over Rockies 3:20 pm EDT (The Associated Press)

Mets pitcher Dickey has deal for children's books 3:11 pm EDT (The Associated Press)

Astros-Reds Preview 3:09 pm EDT (The Associated Press)

Cardinals are in better position than last year 2:10 pm EDT (The SportsXchange)

Utley playing third base for Phillies remains intriguing idea 2:10 pm EDT (The SportsXchange)

Aramis Ramirez: Back Flares Up 1:31 pm EDT (Rotowire.com)

Miguel Cabrera: Ankle Still an Issue 1:31 pm EDT (Rotowire.com)

Michael Saunders: Expected Back Friday 1:31 pm EDT (Rotowire.com)

John Axford: Converts Another Save Opportunity 1:31 pm EDT (Rotowire.com)

Jose Tabata: Foot Contusion 1:30 pm EDT (Rotowire.com)

Mark Teixeira: Nears Return 1:30 pm EDT (Rotowire.com)

Marlins' Oviedo has Tommy John surgery 1:30 pm EDT (The SportsXchange)

Indians' Perez criticizes ownership, management 11:10 am EDT (The SportsXchange)

Power Rankings: Nats' Stephen Strasburg pondering his future options on the bench 9:34 am EDT (Yahoo! Sports)

Boston's Valentine defends self as criticism intensifies 5:00 am EDT (The SportsXchange)

Arizona's Cahill toys with no-hitter 5:00 am EDT (The SportsXchange)

Rangers' Beltre starts September with a bang again 5:00 am EDT (The SportsXchange)

Blue Jays' Romero will get extra time between starts 5:00 am EDT (The SportsXchange)

Leyland confident pitching will carry Tigers 5:00 am EDT (The SportsXchange)

Yankees' Martin heating up at the right time 5:00 am EDT (The SportsXchange)

Dodgers' Billingsley hopes to avoid Tommy John surgery 5:00 am EDT (The SportsXchange)

Giants' Nady strains hamstring, could be out awhile 5:00 am EDT (The SportsXchange)

Padres' Denorfia accepts two-year contract extension 3:30 am EDT (The SportsXchange)

Maybin robs Kemp of HR, Padres top Dodgers 4-3 3:16 am EDT (The Associated Press)

Votto looks just fine in first game back 3:10 am EDT (The SportsXchange)

Gonzalez proving to be Nationals' other ace 3:10 am EDT (The SportsXchange)

Pirates' Walker won't return Friday after all 3:10 am EDT (The SportsXchange)

Wainwright says he's not tired, just out of whack 3:10 am EDT (The SportsXchange)

Mets' Dickey gets 18th victory with some adjustments 3:10 am EDT (The SportsXchange)

Rangers' phenom Jurickson Profar latest member of baseball's teen beat 3:01 am EDT (Yahoo! Sports)

Millwood, Ackley lead Mariners past Red Sox 2-1 2:58 am EDT (The Associated Press)

Mariners match last year's win total by defeating Red Sox 2:50 am EDT (The SportsXchange)

Cahill takes no-hit bid into 7th, D-backs top SF 2:26 am EDT (The Associated Press)

Cubs-Nationals Preview 1:57 am EDT (The Associated Press)

Brewers-Marlins Preview 1:54 am EDT (The Associated Press)

Beltre, Dempster lead Rangers over Royals 7-6 1:51 am EDT (The Associated Press)

Baseball standings 1:44 am EDT (Reuters)

UPDATE 4-Baseball results 1:37 am EDT (Reuters)

Nationals put on home run show to rout Cubs 1:23 am EDT (Reuters)

Mariners 2, Red Sox 1 1:20 am EDT (The SportsXchange)

UPDATE 1-Baseball-Nationals put on home run show to rout Cubs 1:16 am EDT (Reuters)

Rangers-Royals Preview 1:08 am EDT (The Associated Press)

Acta shrugs off Perez's comments 1:06 am EDT (The Associated Press)

Yankees-Orioles Preview 1:00 am EDT (The Associated Press)

Rockies-Braves Preview 12:28 am EDT (The Associated Press)

Minor, Kimbrel pitch Braves to 1-0 win 12:23 am EDT (The Associated Press)

Error helps Yankees beat the Rays 6-4 12:23 am EDT (The Associated Press)

19

Cubs allow 6 more home runs, lose 9-1 to Nats 12:19 am EDT (The Associated Press)

Nats back Gonzalez with 6 HRs in 9-1 win over Cubs 12:13 am EDT (The Associated Press)

Martin leads the way as Yanks regain AL East lead with 6-4 win over Rays 12:00 am EDT (The SportsXchange) September 5, 2012

Correia makes solid spot start for Pirates 11:29 pm EDT (The Associated Press)

Weeks hits 2 homers to lead Brewers over Marlins 11:20 pm EDT (The Associated Press)

Davis drives in 3 runs to lead Jays over Orioles 11:06 pm EDT (The Associated Press)

Padres, Denorfia agree to $4.25M, 2-year deal 11:01 pm EDT (The Associated Press)

Baseball-Nationals put on home run show to rout Cubs 10:45 pm EDT (Reuters)

Yankees 6, Rays 4 10:40 pm EDT (The SportsXchange)

Tigers avoid sweep with 7-1 win over Indians 10:37 pm EDT (The Associated Press)

Valentine: Threat to punch radio host was a joke 10:25 pm EDT (The Associated Press)

Clemens-McNamee pretrial schedule until next Aug 10:14 pm EDT (The Associated Press)

Angels beat A's 7-1 to complete 3-game sweep 9:31 pm EDT (The Associated Press)

A's McCarthy hit by line drive in head vs. Angels 9:24 pm EDT (The Associated Press)

Elbow injury ends season for Dodgers' Billingsley 9:18 pm EDT (The Associated Press)

Dodgers' Billingsley out for season with elbow injury 9:14 pm EDT (Reuters)

Baseball-Dodgers' Billingsley out for season with elbow injury 9:02 pm EDT (Reuters)

Cubs manager Dale Sveum ejected for arguing 8:56 pm EDT (The Associated Press)

National League team-by-team notebook -- Wednesday, September 5, 2012 8:50 pm EDT (The SportsXchange)

American League team-by-team notebook -- Wednesday, September 5, 2012 8:50 pm EDT (The SportsXchange)

Angels complete three-game sweep of A's with 7-1 win Wednesday 8:30 pm EDT (The SportsXchange)

Angels 7, A's 1 7:50 pm EDT (The SportsXchange)

Yankees hold team meeting amid slide 7:45 pm EDT (The Associated Press)

MLB Roundup: Bill James back to Red Sox, Dodgers' Billingsley out 7:20 pm EDT (The SportsXchange)

Jays to skip Romero as he deals with 12-game skid 7:15 pm EDT (The Associated Press)

Phillies' power backs Halladay in win over Reds 7:07 pm EDT (The Associated Press)

Injured Angels pitcher Weaver plays waiting game 7:05 pm EDT (Reuters)

Baseball-Injured Angels pitcher Weaver plays waiting game 6:53 pm EDT (Reuters)

UPDATE 2-Baseball results 6:51 pm EDT (Reuters)

Dickey reaches deep into pitching repertoire to hold off Cards, 6-2 6:50 pm EDT (The SportsXchange)

September 6, 2012 • MLB.com http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/transactions

Last updated: Thu, September 6, 2012, 10:42 EDT

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Team Player Transaction

Colorado Rockies Rob Scahill Purchased From Minors

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Team Player Transaction

Cleveland Indians

Carlos Carrasco

Sent to Minors, For Rehabilitation

Colorado Rockies Matt McBride Called Up from Minors

Los Angeles Dodgers

Chad Billingsley

Transferred to 60-Day DL, (Right elbow pain)

Los Angeles Dodgers

Steven Rodriguez

Purchased From Minors

San Diego Padres Chris Denorfia

Signed, ( 2013-2014)(two-year extension)

Tampa Bay Rays

Dane De La Rosa

Called Up from Minors

Tampa Bay Rays Stephen Vogt Called Up from Minors

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Team Player Transaction

Arizona Diamondbacks

Henry Blanco

Transferred to 60-Day DL, (Sprained left thumb)

Arizona Diamondbacks

Adam Eaton Purchased From Minors

Atlanta Braves Cory Gearrin Called Up from Minors

Atlanta Braves Julio Teheran Called Up from Minors

Baltimore Orioles Zach Britton Called Up from Minors

Boston Red Sox

Clayton Mortensen

Called Up from Minors

Boston Red Sox

Guillermo Quiroz

Purchased From Minors

Boston Red Sox

Guillermo Quiroz

Traded From, Seattle (for cash considerations)

Chicago Cubs

Anthony Recker

Called Up from Minors

Chicago Cubs Rafael Dolis Called Up from Minors

Chicago Cubs Chris Rusin Called Up from Minors

Chicago Cubs Jaye Chapman Called Up from Minors

Chicago White Sox

Dylan Axelrod Called Up from Minors

Cincinnati Reds Tony Cingrani Purchased From Minors

Cincinnati Reds Joey Votto

Removed From 15-Day DL, (Torn meniscus, left knee)

Cincinnati Reds Joey Votto Recalled From Minors, Rehab

20

Assignment

Cincinnati Reds

Pedro Villarreal

Called Up from Minors

Cincinnati Reds Chris Valaika Outrighted to Minors

Cincinnati Reds Chris Valaika

Called Up from Minors, - Not to Report

Cincinnati Reds Jordan Smith Outrighted to Minors

Cincinnati Reds Jordan Smith

Called Up from Minors, - Not to Report

Cincinnati Reds

Todd Redmond

Called Up from Minors

Cleveland Indians David Huff Called Up from Minors

Cleveland Indians Cord Phelps Called Up from Minors

Cleveland Indians Vinny Rottino Called Up from Minors

Cleveland Indians Scott Maine Called Up from Minors

Detroit Tigers

Luke Putkonen

Called Up from Minors

Houston Astros Chuckie Fick Called Up from Minors

Houston Astros J.D. Martinez Called Up from Minors

Houston Astros

Carlos Corporan

Called Up from Minors

Houston Astros

Dallas Keuchel

Called Up from Minors

Kansas City Royals

Jeremy Jeffress Called Up from Minors

Los Angeles Angels

Hank Conger Called Up from Minors

Los Angeles Angels

Barry Enright Called Up from Minors

Los Angeles Dodgers

Josh Wall Called Up from Minors

Los Angeles Dodgers

Javy Guerra

Placed on 15-Day DL, (Left oblique strain)

Miami Marlins

Juan Carlos Oviedo

Transferred to 60-Day DL, (Right elbow sprain)

Miami Marlins A.J. Ramos Purchased From Minors

Milwaukee Brewers

Wily Peralta Called Up from Minors

Milwaukee Brewers

Tyler Thornburg

Called Up from Minors

Milwaukee Brewers

Logan Schafer Called Up from Minors

Milwaukee Brewers

Josh Stinson Called Up from Minors

Minnesota Twins Luis Perdomo Called Up from Minors

Minnesota Twins

Scott Diamond

Reinstated From League Suspension

Minnesota Twins

Eduardo Escobar

Called Up from Minors

New York Mets Jordany Called Up from Minors

Valdespin

New York Mets Tim Byrdak

Transferred to 60-Day DL, (Sore left shoulder)

New York Mets Jeurys Familia Called Up from Minors

New York Mets

Justin Hampson

Purchased From Minors

New York Mets Rob Johnson

Transferred to 60-Day DL, (Torn ligament, left thumb)

New York Mets Fred Lewis Purchased From Minors

New York Mets Jenrry Mejia Called Up from Minors

New York Mets Elvin Ramirez Called Up from Minors

New York Yankees

Casey McGehee

Called Up from Minors

Oakland Athletics Jim Miller Called Up from Minors

Philadelphia Phillies

Pete Orr Purchased From Minors

Pittsburgh Pirates Starling Marte Sent to Minors, For Rehabilitation

San Diego Padres

Eddy Rodriguez

Designated for Assignment

San Diego Padres Ali Solis Purchased From Minors

San Diego Padres Andy Parrino Called Up from Minors

San Diego Padres

Ross Ohlendorf

Designated for Assignment

San Diego Padres

Brad Boxberger

Called Up from Minors

San Diego Padres Anthony Bass

Removed From 60-Day DL, (Right shoulder inflammation)

San Francisco Giants

Eric Hacker Designated for Assignment

San Francisco Giants

Dan Runzler Called Up from Minors

San Francisco Giants

Emmanuel Burriss

Purchased From Minors

San Francisco Giants

Dan Otero Called Up from Minors

Seattle Mariners Mike Carp

Removed From 15-Day DL, (Strained left groin muscle)

Seattle Mariners Casper Wells Called Up from Minors

Seattle Mariners Mike Carp

Recalled From Minors, Rehab Assignment

Seattle Mariners Hector Noesi Called Up from Minors

Seattle Mariners

Carlos Triunfel

Called Up from Minors

Seattle Mariners Alex Liddi Called Up from Minors

Seattle Mariners Shawn Kelley Called Up from Minors

Seattle Mariners Luis Jimenez Purchased From Minors

St. Louis Cardinals

Ryan Jackson Called Up from Minors

St. Louis Adron Called Up from Minors

21

Cardinals Chambers

St. Louis Cardinals

Shelby Miller Purchased From Minors

Toronto Blue Jays Anthony Gose Called Up from Minors

Toronto Blue Jays Chad Beck Called Up from Minors

Toronto Blue Jays David Cooper Sent to Minors, For Rehabilitation

Washington Nationals

Chien-Ming Wang

Removed From 15-Day DL, (Strained right hip)

Washington Nationals

Chien-Ming Wang

Recalled From Minors, Rehab Assignment

Washington Nationals

Corey Brown Called Up from Minors

Monday, September 3, 2012

Team Player Transaction

Atlanta Braves Jair Jurrjens Sent to Minors

Atlanta Braves Jair Jurrjens

Recalled From Minors, Rehab Assignment

Atlanta Braves Jair Jurrjens

Removed From 15-Day DL, (Strained right groin)

Atlanta Braves

Andrelton Simmons

Sent to Minors, For Rehabilitation

Atlanta Braves

Randall Delgado

Called Up from Minors

Atlanta Braves Jack Wilson

Cleared Waivers and Became a Free Agent

Baltimore Orioles Jason Berken Designated for Assignment

Baltimore Orioles Zach Phillips Purchased From Minors

Baltimore Orioles

Tommy Hunter

Called Up from Minors

Boston Red Sox Scott Atchison Sent to Minors, For Rehabilitation

Boston Red Sox

Chris Carpenter

Called Up from Minors

Houston Astros

Mark Hamburger

Outrighted to Minors

Houston Astros

Mark Hamburger

Called Up from Minors, - Not to Report

Houston Astros

Edgar Gonzalez

Purchased From Minors

Los Angeles Angels

Peter Bourjos

Recalled From Minors, Rehab Assignment

Los Angeles Angels

Peter Bourjos

Removed From 15-Day DL, (Sore right wrist)

Milwaukee Brewers

Brandon Kintzler

Purchased From Minors

New York Mets

Collin McHugh

Called Up from Minors

New York Yankees

Kosuke Fukudome

Released

New York Yankees

Alex Rodriguez

Removed From 15-Day DL, (Non-displaced fracture in left hand)

New York Yankees

Alex Rodriguez

Recalled From Minors, Rehab Assignment

New York Yankees

Ramiro Pena Outrighted to Minors

Oakland Athletics Tyson Ross Called Up from Minors

Pittsburgh Pirates Jeff Clement Purchased From Minors

Pittsburgh Pirates Chad Qualls Sent to Minors, For Rehabilitation

San Diego Padres Anthony Bass

Recalled From Minors, Rehab Assignment

St. Louis Cardinals

Victor Marte Called Up from Minors

Tampa Bay Rays Will Rhymes Outrighted to Minors

Toronto Blue Jays Jason Frasor

Removed From 15-Day DL, (Right forearm tightness)

Toronto Blue Jays Jason Frasor

Recalled From Minors, Rehab Assignment

Toronto Blue Jays Brett Cecil Called Up from Minors

Washington Nationals

Christian Garcia

Purchased From Minors

Washington Nationals

Zach Duke Purchased From Minors

Washington Nationals

Henry Rodriguez

Transferred to 60-Day DL, (Strained lower back)

September 6, 2012 • USA Today

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/alnotes.htm

September 6, 2012 • USA Today

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/nlnotes.htm

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

INSIDE PITCH

Twice in the last 10 days, Chase Utley has taken groundballs at third base. It's an experiment that's very much in the infant stages, and earlier this week

Phillies manager Charlie Manuel shot down the likelihood of it materializing

into something that could take place in a major league game this season. "He's taking groundballs there, that's what he's doing," Manuel said. "(Heck),

when I was a player, I played right field most of the time, and I'd take

groundballs at shortstop, third, first. I'd take a lot of groundballs sometimes." But the Phillies don't have an obvious candidate to play third base in 2013.

Injury-plagued Placido Polanco, who turns this 37 this winter, has a $5.5 million option in his contract that's almost certainly not going to be picked up.

Moreover, the Phils haven't had power at the third base position since Scott

Rolen left town a decade ago. Since being activated from the disabled list in late June, Utley has reconnected

with his power stroke, which makes the possible move to third even more

intriguing. Utley hit his 10th home run of the season in Wednesday's 6-2 win in

Cincinnati. And he has hit those 10 homers in 215 at-bats after hitting a

career-low 11 home runs in 398 at-bats in 2011. "He shows you his power is still there," Manuel said.

Utley homered in eight of his first 34 games this season, beginning with his

first at-bat of 2012 on June 27 against Pittsburgh. His most recent home run was a two-run shot that turned a 4-0 lead into a rout against Chris Leake and

the Reds, guiding the Phillies to a series win at Great American Ball Park.

22

"He finally hit one to center," Manuel said. "He's hit three or four balls hard to

center in the last week that were caught right in front of the fence. He finally got one over today. ... Chase has been hitting into some tough luck."

NOTES, QUOTES

—RHP Jonathan Papelbon served up a solo home run to Jay Bruce to begin his outing but still got the game's final three outs to secure Wednesday's win

in Cincinnati. Papelbon, who leads all major leagues pitchers with 52 games

finished, has allowed seven home runs, tying his career high set in 2010. —LHP Cliff Lee will take the mound on Friday at Citizens Bank Park. He is

coming off his best start of the season — seven shutout innings in a 5-1 win at

Atlanta on Saturday. Lee is 2-0 with a 1.31 ERA in his last three starts. —CF John Mayberry Jr. hit safely in five of six games (.391, 9-for-23, two

home runs) on the Phillies' just completed road trip through Atlanta and

Cincinnati. Mayberry is hitting .308 with six home runs and 15 RBI in 33 games since the Phils traded fellow outfielders Shane Victorino and Hunter

Pence.

—1B Ryan Howard has started 20 straight games since sitting out of Aug. 15 in Miami. In the span, Howard is hitting .276 with an .820 OPS, three home

runs, five doubles and 18 RBI. He also has struck out 29 times while drawing

10 walks. —3B Michael Martinez started three games on the Phillies' road trip and went

hitless in 10 at-bats. Martinez, who is hitting .115 this season, is in an 0-for-19

spell since August 19. Despite his offensive liabilities, Martinez made two sharp plays behind Roy Halladay at third base in the Phillies' 6-2 win over

Cincinnati on Wednesday.

BY THE NUMBERS: 7 — Consecutive scoreless appearances by reliever Antonio Bastardo. He has struck out 12 of the 19 batters he has faced over that

span. QUOTE TO NOTE: "When you talk to him, he just isn't quite there yet. But

he's definitely getting there." — Manager Charlie Manuel on Roy Halladay,

who missed two months of the season with a right shoulder injury but has allowed three runs or less in seven of his last 10 starts.