Diamondbacks fans getting spoiled?
"Diamondbacks fans are getting spoiled.
Down 7-0 in the fourth like on April 17?
Down 6-0 in the fourth like on April 20?
Down 6-0 in the fifth like on May 2?
Down 10-0 in the second like Wednesday night?
Don't worry, the offense will find a way to come back. It's getting to be routine around Chase Field. They may not always win, but at this rate you should plan for a lot more traffic on the routes out of the ballpark at the end of the game, because no one is going to be leaving early.
That was the case on Friday night for the 25,056 in attendance as the Diamondbacks went down 5-0 before they even had an at-bat -- against the National League ERA leader no less -- but came back to eventually pull out a thrilling 9-8 win over the Braves in the first game of a three-game series.
The game started in a manner eerily reminiscent of Wednesday night's contest against the Padres. In that game, Juan Cruz gave up nine first-inning runs on 46 pitches. On Friday night, Miguel Batista gave up five first-inning runs on 45 pitches, capped by a ball that Adam LaRoche golfed into the right-field stands for a grand slam -- part of his career-high five RBIs.
On Wednesday night, the Diamondbacks pulled to within 11-10 in a game they eventually lost. They had also lost in two of those other big-deficit games that they made a comeback to tie or take the lead in.
This one would be different.
"We come back in the dugout [after the first inning], and we're like, 'We've been there, we've done this before,'" said manager Bob Melvin. "I think one of the keys is that we feel like we don't have to get it all back in one inning. We've done this enough times to believe in ourselves and keep persevering."
"We don't want to make that a habit, but when we fall behind, we have confidence," added Luis Gonzalez. "When we fell behind and came in [the dugout], you saw nobody with a sense of urgency or panic."
Braves starter John Thomson came into the game with a league-best 1.87 ERA, but Jeff DaVanon had two homers against him in eight career at-bats. DaVanon made it three with a three-run blast in the sixth inning that gave the Diamondbacks a 7-5 lead.
Batista fought back from his first-inning woes to put up goose eggs for five innings after that.
"It was a rough first inning for him, but you've got to be a little bit of a boxer to end up giving us six [innings]," Melvin said, "and to put that [first inning] away and go back out there."
"They got five in the first, but his stuff was nasty," said Craig Counsell. "Obviously LaRoche had the huge hit, but his stuff was really, really good. He backed it up for the next five innings and kept us in the game."
The Braves would not go slink away though, as Chipper Jones' two-run single in the eighth and a LaRoche RBI single in the ninth gave them a 9-8 lead.
Time for yet one more comeback.
Gonzalez led off the bottom of the ninth with a double off of Chris Reitsma (1-2). Two batters later, Shawn Green, one of the hottest hitters in baseball right now, singled Gonzalez home. Finally, Counsell sent the fans home happy with a bases-loaded single that made a winner out of Jose Valverde (2-1).
"When [Counsell] came up there, I don't think there was anyone in the dugout that didn't believe he was going to get a hit," Gonzalez said. "That's the right guy you want at the plate when the game is on the line."
"One of these days he's going to do something to earn his keep around here," chuckled Melvin.
Once again, the Diamondbacks are making emphatic statements that this team is quite different than those in years past. They believe that they are not out of any ballgame, no matter the score.
"We've done it, and success in those situations breeds confidence," Melvin said. "We feel good all the way down the order, and feel like we can score in every inning. Having done it a few times certainly plays into it."
"It's been strange with the big number of comebacks we've had," Counsell said. "It's happened so much it's like it doesn't matter what the score is. That's a good feeling. It's not going to happen all the time, so when it does it's just a bonus."
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Clinton Lumberkings - *A* of the Texas Rangers
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Diamondbacks fans getting spoiled?
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