It just goes to show that you never know what can happen in baseball. Ripped by the Rockies with Manny, take three from the Diamondbacks without him. Strange days are these.
We got on Bum early and often in the first inning, and with the type of rally I have been sorely missing this year. Single, single, single, single, with two outs, just dink the pitcher to death until you score four. That first inning made all the difference. I have always respected Bum. I have never seen a gutsier playoff performance in my life when he shut down the Royals in the 2014 World Series. It was vintage Bum, who pitched inning after inning, including his "bullpen" performance of five innings in the final game to secure the series for them. I think he's a much better pitcher than he's given credit for. He's a Tar Heel, born and raised, and my father-in-law knows his dad, who still umpires high school games.
Clevinger, on the other hand, allowed four hits and one run in four innings, but that line hides the fact that he was all over the place. Location was off, he threw way too many pitches, 81 in all. The Diamondbacks lineup is not much to look at, they have six batters hitting .220 or worse with three of them below the Mendoza Line. There is no doubt that Clevinger can be a good, consistent, productive pitcher, but I have yet to see it. The best I saw him was against the Phillies, when he went for five shutout innings and gave up just one hit. I have never seen him go above five, so I guess they are still building up his arm. It looks like we are going with a six-man rotation, with Martinez and Clevinger taking turns with the start, while the other is relegated to long relief. Hey, that'll work. Nick Martinez came out of the bullpen and notched a save, giving up two runs in 3 2/3 innings of work, with only one run earned. I'll take it, and the bullpen will enjoy the day off, I'm sure, after working overtime the night before.
Profar had a 4-for-4 night from the leadoff spot, while we received two hits apiece from Grish and Nola, plus three hits from Azocar, who missed the cycle by a dinger. CJ Abrams, our star prospect from El Paso, just can't seem to hit major league pitching...yet. What a weapon he would be if he could get going.
The Phillies next, and they will be pissed off after getting swept by the Rangers. We need at least a split against those guys. Dodgers win, so we're still tied for first.
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