Desert Piranhas Feast on Phillies 11-5

The lead piranha was second baseman Orlando Hudson (pictured above), who went 4-6 with four RBI and a run scored.  Shortstop Stephen Drew also took several big bites out of the Phillies.  He went 3-5 with three RBI and a run scored.  And Conor Jackson, who has been heating up of late, took a two-RBI bite out of Philly pitching with a double.  Everyone in the starting lineup got at least one hit, including pitcher Micah Owings, who hit a triple in the sixth inning.  Jon Lieber pitched 6 2/3 innings and took the loss for Philly.

Phillies defense did the equivalent of tossing raw ground beef into the Orinoco River by committing three errors that allowed six unearned runs to score.

The one scary moment for Arizona came in the seventh inning when third baseman Mark Reynolds crashed into pitcher Brandon Medders while fielding a bunt.  He was on the ground for a few minutes before walking off the field with the help of trainers.  He suffered a bruised neck and is day-to-day.  Get well soon, Mark!

Eric Byrnes had an OK day, but it was a disappointment considering the day he could have had.  Leading off, he went 2-6 and got on base a third time on a throwing error.  He scored two runs.  But he wasted Micah Owings’ triple in the sixth, and in the ninth, with the bases loaded and none out, he popped up.  Yes, the glass half-full people will say he finished the game batting .302.  He is one of the major league leaders in multi-hit games.  He contributed to yesterday’s victory by scoring two runs.  And he’s on a hitting streak that is at least as long as the Diamondbacks’  winning streak.  I forget exactly how long; other business has kept me from paying real close attention to the stats lately.  Just before they started this win streak, Eric told reporters that the team needed more production from a lot of people, himself included, and he’s delivered. 

But cynical journalist me looks at a game like yesterday’s and thinks of what might have been. Yes, he is among the league leaders in multi-hit games, but almost all of those games are 2-hit games.  Starting out as he did yesterday with two hits by the third inning, I was hoping for three or four hits.  The team did not need RBI from him yesterday.  But still, he left four runners on base, three in scoring position.  And there was that bases-loaded situation.  With Arizona having a huge lead and none out, that was as pressure-less a bases-loaded situation as anyone will ever see, and still he popped up.  <Groan!>  Where is the hit that will clear the bases?  When will be the day like Orlando Hudson had yesterday?

Today is the next game in the AARP series, as Randy Johnson takes on Jamie Moyer.  Let’s hope the piranhas don’t feel too sated after yesterday’s feast.