Tim Stauffer was back to his stawesome self in last night's 2-0 win against the Diamondbacks. He threw 6 2/3 innings and allowed only four hits in his shutout performance before being taken out with a tight forearm. After the rough August Stauffer had, it was a good sign to see him pitch so dominantly again. The Padres' two runs both came in the first inning with a Jesus Guzman RBI and an error. After that inning, Diamondbacks starter Wade Miley was able to shut down the Padres, but it was too late as the Diamondbacks failed to score any runs for him. Heath Bell closed it out for his 38th save of the season. James Darnell left the game in the 7th due to a shoulder injury sustained when he dove for a ball, and will miss the rest of the season.
Today, we will send Wade LeBlanc to the mound to try to rough up the Diamondbacks. He has a lot to play for here at the end of the season, despite the Padres having been eliminated from the playoffs. LeBlanc is trying to show that he belongs with the big league club and help himself earn a spot in the rotation next year, and pitching well in these remaining games will help him during Spring Training when he is competing for a job. This will be his 12th start of the season. He has gone 3-5 and won his last start in Arizona on Sunday.
Arizona's starter, Josh Collmenter, on the other hand, wasn't so lucky. He only lasted four innings and allowed six runs on seven hits in his last start against the Padres. He hopes to get the Dbacks back in the W column, where they've spent most of their time recently, winning 18 of their last 23 games and nine straight at the end of August. They are 10-6 against the Padres this year.
With yesterday's win, there is no longer a possibility of the Diamondbacks clinching the division during this series. The Padres still have work to do though. Now we will try to ruin the Dbacks' chance of home field advantage during the playoffs. With the Brewers' win last night, the Dbacks lost some ground in that race. Here's to making them lose more ground!
GO FRIARS!! KEEP THE FAITH!! RUIN EVERYTHING!!