JMM » Discussions » rupted by a nasty setback.

  • Posted December 13, 2019
    SAN FRANCISCO -- Hitting his first home run in a month gave Aaron Hill a sense of relief. Nike Air Zoom Sale . Doing so in a victory made it even better. Hill homered, doubled and scored twice, Wade Miley pitched seven shutout innings and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the San Francisco Giants 2-0 on Saturday. "It felt good to put a run on the board," Hill said. "There are always going to be times when you will be struggling. Its good just to contribute." David Peralta and Gerardo Parra each added two hits for the Diamondbacks, who won their fourth in six games. Marco Scutaro went hitless in two at-bats with a walk in his season debut for the Giants, who were shut out for the fifth time in 13 games. Miley (5-6) allowed four hits and won his second straight start for the first time since early April. He has given up three runs over his past 22 2/3 innings. "I found it later in the game. They were hitting the ball hard but right at people," Miley said. Brad Ziegler worked the eighth and Addison Reed pitched the ninth for his 21st save in 26 chances. Ryan Vogelsong (5-7) gave up two runs and six hits in 6 1/3 innings. "With two runs it shows you how good a job Wade did and also on the other side with Vogelsong," Hill said. Vogelsong has lost his last four starts despite a 2.19 ERA over that span. The Giants have been shut out in each of his last three starts and given him no support in his last 24 2/3 innings. "Im sure hes frustrated," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "He had a quality start, good stuff. I wish we could have gotten him some runs. He really threw the ball well." Scutaro, a post-season star for the Giants in their run to the 2012 championship, received a standing ovation when he came to the plate for his first at-bat of the season. He drew a walk. Scutaro has missed the first half of the year because of a back problem. Miley permitted one hitter -- Brandon Belt, who singled and walked twice -- to reach third base and that came with two outs in the seventh. "I couldnt throw him a strike," Miley said. "I wish I didnt walk him." Miley gave up one leadoff hit, and then promptly picked off Gregor Blanco in the fifth. "That pickoff hurt," Bochy said. "We were trying to bunt him over to second, maybe put a little more pressure on the pitcher with some good hitters coming up. He has a good move and got him." Hill homered with one out in the fourth. He hit a leadoff double in the seventh and Parras RBI single ended Vogelsongs day. NOTES: The Diamondbacks pushed RHP Chase Andersons scheduled start Sunday to five days after the All-Star break as a proactive move to reduce the possibility of fatigue as his workload increased. "It will be good for him, give him time to recover physically and mentally," Arizona manager Kirk Gibson said. LHP Vidal Nuno will make Sundays start instead. Recently acquired from the New York Yankees, Nuno threw seven shutout innings in his first appearance with the Diamondbacks on Tuesday. ... Parra drove in just his second run since June 7. He entered the game hitting .180 (20 for 111) since then. ... Arizona 1B Paul Goldschmidt doubled in the first inning and has reached base safely in a career-high 32 straight game, the longest string by a Diamondbacks player since Orlando Hudson went 33 straight in 2007. ... LHP Madison Bumgarner (9-7, 3.36) pitches for the Giants on Sunday. Hes on a three-game losing streak after giving up a season-high six runs in his last start. . Giants SS Brandon Crawford was given the day off. . Arizonas Martin Prado went hitless in four at bats and had his 10-game hitting streak end. Vans Shoes Sale . Join World Soccer Pickem 2014 for your chance to win $5,500 in cash prizes by picking the winner of each game all the way through to the tournament final. Will you ride a favourite such as Spain or Germany, or cast your lot with an underdog like Ivory Coast or Mexico? Perhaps key victories from Netherlands or the United States will be your key to victory. Puma Shoes Sale . Tensions rose in the first period when Penguins defenceman Brooks Orpik hit Bruins forward Loui Eriksson with what appeared to be a clean hit.DUNEDIN, Fla. -- John Gibbons asked for strike-throwers and Drew Hutchison obliged Friday. The 23-year-old right-hander, continuing to make a strong case to become Torontos fourth starter, threw 4 2/3 strong innings in the Blue Jays 3-1 exhibition loss to the Boston Red Sox. Hutchison, who was tagged with the loss, gave up one run on four hits with seven strikeouts and no walks. He retired the first eight Red Sox he faced and threw 71 pitches with 51 strikes. "An outstanding outing," said Jays catcher Dioner Navarro. "A great performance," echoed Gibbons, who nevertheless was coy on what might lie ahead for Hutchison. Pressed by reporters, Gibbons allowed: "Hes doing everything he needs to do." Hutchison returned from Tommy John surgery last fall, pitching in the Arizona Fall League. He seems on top of his game this spring. Hutchison showed his mettle in the fourth inning Friday, striking out Mike Napoli to end the inning after a lengthy at-bat that saw the Red Sox hitter foul off a number of pitches. The Jays pitcher hit 95 miles per hour during the confrontation. "Hes got more than I thought he did," said Gibbons. "And he can pop it up pretty good -- with command. Which makes the guys that are really good really good." This spring Hutchison has given up three runs and seven hits in 9 2/3 innings while striking out 16 and walking one. Opposing batters are hitting just .200 against him. Hutchison made 11 starts for the Jays in 2012 (going 5-3 with a 4.60 ERA) before injuring his arm while warming up in the bullpen for a game against the Philadelphia Phillies. Throwing strikes is his modus operandi. "Thats what he does. He was good when he was here the first time before he got hurt," said Gibbons. "Thats how he pitches. The key is just being healthy." The same can be said for J.A. Happ, another would-be starter who returned Friday from an ailing back. The six-foot-six left-hander pronounced himself happy with a three-inning performance in a minor-league game. He gave up one hit, walked one and struck out two. "It was good. Exciting," said Happ. "I felt normal out there which is really nice." Said Gibbons: "I heard he pitched really well." A gaggle of pitchers is trying to join R.A. Dickey, Mark Buehrle and Brandon Morrow in the Jays rotation. Barring a trade, Nos. 4 and 5 will come from Hutchison, Happ, Ricky Romero, Esmil Rogers, Todd Redmond, Kyle Drabek, Marcus Stroman and Sean Nolin. Of the three main contenders, Hutchison appears to have pitched his way into the rotation. Romero is turning heads with his improved performance this spring. But Happ has had an uneasy pre-season. In two starts, he has given up six runs in just 1 1/3 innings. The back issue has further muddied the wateers. Old Skool Sale. Gibbons, who had yet to speak to Happ following the minor-league outing, said the major issue was making sure Happs back was healthy. Happ, in speaking to reporters, said the back was fine. The lines of communication within the Jays on Happ seem a little blurry in general. The pitcher seemed unhappy with GM Alex Anthopoulos answer late last week on whether there were one or two spots open in the starting rotation. "There could be two," Anthopoulos said at the time." I think were going to take the best team north. Especially right now, we have J.A. (Happ) and the back, the performance, things like that, we have to get him on track, stay healthy. "Obviously R.A., Mark and Brandon. Again, we expect J.A. to be in the rotation but at the same time the backs flared up on him twice. I just dont know. Look, if guys perform well and they force our hand, well take the best team." Asked on Friday if he had something to prove in the wake of those words, Happ replied: "I dont have any comment on that. My comment is no comment. "That was probably disappointing to hear but theres nothing I want to say about it." Happ has campaigned to be a starter since arriving here via trade and the issue appears to have left a chip on his shoulder. Last spring he found himself on the outside of the rotation looking in, until Romero pitched his way out of it. Happ eventually went 5-7 with a 4.56 ERA in 18 starts last year in a season disrupted by a nasty setback. Hit in the head by a ball off the bat of Desmond Jennings in a May game with the Tampa Bay Rays, he was out for three months with a skull fracture and a sprained right knee from when he toppled to the ground. While the Red Sox didnt bring all of their starters Friday, their lineup did included Mike Carp, Napoli and Jonny Gomes in the meat of the order. Boston finally got to Hutchison in the fifth. Gomes singled and came home on Corey Browns double to deep centre. The relay throw by Ryan Goins was a little high, allowing Gomes to score. The Red Sox added two more in the eighth before Jonathan Diaz scored on a Kevin Pillar double in the bottom of the inning to cut the lead to 3-1. Boston starter Clay Buchholz was also impressive, holding the Jays scoreless on two hits in four innings. After giving up two singles to open the first inning, he retired 11 straight for the win. The 29-year-old right-hander went 9-0 with a 1.71 earned-run average ERA in his first 12 starts last season before going on the disabled list for more than three months with shoulder and neck problems. He returned in September, finishing with a 12-1 mark and 1.74 ERA. The loss was the third straight for Toronto, which slipped to 6-9. Boston improved to 7-8. The game drew a sellout of 5,519 on a sunny 20 C day at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium. ' ' '