Pirates-Diamondbacks Preview

The Arizona Diamondbacks seek a three-game sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates and increase their lead in the competitive NL West when the teams meet in the series finale at Chase Field on Wednesday.
Arizona (26-19) has won seven of its last nine games to move seven games over .500 for the first time since June 1. A year ago, the Diamondbacks were 27-18 through 45 games, but went just 50-67 the rest of the way to finish second in the division, five games back of San Diego.
''We were kind of hit and miss last year, and a lot of times those things go in cycles, but we feel like this year we can reduce the (cold) streaks and the tougher times,'' Diamondbacks manager Bob Melvin said.
Arizona has a half-game lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers, and just 2 1/2 games separate all five teams in the division.
Perhaps most impressive during the Diamondbacks' run has been their offense, which has scored 63 runs and hit .308 in its last nine games to up its average to an NL-best .278.
Conor Jackson continued his solid rookie season by going 2-for-3 with a three-run homer and Johnny Estrada hit a two-run shot in a 7-3 win over the Pirates on Tuesday as the Diamondbacks improved to 6-2 on their nine-game homestand.
''For a team that doesn't hit too many homers, we had two big homers tonight,'' Melvin said, ''two very big homers.''
Right-hander Miguel Batista (3-2, 4.78 ERA) gets the start and looks to beat a Pirates team that owns the second-worst record in the NL behind Florida.
A year after collecting a career-high 31 saves for Toronto, Batista has had mixed results as a starter in his second stint with the Diamondbacks. From 2001-03, he went 29-26 with a 3.76 ERA with Arizona in 120 games including 76 starts.
Batista, who began his career with Pittsburgh in 1992, is 0-1 with a 3.86 ERA in his last three outings and has walked nine in 18 2-3 innings, including a season-high five in a 7-6 win over St. Louis on May 14.
He is 2-5 with a 5.00 ERA lifetime versus the Pirates, including allowing three runs in seven innings of a 3-0 loss on May 9.
Jason Bay went 3-for-4 with two homers in the loss Tuesday as the Pirates (14-32) dropped to 1-4 on their six-game road trip.
''One guy's not enough to carry a team a lot of times,'' said Bay, who's hitting .417 (10-for-24) with six homers and 11 RBIs in his last six games. ''I've been doing a lot better lately, but we're still not winning.''
Neither is Wednesday starter Zach Duke (2-5, 4.19), who has struggled after a sparkling rookie season in which when he went 8-2 with a 1.81 ERA.
Since tossing his first major league shutout against the Chicago Cubs on May 2, Duke has lost three in a row with a 5.68 ERA, allowing 12 runs and 20 hits and 10 walks in 19 innings.
He pitched well in his last start, allowing three runs in seven innings of a 4-1 loss to Cleveland on Friday, but walked a career-high six.

Notes: GM not worried about Felix

Mariners general manager Bill Bavasi said on Wednesday he's not entirely stunned by the early-season struggles of 20-year-old pitcher Felix Hernandez.
"I'm not surprised at all," Bavasi said before the Mariners faced the A's in the second game of a three-game series at McAfee Coliseum.
"This is a kid that the club tried to move fast so that he would experience some adversity in the Minor Leagues. He moved fast, but he didn't experience a whole lot [of adversity]. Now, he's getting some here."
Hernandez fell to 2-5 after allowing 11 hits in just four innings of Tuesday's 12-6 loss to the A's. His ERA jumped to 5.19 after he was unable to keep his fastball down in the strike zone.
This is the first time in Hernandez's short professional career that he's struggled.
The strong-armed right-hander needed only 58 Minor League games before reaching the Major Leagues last August, when he was promoted from Triple-A Tacoma.
Bavasi was asked if Hernandez might be better off returning to Tacoma to work on his command.
"It's important for him to figure some things out," Bavasi said. "If a pitcher like him had to learn something that was going to take a long time to learn, you might want to send him out more so than a guy who is still picking up things at the Major League level."
Bavasi dismissed the notion that Hernandez's velocity is down from a year ago, instead pegging his troubles on lack of command of his fastball and some little mechanical things that have added up to a whole lot of trouble.
"I see the same stuff as last year," Bavasi said. "You'd be surprised at the little things that have to be done. There's going to be a lot of that that goes on with this kid this year ... small discoveries on our part and his part that add up to a big deal."
Underachieving: That's the term Bavasi used Wednesday to describe the play of the Mariners at the quarter pole (40 games) of the season.
"Underachieving as a group," he said. "Most of our offense is underachieving. ... There's a couple of bright spots here and there -- [Jose] Lopez, and Ichiro [Suzuki] is getting back to the way he wants to be, and that will be a big plus for us."
The Seattle offense actually has been better on this road trip, as the Mariners have scored seven, five, nine and six runs, respectively, against the Angels and the A's.
"Defensively -- until we hit Anaheim -- we were tremendous," Bavasi said. "But we expected that. We're a little bit better on the right side. On the left side, we think we're very good. By in large, that defense is real good."
The Mariners committed four errors in a three-game series against the Angels, but they are tied for the third-best fielding percentage (.987) in the American League.
Bavasi also commended the team's starting pitching staff, which ranks third in the AL in ERA (4.14). Overall, the team has a 4.48 ERA, which is tied for sixth in the league.
"The starting pitching is better than we were predicted," Bavasi said. "They've done a real good job."
All set to go: Several times on this road trip, reliever Julio Mateo has bemoaned his stint on the disabled list, which has kept him from doing the one thing he covets most: pitching in a game.
Mateo got the next best thing Wednesday at McAfee Coliseum, where he threw 35 pitches -- and pain-free pitches, at that -- in a simulated game.
Afterward, Mateo sat in the clubhouse with his right arm and shoulder heavily wrapped in ice and declared his right shoulder fit and ready to return to active duty.
"It's not the same [as a real game], but I threw all my pitches," said Mateo, who has been on the disabled list since April 30 with tendinitis in his right shoulder. "The best part is I don't feel any pain."
Now, the Mariners have to decide what to do with Mateo, who was eligible to come off the disabled list on Tuesday.
"We were going to talk about a rehab assignment, but we think we can probably get by without it," Bavasi said.
Bavasi indicated that manager Mike Hargrove would like to stay with a 12-man pitching staff, which likely means Sean Green or Emiliano Fruto could be headed back to Tacoma.
Mariners log: Lopez has collected 26 of his team-high 30 RBIs while batting with men in scoring position. Lopez is hitting .425 in such situations. ... Opponents are batting .238 against Seattle relievers. ... After going his first 337 at-bats without hitting a home run, Yuniesky Betancourt has two home runs in his last seven.
On deck: Seattle's Joel Pineiro (4-3, 4.59 ERA) will face Oakland's Kirk Saarloos (1-1, 5.63 ERA) at 12:35 p.m. PT on Wednesday in the final game of this three-game series at McAfee Coliseum.

D-Backs sign Byrnes to one-year deal

For outfielder Eric Byrnes, signing with the Diamondbacks allows him to play in a city in which he owns a home.
But that wasn't the main thing that prompted the free agent to agree to a one-year, $2.25 million deal with the Diamondbacks on Friday.
"More than anything coming into this season I just needed to find the best situation for me as far as playing baseball is concerned," he said. "That's what ultimately was the deciding factor more than money, more than location, more than anything else."
The best situation in Byrnes' mind is getting a chance to play center field on an everyday basis and that's the opportunity the Diamondbacks offered him. With highly-touted center field prospect Chris Young expected to start the year in Triple-A, Arizona was looking for a veteran that could handle the chores until the youngster was ready.
Enter Byrnes, a 29-year-old who plays the game with an all-out style that made him a fan favorite in Oakland when he played for the A's from 2003 until getting dealt to the Rockies and then the Orioles last year.
"It's a position that I've always thought was my best position," Byrnes said of center.
He was the A's main center fielder in 2003 when he hit .263, but after Oakland picked up Mark Kotsay to play the position, he played moved around a bit, but had his best year at the plate compiling a .283 batting average to go with 39 doubles, 20 homers and 73 RBIs.
"I think he's a player that can impact the game defensively and with the bat in his hand," said D-Backs general manager Josh Byrnes, who has no relation to his newest acquisition.
Center field at Chase Field is not an easy place to play. The big gaps as well as overhangs just to left and right of dead center make it more challenging.
"I've never even been there," Eric Byrnes said. "I just know there's a lot of room out there. [But] the way I look at things though the more room the better. I think I'm at my best when I'm running after balls and letting my speed make up for a wrong step that I might make now and then."
Byrnes is the second high-energy, high-enthusiasm player the Diamondbacks have acquired recently, with second baseman Orlando Hudson coming over from the Blue Jays in a trade earlier in the week.
The pair will help bring some life to a team that was criticized for not showing enough fire last season.
"These guys are probably two of the most unique guys in that their energy is visible," Josh Byrnes said of the pair.

Diamondbacks lock up Upton

Justin Upton may have spent part of Monday playing golf, but the 18-year-old made it clear later in the day that he's ready to get to work.
Picked No. 1 overall in the 2005 First-Year Player Draft, Upton on Monday signed a $6.1 million contract with the Diamondbacks, the largest deal ever given to a player not signing a Major League contract.
"You've got a real workaholic here," Upton's agent Larry Reynolds said. "You don't just have a great talent, you've got a guy that's really, really a gamer. The first thing he said to his parents when he signed was, 'Can I go to [Spring Training] early?'"
Upton won't be going to Spring Training early, but as part of his deal he will be going to Major League camp as a non-roster invitee. That's heady stuff for a player less than a year removed from high school, but if anyone is up for the challenge it's Upton, whose older brother B.J. is a top prospect with the Devil Rays.
"I'm going to try to pick a few brains and see what I need to do for myself," Upton said of his first spring camp. "I have to fine-tune all my tools. Right now I think they're all at the same level. I may be a little better hitter than a fielder, but I have to fine-tune them all, so I'm looking forward to getting to Spring Training and doing that."
By virtue of a 51-111 record in 2004, the Diamondbacks owned the first overall pick in last year's draft. Despite having selected shortstop Stephen Drew with their first pick the year before, the Diamondbacks chose Upton, then a senior at Great Bridge High School in Chesapeake, Va., over a trio of college pitchers Mike Pelfrey, Luke Hochevar and Craig Hansen, because they felt he was the best player available.
"You've got a guy with outstanding physical attributes," said Mike Rizzo, the D-Backs VP of scouting operations. "You couple that with a great baseball acumen, a very grounded family background and a blue-collar workmanship-like makeup, it's an extraordinary toolbox to be working from."
Not long after the draft, it became apparent that the negotiations were not going to move quickly. Upton nearly attended classes last fall at Louisburg (N.C.) College, which would have meant the Diamondbacks' window to sign him would have been reduced to a small window prior to the 2006 draft, but decided on Aug. 30 to hold off.
"We decided to wait it out, because we were close to what we wanted to do and we could give it some more time," Upton said.
While negotiations dragged on, Upton made good use of his time working with a pair of Hall of Famers. He worked on defense with Ozzie Smith, one of the finest defensive shortstops of all time, and received hitting instruction from Tony Gwynn, the eight-time batting champion.
Then in December, Upton went through workouts with Twins center fielder Torii Hunter.
Negotiations heated up last week when general manager Josh Byrnes flew with his assistant Peter Woodfork and manager of Minor League operations A.J. Hinch to Virginia to meet with Reynolds and the Upton family. The framework of a deal was struck late last week.
"It's been a long road getting here to actually be signed by the Diamondbacks," Upton said. "But I'm definitely honored. I've been watching the games over the summer and from what I can see we've got some great fans here in Phoenix. I've been driving around the last two days in Phoenix and it looks like it's a good city. I'm looking forward to getting here and receiving the support that the city gives to the players. Hopefully I can make an impact on this team."
The Diamondbacks will make a final decision after Spring Training, but it appears Upton will start the year with Class A South Bend, the lower of the club's two Class A teams.
While there may be some question what level he will play at, the club left little doubt that Upton will be developed as a shortstop. This despite Drew being nearly Major League ready.
"If we get to that problem," Byrnes said of having to choose between whether Upton or Drew will play short in the big leagues, "we'll figure out a way to solve it. But until we do, we'll let him develop at shortstop and cross that bridge when we get to it."
Said Upton, "I played shortstop all my life and that's the position I want to play. ... I'll go to camp and I'll work as hard as I can at my position, and if a change comes, then a change comes."