Bewerbungen » The Arizona Diamondbacks took out a week

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — of frustrations on San Francisco’s pitching staff.Ildemaro Vargas had five hits and a home run Ozzie Smith Jersey , Adam Jones added four hits and a homer, and the Diamondbacks broke out of a slump in a big way, beating the Giants 18-2 on Friday night in the highest-scoring game in 20 seasons at San Francisco’s waterfront ballpark.“We needed it,” said bench coach Jerry Narron, who filled in for manager Torey Lovullo. “Everybody knew we were going to break out at some point and someone would pay for it. Tonight was the night. Hopefully everybody can relax a little bit and swing the bat more aggressively.”Article continues below ...Arizona had been held to 12 runs during a five-game losing streak before unleashing their bats on Drew Pomeranz (1-5) and an overmatched Giants bullpen.Robbie Ray (4-1) was the beneficiary of the big offensive night, allowing two runs in 5 1/3 innings to win his fourth straight decision. Ray even got into the act on the offensive side with a two-run single in the third inning for his first hit of the year. He retired 13 in a row at one point with eight strikeouts in that span.“That was me at my best today,” Ray said.Ray had plenty of help. Vargas homered in the first inning and the Diamondbacks turned it into a laugher against reliever Nick Vincent with three-run homers by Jones in the fifth and Eduardo Escobar in the sixth inning.Ketel Marte added a three-run homer off Derek Holland in the seventh, prompting cheers of “Let Pablo Pitch!” from the few fans remaining who were hoping that Giants infielder Pablo Sandoval could get his second appearance on the mound this season. But manager Bruce Bochy didn’t oblige because he plans to start Sandoval at third base on Saturday and didn’t want him to have a sore arm.Every member of the Diamondbacks’ starting lineup either scored or drove in a run in Arizona’s highest-scoring game of the season following a team meeting in San Diego after the latest loss Wednesday and a day off.“It grinds on you,” catcher Carson Kelly said. “When that happens, you want to be the guy to do too much. We just said, ‘You know what, let’s slow things down. We know we’re a good team. Let’s pick each other up.'”Tyler Austin hit a two-run homer in the first inning for San Francisco, his third straight game with a home run. The Giants managed nothing else against Ray and fell to 1-4 on the homestand.“Occasionally Albert Pujols Jersey , you’re going to have a game like this,” Bochy said. “Trust me, they’re not fun, especially at home. Started out rough, gradually got worse.”Zack Godley pitched three innings for his second save.Pomeranz had another rough outing against an NL West opponent, allowing the solo homer to Vargas in the first, RBI singles to Marte and Vargas in the second and then the two-run single to Ray in the third that ended his night. Pomeranz allowed five runs and eight hits in 2 2/3 innings, falling to 4-18 with a 5.34 ERA in his career against NL West teams.TRAINER’S ROOMDiamondbacks: LF David Peralta was placed on the IL with an injured right shoulder. 1B Kevin Cron and OF Tim Locastro were called up from Triple-A Reno. Arizona had an open spot on the 25-man roster after sending pitcher Jimmie Sherfy down to the minors.Giants: SS Brandon Crawford missed his second straight game with pink eye. … C Buster Posey was held out of the lineup a day after catching 13 innings.BALL MAGNETLocastro was hit by pitches three times in the game. Pomeranz hit him in the third inning, Vincent in the sixth and Holland in the seventh. Locastro has been hit seven times this season in just 29 plate appearances.FILLING INLovullo missed the game to attend the high school graduation of his youngest son, Connor. Narron filled in as manager and Luis Urueta took over as bench coach. Lovullo is expected back Saturday.UP NEXTThe Diamondbacks will call up RHP Taylor Clarke (0-1) from Reno to start Saturday’s game against Andrew Suarez (0-1). Arizona will need to make a roster move before the game to make room for Clarke.__ "If the mountain will not come to Muhammad, then Muhammad must go to the mountain""So far this offseason, it feels like the chatter around the Minnesota Twins has primarily centered on the lack of major acquisitions. This is probably fair, considering the club seems to have money to burn even after acquiring C.J. Cron http://www.stlouiscardinalsteamshop.com/authentic-marcell-ozuna-jersey , Ronald Torreyes, Jonathan Schoop, and more recently Nelson Cruz. They also acquired Blake Parker; but further bolstering a bullpen that was very close to utter disaster last season, or adding a dependable starting pitcher, would seem to be goals yet to be accomplished.I completely understand that sentiment. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Twins fanbase so desperate for a big splash either via free agency or trade. After years of Terry Ryan (no big moves), Bill Smith (bad big moves), and now Falvey & Levine (timid, organization-building moves), this is a baseball area starved for a solid, winning baseball team.Here’s the thing, though: For the most part, this team is still currently constructed around a core of youth in Buxton, Sano Roger Maris Jersey , Kepler, Rosario, and Polanco (as well as Berrios on the mound, of course). Sadly, the fact that Rosario and Polanco are the “surest bets” of that bunch right now says something about how that group has come together (or, more specifically, failed to). At least for the very short term— the 2019 season—it won’t really matter how many free agents or new players the Twins bring in. Success or failure will still be determined by how those core pieces perform.With all that in mind, I was scrolling through my Instagram feed over the holidays—probably trying to avoid the probing in-law queries after the family dinner—when I noticed a post that brought an enormous smile to my face. I almost cannot even begin to describe how important this single picture (as well as the attitude it conveys) could be to the immediate future of this franchise:https://www.instagram.com/p/Br6CG7-jpPE/One of the biggest reasons Paul Molitor was dismissed as manager seemed to stem from his inability to connect with the young players on the ball club. Falvey and Levine all but said as much after his firing, from what I recall. With all due respect to Paul, I have a hard time believing he would ever fly out-of-country simply to “check in” with Miguel Sano and chat. The fact that new skipper Rocco Baldelli was willing to head to the Dominican Republic on his own time speaks volumes towards his reputation as a guy who really cares about his players and knows how to interact with them.Of course, at this point some of you might be thinking “why does Sano deserve any special treatment?” or “why should a manager have to dole out any personalized attention to players who underachieved?”My answer to that?We are all human—even multi-millionaire baseball players—and most of us respond positively to reinforcement and conversation.Plus, consider this: Last season, the Twins soaked a few bridges in kerosene with their star prospects. The match was never struck Matt Carpenter Jersey , but neither side ventured across the platform, either. Sano was unprecedentedly demoted all the way down to High-A ball at one point, while the Twins yo-yo’d Buxton around all season and when he was finally healthy refused to call him up over service time issues.Who was right and who was wrong—player or team—in those scenarios? I’ll argue that the answers to those questions are not nearly as important as what happens next. How do both sides throw some flame-retardant material on that proverbial bridge and each walk to the center? The answer to that scenario may very well define the 2019 season (and thus beyond) for this Twins franchise. If somehow, someway, Baldelli can be the motivator and front office mediator he was hired to be and get everyone on the same page again, I firmly believe the Twins can be competitive next season. So to me, that picture of Rocco and Miguel smiling in the Dominican Republic, arms around each other’s shoulders, is worth much more than a few infield reinforcements and one potentially big bat. In what will almost assuredly be a make-or-break year for many youngsters (eventually Falvine and Levine will have to decide whether this core can be trusted to perform long-term and move on accordingly if not), that IG post was the best possible sentiment for starting the process off on the right foot.