D’BACKS FIGHT BACK TO KICK ASTROS IN 10 INNINGS
Eternal Baseball
HOUSTON – The Astros fans got to see some bonus baseball on the first day of spring training but Diamondbacks third baseman Jake Lamb sent them home unhappy.
After an incredible start from J.R. Richard, the Arizona bullpen handcuffed the Astros offense as the Diamondbacks rebounded to score four unanswered runs and earn a 7-6 victory. Lamb’s solo homer in the tenth inning proved to be the difference in a hard-fought series opener.
Astros starter J.R. Richard’s provided a start full of highs and lows – Ketel Marte’s first inning RBI double gave the Diamondbacks a near-instant 1-0 lead. Arizona right fielder Justin Upton misplayed Lance Berkman’s fly ball in the bottom of the first to plate Alex Bregman and tie the game at 1-1. Richard powered out of a bases loaded, no out threat in the second inning unscathed, then fueled the Astros offense in his first at-bat of the season. Following back-to-back walks to Craig Biggio and Jason Castro, Diamondbacks starter Brandon Webb threw a sinker to Richard that didn’t sink enough. Richard smashed a fly ball that landed in the front row over the tall wall in left field for a three-run homer that pushed Houston’s lead to 4-1. Alex Bregman connected next on a solo homer and make it 5-1 Astros.
The two teams exchanged jabs over the next two innings, with Arizona netting a pair of runs on Miguel Montero’s RBI single and Orlando Hudson’s RBI double in the third, while Jeff Bagwell singled in Bregman in the fourth to put Houston’s lead at 6-3. Larry Dierker relieved Richard and provided a clean sixth inning, but Arizona struck in the seventh. Orlando Hudson singled in Steve Finley and promptly stole second base, then scored behind Justin Upton on Adam Eaton’s two-run pinch-hit single that tied things up at 6-6.
The bullpens dueled to a two-inning standstill, with Houston’s Dave Smith and Billy Wagner each putting up a zero to match the scoreless seventh, eighth, and ninth innings from Arizona’s Brad Ziegler and Byung-Hyun Kim, and it was off to extra innings.
Will Harris relieved Wagner to start the tenth and he appeared in control, notching two quick outs before Jake Lamb caught up to a fastball and smashed a solo home run well over the fence in right-center field. Diamondbacks closer Jose Valverde raised eyebrows by issuing a leadoff walk to Lance Berkman in the bottom of the tenth inning, but then struck out the side (George Springer/Jeff Bagwell/Yuli Gurriel) to earn his first spring save and lock down a 7-6 win for Arizona.
The Diamondbacks’ Byung-Hyun Kim (1-0) got the win with a scoreless ninth inning, while the Astros’ Larry Dierker (0-1) took the loss (2 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 1 BB).
Tuesday night brings game two of this spring training-opening series. Arizona sends left-hander Patrick Corbin to the hill to face Houston right-hander Don Wilson. First pitch from Minute Maid Park is at 7:05 PM EST.
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