Diamondbacks Extend Win Streak to Five, Dodgers Series Is Next

The Arizona Diamondbacks (47-41) rolled on to their fifth win on Sunday after defeating the Colorado Rockies (42-47) 6-1. This capped a three-game weekend series that resulted in a sweep for Arizona.

Patrick Corbin

Lefty pitcher Patrick Corbin (10-1) snagged his 10th win for the season. This came after he went winless from his previous six games and with this double-digit milestone, the pitcher is now the fourth one in team history to accomplish this joining pitching greats including Randy Johnson, Curt Schilling and Brandon Webb.

For the win, Corbin tied a career-high three hits with 10 strikeouts in his eight innings on the mound while getting an RBI. He has lowered his ERA from 2.49 to 2.40. He now stands at No. 5 in the MLB with this.

Overall it was a good weekend for the pitcher as he had been named an All-Star on Saturday. He said of Sunday’s game via The Associated Press, “It felt like every inning I got a little bit stronger. Just one first pitch right down the middle for the homer, but other than that I felt good with my changeup and my slider.”

As for the Rockies, their one run on Sunday came from a Jonathan Herrera solo home run in the eighth inning. This represented the team’s play for the weekend as Arizona outscored them 22-2 for the series.

Arizona’s starting pitchers worked until the eighth inning and gave up one run or less during this series and its bullpen, well, they’re  well rested as they only had pitching duty for a total of three innings in three games. This may not be a bad thing as they’ll host a three-game series against the second-place Los Angeles Dodgers (42-45) beginning on Monday evening.

As for Colorado’s starting pitcher, righty Roy Oswalt (0-4), had a short day on the mound Sunday, leaving in the second inning with a strained left hammy. The pitcher said he “heard it pop” which means an extended absence could be coming his way.

Teammate Carlos Gonzalez also made an early exit in the ninth inning after swinging at a pitch. He believes he has a sprain but not a serious one.

The Rockies now sit 8.5 games back behind the Diamonbacks in third place and have lost their last seven of eight games.

There’s no rest for this team as they’ll look to bounce back against the last place San Diego Padres (40-49). No such luck as the Padres get the win (-135, 7.5 o/u).

Dodgers defeat Giants, 4-1

The Dodgers ended their three-game series against the San Francisco Giants (40-47) with a 4-1 win. They won two of three games and now sit 4.5 games behind Arizona.

Clayton Kershaw

Entering the ninth inning at a 1-1 tie, A.J. Ellis’  three-run double got the win for the Dodgers but the game really belonged to lefty pitcher Clayton Kershaw (8-5). Over his eight innings of pitching, he only gave up one run with three strikeouts.

But he did hit his first batter of the season.

Kershaw does play well against the Giants (11-4 in his career) and said of Sunday’s outing via the Associated Press, “I had pretty good command other than (walking) the pitcher. It’s a great park to pitch in. I just like it here.”

Kershaw is the NL’s ERA leader (1.89) and he could possibly be its starter for the July 16 All-Star Game in New York.

Also on Sunday, teammate rookie phenom Yasiel Puig had two hits, scored a run and caught a blooper in the eighth inning.

As for the Giants, righty pitcher Chad Gaudin had a good outing as well. He only gave up one run in seven innings.

Looking ahead for this on-the-rise Dodgers team, they’ll have Zack Greinke (6-2) on the mound for Game 1 against the Diamondbacks while they’ll have righty Randall Delgaldo (1-2) for pitching duty.

Arizona gets the win (-101, 8.5 o/u).