Wednesday, August 14, 2013
While they've probably already played themselves out of the postseason race, the Arizona Diamondbacks are at least making things interesting for the fans and viewers who stick around.
By that I don't mean just the ones who attend games or watch on TV. I mean the ones who actually catch the end of the games, which appears to be the only time the D'Backs can provide any sort of excitement. Good or bad.
The past two nights have shown of some of Arizona's late-inning magic, as well as its late-game crapitude, as both Monday and Tuesday's contests against the Baltimore Orioles ended in walk-off home runs.
First, there was Monday's 7-6 walk-off win, that ended with Adam 'Spanky' Eaton depositing the first-ever game-ending homer into the pool at Chase Field:
Mind you, this pool shot came after Arizona tied the game in the seventh, then fell behind in the eighth, then took the lead in the eighth, then blew the lead in the ninth. You know, a typical D'Backs bullpen kerfuffle, thanks to people like the Heath Bell Experience.
Then, there was Tuesday night, when dark horse MVP candidate Paul Goldschmidt tied the game with a homer in the ninth, then came back up in the 11th for a chance to do the rare tie it/win it homer double:
These are the kind of ulcer-and-heart-attack-inducing finishes that happen to the fanbase of a team that leads the majors in blown saves, wins after blown saves, 1-run victories, walk-off victories and victories in the last at-bat. It's also why the D'Backs are 7 1/2 games out of first in the NL West and 5 1/2 out of the final wild card slot with 34 games left.
None of this is new for longtime D'Backs fans, who over the past few years have seen some pretty spectacular finishes. No more outrageous than during the final series of the 2011 season, when — after allowing five runs in the top of 10th against the Dodgers, Arizona scored six unanswered with two outs to win 7-6:
Tags: arizona diamondbacks , Paul Goldschmidt , heath bell experience , we're talkin' baseball , Video