If I told you that the winning team would score two of its runs on a balk and a bases-loaded walk, would you believe that it was the Diamondbacks who won? Scoring runs is always at a premium at PetCo Park, and when the Arizona nearly wasted a bases loaded and no out situation, it looked like another one of those "bang your head against a hard surface" kind of games. But Daniel Hudson threw eight solid innings of work and the Diamondbacks managed to scratch across enough runs in unusual fashion to get Hudson his second win of the season.

More details of the limited-broadcast game after the jump.

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Forgive us as we try our hand at the minor leagues! It's impossible to replace Dan's analysis right off the bat, but if we all work at it, maybe we'll rack up a decent VORP (Value Over Replacement Poster).

Snakelet of the Day:
Adam Eaton (Triple-A) - 4-for-5, 4R, 1RBI

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Record: 20-26; Pace: 70-92; Change on 2011: -3

Alright everybody, let's do this. It's the first time the Diamondbacks have faced the Brewers since last October, and we all remember how that turned out. But, c'mon, we're back in our home ballpark, where we won our two games in the NLDS. Plus, we're riding a one-game win streak, and we've got our Opening Day starter, Ian Kennedy, on the mound! Let's go!

... Hey, where'd everybody go? In particular, where did our offense go? Ohhh, right, they all remembered how killer Yovani Gallardo is in his career against the Diamondbacks. So they all decided to go hide in the woods, then, that's it? Huh. Well, somebody better climb over the electric fence and bring them back, because we're going to need them the rest of the weekend.

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Just when it seems like we might be steering the ships right - a winning road trip, a 5-run lead against the Dodgers - a wave rolls up and splashes water all over and knocks out the navigation equipment. Where do we go from here? Maybe a shark needs to eat a crew member or two?

Read on to see how all the Diamondbacks have done this past week.

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Patrick Corbin has been spotted in the Diamondbacks clubhouse packing up his locker for a trip back to the minor leagues. Corbin ran hot-and-cold in his first five starts in the major leagues, with a 2-3 record and 5.27 ERA. He was originally called up from AA Mobile, but he'll be going back to AAA Reno.

John Gambadoro is reporting that the Diamondbacks are set to call up catcher Konrad Schmidt from Reno as a reserve catcher. Miguel Montero is being given a day off after straining his groin on Monday (Henry Blanco is starting tonight), but Miggy is not being placed on the disabled list (yet....we hope...). Schmidt is hitting .274 with three home runs and 14 RBI in 31 games with the Aces.

Daniel Hudson will be re-instated from the disabled list when he is scheduled to pitch which, with the off day, will be Sunday afternoon.

In one of those "personnel moves" Kevin Towers was hinting at last week, infielder Cody Ransom was designated for assignment this afternoon. Josh Bell was recalled from Triple-A Reno to take his place.

Cody Ransom was one of Arizona's hottest bats while playing in replace of struggling third baseman Ryan Roberts. Ransom had a career-high 13 RBIs and tied a career high for 4 home runs. These were accomplished in only 17 games with the Diamondbacks; in 2004 while with the San Francisco Giants, he needed 78 games to total 11 RBIs and hit four home runs in 33 games with the New York Yankees in 2008. Ransom had the ability to crush fast balls for home runs but struggled with off-speed pitches. In his last 7 games, he was 1-for-15 with one walk and nine strikeouts; he was 0-for-7 in Kansas City this weekend.

Josh Bell was recently acquired in a minor league trade with the Baltimore Orioles for pitcher Michael Belfiore. He played in 79 games with the Orioles in 2010 and 2011, accumulating an unimpressive .200 BA / .221 OBP / .264 SLG line with an OPS+ of only 33. However, he has hit well in 26 games with Reno - .384 BA / .429 OBP / .619 SLG with an OPS+ of 60.

Bell is playing third base and hitting 8th in tonight's game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the team that drafted him in 2005. It sounds like Bell will be the regular starting third baseman, with Roberts shifting into a utility role.

The pitching and offense both struggled on the home stand last week, so don't expect much out of a 2-5 week. However, some players seem to be turning their ships around. We just need this flotilla to all go the same direction.

Read on to see how all the Diamondbacks have done this past week.

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Record: 15-18; Pace: 74-88; Change on 2011: 0

Having just sent the reigning World Series Champions home with three wins for their first sweep of the season (it was also Arizona's first losing sweep of the season), the Diamondbacks were happy to see anybody but St. Louis in the first base dugout this evening. It helped to have it be the San Francisco Giants, who the Diamondbacks swept in the season opener and from whom they took the previous five contents last September.

And the Diamondbacks extended the winning streak to nine games and snapped their own five game losing streak this evening with a 5-1 victory. Patrick Corbin pitched seven strong innings, and Paul Goldschmidt and A.J. Pollock both homered. Read on for the joyous details.

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Record: 14-13; Pace: 84-78; Change on 2011: +2

The Arizona Diamondbacks have broken their 0-9 streak - they have finally won a one-run game for the first time since April 8th, breaking a streak of the past nine consecutive one-run games being losses. Former Diamondback Scott Hairston helped lead the Mets to a big 4-run inning off of Wade Miley, but Arizona got revenge off of Jon Rauch with three runs for the late comeback win.

Details of the nail-biting victory after the jump!

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Record: 10-10; Pace: 81-81; Change on 2011: +2

The first stop on the Diamondbacks' three-city East Coast road trip is the brand new Marlins Park in Miami. (Anybody want to take bets on how long it stays without a corporate naming sponsor?) The Diamondbacks sent Joe Saunders to the hill against our old friend, Carlos Zambrano. (Have we played Game 4 yet?)

All Joe Saunders did was go out there and mow down Marlins hitters like he was eating them for dinner. Saunders threw a complete game, 3-hit shutout in 116 pitches. The Diamondbacks provided plenty of offense for Joe by way an early 2-0 lead, which they extended to 5-0 throughout the game.

Read on for more details on the fabulous outing by Joe Saunders and the Diamondbacks.

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Record: 9-9; Pace: 81-81; Change on 2011: +1

Josh Collmenter's starts have progressively improved since the start of the season: 3 innings, 6 runs; 4 innings, 5 runs; and 5.1 innings, 4 runs. Tonight started off looking like it might be a return to last year's form for Collmenter, with the first three innings scoreless and relatively quick. But, then game the 4th inning, and the balls that had been being landing in gloves started bouncing off the walls and landing in the seats.

Much like yesterday, the final score makes it look like a much closer game than it actually was. Though the Diamondbacks never gave up, it was overall a disappointing evening. Read on for the details.

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Record: 7-7; Pace: 81-81; Change from 2011: +1

I'm not saying it's time to panic yet, but after the Diamondbacks lost their fourth straight game tonight, it's safe to say fans are concerned. Last night's 10-2 loss to the Braves was only the Diamondbacks' first loss of the season by more than one run, and the team was so sorry that they chose to lose by 8 runs to the Braves again tonight. Before I even get to the rest of the game, let me say that they should feel free to lose by fewer than 8 runs tomorrow. Or not losing at all would be great too.

Trevor Cahill struggled to get runners out in the 6th inning, the bullpen didn't really help, and Arizona's offense was once again missing in inaction. Details after the jump.

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Record: 1-0. Pace: 162-0. Change from 2011: +0

162-0. With a perfect record thus far, the Diamondbacks are now on pace for a spectacular season. Ian Kennedy will have 33 wins, and Paul Goldschmidt will hit 162 home runs, a great many of them off of Tim Lincecum.

Truthfully, Goldschmidt probably WILL hit a great many more home runs off of Tim Lincecum! Goldy cemented his dominance of Lincecum with a monster solo blast; he is now 6-for-11 with a walk and three home runs against Tim in his young career. Goldschmidt's and Chris Young's home runs in the first inning gave Ian Kennedy an early lead and helped propel the Diamondbacks to a 5-4 victory on Opening Day.

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Guess what? I am actually in the general vicinity of most of you!! I am here for the weekend and staying Monday and Tuesday to go to Spring Training!!! It's my first time at spring training, if you can believe it, and let me tell you, there were way too many Giants fans on my flight down here.

So, a bunch of us SnakePitters have lawn seats for Monday's game "at" the Rockies. Anybody else is welcome to join us. I don't know where or when we'll meet up, I guess we should figure that out at some point. ;) I want to go early and do the autograph thing so if anybody has any tips, please share!

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Name: Brad Ziegler
Age on opening day: 31
Salary: $1,250,000
2011 stats (OAK/ARI): 66 games, 58.1 IP, 2.16 ERA, 3-2, 44:19 K:BB
2010 stats (OAK): 64 games, 60.2 IP, 3.26 ERA, 3-7, 41-28 K:BB

Certainly, the Diamondbacks 2011 bullpen staff was a major improvement from 2010, but of course, that wasn't too hard to accomplish. Even with a solid starting rotation and J.J. Putz as an anchor at the end of games, there was still the problem of finding reliable middle relief pitchers. Aaron Heilman, Esmerling Vasquez, Yhency Brazoban, Juan Gutierrez - just a few of the pitchers that were trotted out and struggled. Relief pitchers tossed over 255 innings the first half of the season and compiled an ERA near 4 with 12 losses. June was the worse, with an ERA of 5.82 and only 6 saves. Something had to be done if Arizona was to remain in the hunt for the NL West crown.

Enter Brad Ziegler.

I was thrilled when I found out the Diamondbacks traded for Ziegler at the (non-waiver) trade deadline. I'd known of Brad from his minor league days when he wrote a column for SBN's Athletics Nation. He was hit by a line drive and fractured his skull down in A-ball and came back to pitch the next season. He was an average relief pitcher until one of his coaches convinced him to become a submariner. And when Brad finally made his major-league debut in the spring of 2008, he went out and broke a 101-year old record for relief pitchers and pitched 39 consecutive scoreless innings to begin his career.

Ziegler was not performing at 2008 levels when Kevin Towers plucked him from Billy Beane, but with a good reputation and three years of control left on his contract, Towers felt Ziegler was one of the final pieces solidify the bullpen and get us to the post-season.

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Name: J.J. Putz
Age on opening day: 34
Salary: $4.000,000
2011 stats: 60 games, 58.0 IP, 2.17 ERA, 2-2, 45 Sv, 61:12 K:BB
2010 stats: 60 games, 54.0 IP, 2.83 ERA, 7-5, 3 Sv, 65:15 K:BB

When the Diamondbacks signed J.J. Putz this off-season, I jumped for joy. (Figuratively speaking.) Officially, there were only 24 "blown saves" in 2010, but it certainly felt like the team lost games in late innings every other day. Aaron Heilman alone lost 8 of those. Our "closer", Chad Qualls, had an ERA of 8.29 before he was traded at the deadline. We had come a long, long way from the days of the Four Reliefmen of the Apocalypse.

But Kevin Towers and his expertise of relief pitchers came riding in on a white horse and brought us J.J. Putz in December last. He'd proven to be a great reliever for a number of years with Seattle, particularly in 2007 when he was an All-Star with 40 saves, and Towers had faith that his '09 stint with the Mets was merely an aberration. Anchoring the bullpen with a reliable, hard-throwing closer proved to be one of Towers's best moves for the 2011 Diamondbacks.

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Age on Opening Day 2011: 28
2011 Stats: 33 games (4 starts), 64.0 IP, 8-0, 3.57 ERA, 44:23 K:BB
2010 Stats (CIN): 22 games, 33.1 IP, 3-2, 5.40 ERA, 35:25 K:BB

I don't know that any Diamondbacks pitcher was as lucky this year as Micah Owings was. How else can a reliever give up five runs in the 10th inning and still get the win?? (Well, sometimes it takes little help from Ryan Roberts.) Micah Owings, being the "I'll pitch any time you want me, Coach" player that he is, was used well by Kirk Gibson this year and compiled an 8-0 regular season record (plus one more win in the post-season). Only four other players since 1901 have appeared in fewer games than Owings (33 games) and had a perfect record. (Most impressive: Ken Holtzman, 1967 Cubs, 9-0 in 12 starts! At age 21!)

Micah Owings was somewhat of an unexpected bright spot this season, and his contributions were invaluable to the 2011 NL West champs.

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Gerardo Parra was announced as the winner of the 2011 Gold Glove Award for Left Fielder. It is his first career Gold Glove and well-deserved, as his season was filled with highlight-reel catches. He made only two errors in 1,018 innings in left field, had five double plays (which is a lot, from the outfield) and 12 assists, both the most in his position. He was also the highest-ranked left fielder according to Fangraphs' UZR ratings.

Two Los Angeles Dodgers players won the awards for Center Field, for which Chris Young was nominated, and Right Field, for which Justin Upton was not nominated. Chris Young was named to the 2011 All-Postseason Performers Team, though.

The 2011 Rawlings Gold Glove Awards were announced this evening on the first-ever Rawlings Gold Glove Awards Show on ESPN2. Three nominees in each position were announced on Monday, October 31st. This is also the first year that the outfield nominees were specifically divided into left, center and right field positions.

Gerardo Parra is the first outfield Gold Glove Award winner for Arizona since Steve Finley won it in 1999 and 2000. Orlado Hudson was the most recent Diamondback to win the award, having been honored in 2006 and 2007 for manning second base.

The Rawlings Gold Glove Award has been given out since 1957 and is voted on by MLB managers and coaches. Greg Maddox has won the most career Gold Gloves with 18. Willie Mays and Roberto Clemente each won 12.

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Name: Geoff Blum
Age on Opening Day: 37
Salary: $1,350,000
2011 Stats: 23 games, 55 PAs, .224/.309/.408, 2 HR, 10 RBI
2010 Stats: 93 games, 218 PAs, .267/.321/.356, 2 HR, 22 RBI

The next player to be called into the principal's office for review of his performance in the Diamondbacks' 2011 season is Geoff Blum. No lie, it's hard to examine a guy who only played in 23 games. Ironically, Blum's biggest contribution may have been getting injured in Spring Training, which opened up a roster spot for Ryan Roberts, who ended up being one of the team's biggest contributors. Blum was injured in mid-March, had knee surgery five weeks later, and didn't return until after the All-Star break. He appeared in seven games, fractured his right pinky on a grounder to third, and missed another seven weeks.

Regardless of his limited playing time in 2011, Blum made the post-season roster and is signed with the team for next year as well, so let's look back on his year with the Diamondbacks.

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Win or go home. Elation or Despair. One game, one result, one emotion. Which would it be?

Down in the series 2-0 when we last left Milwaukee, Arizona won both home games in decisive fashion to push the series back to Miller Park for Game 5. In a rematch of Game 1's starters, both were solid and the teams exchanged plenty of zeros. After losing an early 1-0 lead, it was only fitting that the Never Say Die-mondbacks pushed across the tying run in the top of the 9th inning. But the team ran out of comebacks, closer J.J. Putz gave up the winning single to Nyjer Morgan in the bottom of the 10th inning, and the Milwaukee Brewers advanced to the National League Championship Series.

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It's now or never. The Brewers took a 2-1 lead over the Diamondbacks in the 6th inning. We head into the 8th now against the stronghold of the Milwaukee bullpen, Rodriguez and Ashford, with the middle of our lineup due up to bat. 

Pull out your RALLYCAPS, your St. Penelopes, your #diamondponies..... all fair game for the next two innings!

It's already the 4th inning and we're over 900 comments in the initial GDT. Many of those comments came after Justin Upton lined a solo home run to right, to put the Diamondbacks up 1-0 for the lead. Ian Kennedy is pitching very well, having allowed just one hit in the first three innings.

Ah, Lead! How we hath missed you, dear friend Lead! Arizona has an 8-1 lead going into the 6th inning. Miguel Montero has two RBIs, Josh Collmenter is cruising, and of course, it wouldn't be a Diamondbacks game without an out on the basepaths (Justin Upton out at home).

Oh, and did I mention Paul Goldschmidt hit a grand slam? Looks like Glove Tossing is becoming an NLDS tradition...

If you haven't heard of Twitter, well, this is a good place to start. The Internet has had so much influence on the world around us that, for most people, it is impossible to get through a day without it. The emergence of what has been termed Social Media has really brought people together and helped disseminate information in new ways, and Twitter is at the forefront of that movement.

The Diamondbacks are one of those companies who has harnessed social media, Twitter in particular, to their advantage as a new way of sharing news, promoting the team, and bringing fans together. They are even hosting their first #TweetUp event (dbacks.com/tweetup) before tomorrow night's home game. Diamondbacks brass and sports personalities from around Phoenix (including our own Jim McLennan) will be there.

If you wanted to get in on the ground floor of the Twitter movement, well, those units are already leased. ;) But read on and during the elevator ride to the top, I'll fill you in on how Twitter works, its influence over sports news, and who to follow to stay up on all the happenings.

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Record: 87-64. Pace: 93-69. Magic Number: 6

Well, here we are. The Diamondbacks are now on their last road series of the 2011 (regular) season, in Sunny San Diego. If somebody would have told you six months ago that this series would feature one first place team and one last place team, would you have believed them at all, let alone believed that the first place team would be the Arizona Diamondbacks?

Unfortunately, Arizona's still got a ways to go, and their offense deserted them tonight in Petco Park, as offenses are wont to do. Not even the third-time-through-the-order magic showed up tonight. Wade Miley struggled early but got no run support, Tim Stauffer pitched really well into the seventh inning, and the Diamondbacks were shut out by the Padres.

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Record: 87-62; Pace: 95-67. Magic Number: 6.

Another game against the Dodgers, another three and a half hour affair. Tonight's game took 3:33, but it had to go 10 innings to get there. Ian Kennedy was given an early lead, but he had a rough first inning and put the Diamondbacks in a bit of a hole. If they were to get Kennedy his 20th win and vault him into Diamondbacks history with the likes of Randy Johnson and Brandon Webb, it would have to be another come-from-behind win.

Well, one Diamondback pitcher reached a milestone tonight. Read on for the details, and to find out if it was Kennedy....

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Record: 83-61. Pace: 93-69. Magic Number: 12

The score may not show it, but this game was a pitchers' duel for most of the night. Cory Luebke and Ian Kennedy are both known for being strikeout pitchers, and the game lived up to its billing. (Although with the Reunion Weekend festivities starting tomorrow, I don't how much billing this contest actually earned, as the game was sparsely attended at Chase Field and in the Gameday Thread.) With San Francisco having the night off, Arizona returns home looking to put a little more distance in this pennant race. And to be honest, it's looking less like a "race" and more of a "hang out near the finish line." 

Read on for more on Ian Kennedy's solid night.

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Record: 77-59. Pace: 92-70. Magic Number: 21

The last time the Diamondbacks won eight games in a row was in April of 2008, during that magical and oh-so-promising month where the team went 20-8. Would they win eight in a row again, and might this September end better than that one? Well, one of those questions was answered tonight.

Rookie Wade Miley was making his third big-league start against veteran sinkerballer Aaron Cook. Miley was backed by what looked to be the "B" lineup out there, with Ryan Roberts, Chris Young and Paul Goldschmidt getting the night off. But as you can see by the score above, the so-called "B" lineup was more than adequate. Repeat after me: I will not question Gibby's lineup, I will not question Gibby's lineup, I will not question Gibby's lineup, I will not question Gibby's lineup....

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Record: 73-59. Pace: 90-72. Magic Number: 28

After a long and grueling 4-6 road trip, the Diamondbacks are surely happy to be back to home cookin', and maybe even a little home field advantage. They come in looking to extend their winning streak and get some wins against sub-.500 teams. 

Well, I'm not sure the offense had as much to do with tonight's win as did the Padres' fielding futility, but it was sure nice to continue scoring runs, no matter how they get to home plate. Josh Collmenter and the Diamondbacks bullpen shut out the Padres and notched another game off their magic number. 

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Record: 69-56; Pace: 89-73; Change on last season: +20

After beating Roy Halladay on Tuesday evening, the road trip has not progressed the way most Diamondbacks would have liked, as they dropped the next two, scoring only three runs. All of the runs in Philadelphia were driven in by Lyle Overbay and Paul Goldschmidt. Perhaps the others might find be able to find their hittin' shoes in HotLanta?

The team had plenty of chances - "two runners on" was a common notation I made tonight - but only two of our runners were able to cross the plate. The Braves, meanwhile, took Daniel Hudson deep for three home runs, and the Diamondbacks dropped the series opener to Atlanta.

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