Cormier anchoring bullpen
PHOENIX -- Troy Glaus wasn't even halfway back to the dugout after flying out to end the seventh inning when Lance Cormier was already sprinting toward the mound to start his second inning of work Thursday.
It didn't matter either that his batterymate, Chris Snyder, wasn't close to being ready -- Cormier was just anxious to get out of the dugout and back onto the field.
"I like to get out there," said Cormier, who pitched two innings of scoreless relief against the Twins. "I don't like to sit in the dugout, I like to keep on pitching."
The way Cormier has been pitching lately, manager Bob Melvin has been eager to get his righty on the mound as much as possible. While the rest of the bullpen has been unreliable, Cormier has been solid all year. Cormier's ERA stands at a miniscule 1.67; none of his active bullpen mates have an ERA under 5.50.
Although Cormier has emerged as the Diamondbacks' most dependable setup guy, Melvin isn't ready to promote him to the closer's role while regular closer Brandon Lyon continues to rehab an injured elbow.
"If you're having some trouble, and this is the guy who gets you to the ninth inning with the lead, you have to look to take that option as opposed to just saving him for the ninth, and potentially you never get there," Melvin said.
Cormier has been a pleasant surprise for Arizona this year. Last season -- his first in the Majors -- Cormier struggled just to get outs, posting an 8.14 ERA in 17 appearances. But he refined his mechanics in the offseason, and the consistency from pitch to pitch has led to consistency from outing to outing.
"If you're feeling good mechanically, you're putting your arm in the same spot every time, and most of the time you're going to get the results you want throwing the ball," Cormier said. "If I just put my body in the same spot, able to get the mechanics right -- that's what I'm doing better than I did last year."
Back on track: Center fielder Jose Cruz Jr. made a beautiful over-the-shoulder basket catch in front the 413-foot sign in right-center Thursday to rob Minnesota's Shannon Stewart of a two-run double.
It was a play that Cruz, who missed 27 games this season with a lower back strain, likely wouldn't have made even a few weeks ago.
"It was heckuva play and we can see he's starting to gain some ground out there," Melvin said after Arizona's 4-3 victory Thursday. "The last couple nights, we're seeing some plays that he's making now that he wouldn't have earlier. He's working hard to get in shape and play center field like he's used to."
Shortly after coming back from the disabled list in early May, Cruz needed sporadic days off to recuperate. But Cruz says he's close to 100 percent, and is now finding his name on the lineup card on a regular basis.
With the constant workload, his swing has started to improve as well. Cruz clubbed his eighth home run of the season a half-inning before his highlight-reel snag.
"It's been getting better as of about two weeks ago and it's slowly progressing," Cruz said. "When I first got off the DL, I didn't have much strength."
Clutch hitting: During Arizona's recent skid -- the team had lost seven of eight games before Thursday's win -- Melvin said one of his club's biggest problems was poor situational hitting.
But the Diamondbacks showed improvement in that category in its National League-leading 14th one-run victory. They were led by utility infielder Alex Cintron, who had an RBI groundout in the first inning and then laced a two-out single in the fourth that drove in what proved to be the winning run. Cintron's 2-for-4 performance earned him his third straight start Friday.
"Alex really isn't a backup guy, he's not a bench player, he's a guy who gives you more than that," Melvin said. "When he's hot we look to get him in there, and just because of the way he swung his bat last night, he's in there tonight."
On deck: Rookie Brad Halsey (4-3, 3.48 ERA) will get the start Saturday for Arizona. Kansas City will counter with J.P. Howell, who will be making his Major League debut.
Source: http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com/
It didn't matter either that his batterymate, Chris Snyder, wasn't close to being ready -- Cormier was just anxious to get out of the dugout and back onto the field.
"I like to get out there," said Cormier, who pitched two innings of scoreless relief against the Twins. "I don't like to sit in the dugout, I like to keep on pitching."
The way Cormier has been pitching lately, manager Bob Melvin has been eager to get his righty on the mound as much as possible. While the rest of the bullpen has been unreliable, Cormier has been solid all year. Cormier's ERA stands at a miniscule 1.67; none of his active bullpen mates have an ERA under 5.50.
Although Cormier has emerged as the Diamondbacks' most dependable setup guy, Melvin isn't ready to promote him to the closer's role while regular closer Brandon Lyon continues to rehab an injured elbow.
"If you're having some trouble, and this is the guy who gets you to the ninth inning with the lead, you have to look to take that option as opposed to just saving him for the ninth, and potentially you never get there," Melvin said.
Cormier has been a pleasant surprise for Arizona this year. Last season -- his first in the Majors -- Cormier struggled just to get outs, posting an 8.14 ERA in 17 appearances. But he refined his mechanics in the offseason, and the consistency from pitch to pitch has led to consistency from outing to outing.
"If you're feeling good mechanically, you're putting your arm in the same spot every time, and most of the time you're going to get the results you want throwing the ball," Cormier said. "If I just put my body in the same spot, able to get the mechanics right -- that's what I'm doing better than I did last year."
Back on track: Center fielder Jose Cruz Jr. made a beautiful over-the-shoulder basket catch in front the 413-foot sign in right-center Thursday to rob Minnesota's Shannon Stewart of a two-run double.
It was a play that Cruz, who missed 27 games this season with a lower back strain, likely wouldn't have made even a few weeks ago.
"It was heckuva play and we can see he's starting to gain some ground out there," Melvin said after Arizona's 4-3 victory Thursday. "The last couple nights, we're seeing some plays that he's making now that he wouldn't have earlier. He's working hard to get in shape and play center field like he's used to."
Shortly after coming back from the disabled list in early May, Cruz needed sporadic days off to recuperate. But Cruz says he's close to 100 percent, and is now finding his name on the lineup card on a regular basis.
With the constant workload, his swing has started to improve as well. Cruz clubbed his eighth home run of the season a half-inning before his highlight-reel snag.
"It's been getting better as of about two weeks ago and it's slowly progressing," Cruz said. "When I first got off the DL, I didn't have much strength."
Clutch hitting: During Arizona's recent skid -- the team had lost seven of eight games before Thursday's win -- Melvin said one of his club's biggest problems was poor situational hitting.
But the Diamondbacks showed improvement in that category in its National League-leading 14th one-run victory. They were led by utility infielder Alex Cintron, who had an RBI groundout in the first inning and then laced a two-out single in the fourth that drove in what proved to be the winning run. Cintron's 2-for-4 performance earned him his third straight start Friday.
"Alex really isn't a backup guy, he's not a bench player, he's a guy who gives you more than that," Melvin said. "When he's hot we look to get him in there, and just because of the way he swung his bat last night, he's in there tonight."
On deck: Rookie Brad Halsey (4-3, 3.48 ERA) will get the start Saturday for Arizona. Kansas City will counter with J.P. Howell, who will be making his Major League debut.
Source: http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com/
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