Glaus saves day
PHOENIX -- Lost in the chaos of the bullpen's total meltdown and Troy Glaus' 10th-inning walk-off home run on Friday was that Glaus saved the Diamondbacks with his glove long before he bailed them out with his bat.
With the bases loaded and one out and Arizona clinging to a two-run lead, Kansas City's David DeJesus lined a one-hopper to third. Glaus, who was playing in to protect against a bunt from the speedy DeJesus, dove to his right, speared the ball and threw to second from the seat of his pants to get an out.
Had Glaus not made the play, the base hit likely would have tied the game and put the go-ahead run in scoring position.
"I was playing even (with the base) and after that, it's just reaction. If it gets through, it's a tie ballgame," Glaus said. "(Glaus' defense) might be overlooked, but that's fine. It's something I take great pride in and enjoy doing. You can win a game with defense just as easily as you can at the plate -- you've got to be able to play both sides of the ball, so to speak."
Despite the play, the Royals still brought the tying run across to force extra innings. After Kansas City was retired in the 10th, Glaus led off the bottom half and showed the main reason why Arizona inked him to a four-year $45-million contract during the offseason.
After working the count to 2-1 Glaus turned on a flat slider up in the zone from closer Mike MacDougal. Glaus knew he had hit the ball well, but as he watched the towering shot soar toward the left-field fence, even he wasn't sure he had gotten enough of it. The ball just barely cleared the fence, giving Glaus his 14th homer of the season and the Diamondbacks a narrow escape.
"Especially here, when you hit it that high -- there is some wind up there -- you don't know what's going to happen," Glaus said. "The left fielder kept tracking it and tracking and tracking it -- I don't know how far it got out, but it got out and that's all that matters."
Aquino spells relief: Relief will soon be on the way for a beleaguered bullpen that has been providing very little of it lately.
Right-handed reliever Greg Aquino could be activated from the 15-day disabled list as early as Sunday. Aquino, who has pitched just one inning this season, has been on the shelf since April 9th with an elbow injury.
Greg Aquino / P
Born: 01/11/78
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 190 lbs
Bats: R / Throws: R
More info:
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Aquino was slated to be the D-Backs' closer after recording 16 saves as a rookie last season. After Aquino went down, Brandon Lyon ably filled the void by nailing down 13 saves before he too suffered an elbow injury.
Arizona manager Bob Melvin said he wants to give Aquino a few appearances in the middle innings before potentially promoting him to closer. But after Friday's meltdown in which the bullpen allowed an eight-run lead to evaporate in two innings, Melvin might not be afforded that kind of patience.
"I'd like to see two (appearances) potentially and see how he does," Melvin said. "It gives us another option, we'll be deeper in our bullpen, and if we need to go another route, we do it. I'm not throwing him in there right away."
Speaking of Lyon: Lyon has started doing light resistance workouts on the injured elbow that has kept him out for nearly a month. Although he reported no pain, Lyon is still a few days away from picking up a ball.
Lyon said he will meet with team physician Michael Lee either Saturday or Sunday to get more specifics for his next course of action.
"Now it's just a matter of getting out there and throwing and seeing how I feel," Lyon said.
Source: http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com/
With the bases loaded and one out and Arizona clinging to a two-run lead, Kansas City's David DeJesus lined a one-hopper to third. Glaus, who was playing in to protect against a bunt from the speedy DeJesus, dove to his right, speared the ball and threw to second from the seat of his pants to get an out.
Had Glaus not made the play, the base hit likely would have tied the game and put the go-ahead run in scoring position.
"I was playing even (with the base) and after that, it's just reaction. If it gets through, it's a tie ballgame," Glaus said. "(Glaus' defense) might be overlooked, but that's fine. It's something I take great pride in and enjoy doing. You can win a game with defense just as easily as you can at the plate -- you've got to be able to play both sides of the ball, so to speak."
Despite the play, the Royals still brought the tying run across to force extra innings. After Kansas City was retired in the 10th, Glaus led off the bottom half and showed the main reason why Arizona inked him to a four-year $45-million contract during the offseason.
After working the count to 2-1 Glaus turned on a flat slider up in the zone from closer Mike MacDougal. Glaus knew he had hit the ball well, but as he watched the towering shot soar toward the left-field fence, even he wasn't sure he had gotten enough of it. The ball just barely cleared the fence, giving Glaus his 14th homer of the season and the Diamondbacks a narrow escape.
"Especially here, when you hit it that high -- there is some wind up there -- you don't know what's going to happen," Glaus said. "The left fielder kept tracking it and tracking and tracking it -- I don't know how far it got out, but it got out and that's all that matters."
Aquino spells relief: Relief will soon be on the way for a beleaguered bullpen that has been providing very little of it lately.
Right-handed reliever Greg Aquino could be activated from the 15-day disabled list as early as Sunday. Aquino, who has pitched just one inning this season, has been on the shelf since April 9th with an elbow injury.
Greg Aquino / P
Born: 01/11/78
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 190 lbs
Bats: R / Throws: R
More info:
Player page
Stats | Splits
Gallery
Team Site | Shop
Aquino was slated to be the D-Backs' closer after recording 16 saves as a rookie last season. After Aquino went down, Brandon Lyon ably filled the void by nailing down 13 saves before he too suffered an elbow injury.
Arizona manager Bob Melvin said he wants to give Aquino a few appearances in the middle innings before potentially promoting him to closer. But after Friday's meltdown in which the bullpen allowed an eight-run lead to evaporate in two innings, Melvin might not be afforded that kind of patience.
"I'd like to see two (appearances) potentially and see how he does," Melvin said. "It gives us another option, we'll be deeper in our bullpen, and if we need to go another route, we do it. I'm not throwing him in there right away."
Speaking of Lyon: Lyon has started doing light resistance workouts on the injured elbow that has kept him out for nearly a month. Although he reported no pain, Lyon is still a few days away from picking up a ball.
Lyon said he will meet with team physician Michael Lee either Saturday or Sunday to get more specifics for his next course of action.
"Now it's just a matter of getting out there and throwing and seeing how I feel," Lyon said.
Source: http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com/
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