PHOENIX (July 22) \u2014 A 14-run outburst in the middle innings, highlighted by five home runs, led the Arizona Diamondbacks<\/a> to a 15\u20135 blowout victory over the Athletics<\/a> Wednesday afternoon in front of 19,343 at Chase Field.<\/p>\n The Athletics opened the scoring in the top of the third against veteran Diamondbacks starting pitcher Merrill Kelly<\/a><\/strong>. It came on an RBI groundout to second by Tyler Soderstrom<\/a><\/strong> with runners on the corners. Corbin Carroll<\/a><\/strong> tied the game when he led off the bottom of the fourth with a second-row homer to left off Athletics starter Gage Jump<\/a><\/strong>. Two batters later, Nolan Arenado<\/a><\/strong> clubbed a no-doubt homer to left, giving the Diamondbacks a 2\u20131 lead.<\/p>\n In the top of the fifth, Jeff McNeil<\/a><\/strong> \u2014 three pitches after going down in a heap due to fouling one off his knee \u2014 hit a towering no-doubt homer down the right-field line to tie the game at 2\u20132. Ketel Marte<\/a><\/strong> led off the bottom half with a double and advanced to third on a groundout. With two out and a 1\u20132 count to Gabriel Moreno<\/a><\/strong>, Jump threw a wild pitch that plated Marte. One pitch later, Moreno belted a loud homer to the picnic overhang in left-center, giving the Diamondbacks a 4\u20132 lead. A walk and an Ildemaro Vargas<\/a><\/strong> double later, the score became 5\u20132, and Jump got the hook.<\/p>\n Jump spoke frankly of that sequence when asked about it after the game. \u201cDidn\u2019t execute. The curveball got away from me a little bit, then I threw a middle-middle fastball. Pretty embarrassing.\u201d<\/p>\n Athletics manager Mark Kotsay<\/a><\/strong> added, \u201cHe was one pitch away from getting out of the fifth inning. and it seemed like the backup breaking ball in that Morales at-bat (the wild pitch) somehow got him out of whack. It led to him not being able to command the baseball.\u201d<\/p>\n In came Yunior Tur<\/a><\/strong> to try to stop the bleeding, but it poured gasoline on the fire. James McCann<\/a><\/strong> welcomed him with a two-run homer. After a Tim Tawa<\/a><\/strong> single, Ryan Waldschmidt<\/a><\/strong> joined the home run derby. That two-run shot made the score 9\u20132, and the rout was on.<\/p>\n The Diamondbacks added five more in the bottom of the sixth. It began when a Tur wild pitch allowed Carroll to score the tying run from third. Three walks followed. After an RBI single by McCann ended Tur\u2019s afternoon, Tim Tawa welcomed reliever Hayden Juenger<\/a><\/strong> to the game with a two-run double. A Waldschmidt sacrifice fly capped it off, making the score 14\u20132.<\/p>\n A Jonah Heim<\/a><\/strong> single in the seventh made it 14\u20133, but the Diamondbacks got that run back in the eighth with a Tyler Locklear<\/a><\/strong> single.<\/p>\n Lawrence Butler<\/a><\/strong> hit an RBI single off position pitcher Ildemaro Vargas in the ninth. Alika Williams<\/a><\/strong> hit a sacrifice fly off Vargas, also. These gave the Athletics another pair of consolation runs, making the final score 15\u20135.<\/p>\n The Athletics outscored the Diamondbacks 5\u20131 in the first through third and seventh through ninth innings.<\/p>\n But unfortunately for the Athletics, baseball has nine innings, and the middle three innings were nightmarish. The Diamondbacks scored 14 runs in the fourth, fifth, and sixth against the combination of Jump, Tur, and Juenger. During that span, they sent 30 hitters to the plate. Twelve of the thirty got a hit, five of which were home runs. A further six walked.<\/p>\n Kotsay noted the point where everything unraveled. \u201cOne of the things with young starters that I’ve noticed, obviously having a lot of young pitching over the last four years, is the inconsistency of their ability to repeat a pitch,\u201d he said. He further clarified with \u201cto have consistent movement with pitches.\u201d Then he added, \u201cNot only does it impact their ability to command and to execute, but it also impacts the catching ability. We were seeing a Gold Glove catcher (Heim) have trouble with Jump today, and I think that\u2019s it \u2014 the inconsistent ability to repeat a pitch with the same type of spin, the same movement, and be able to locate to the glove.\u201d<\/p>\n The Athletics had run-scoring opportunities \u2014 both with one out \u2014 get erased by a ground-ball double play. One came in the first, with runners on first and second. The other came in the sixth, with a runner on first.<\/p>\n Kelly held the Athletics to two runs on five hits across five innings. He walked one and struck out three. \u201cWe were having trouble with his changeup,\u201d Kotsay said after the game.<\/p>\n Kotsay added, however, that they still were very much in the game until the fifth inning. \u201cWe had his pitch count up,\u201d he said, \u201cand we were going to get into their bullpen. (They) were in a similar situation that they had guys taxed, but unfortunately, the game got away from us.\u201d<\/p>\n McCann\u2019s home run was the 100th of his career. According to Stathead, McCann is the 83rd primary catcher (min. 80% of career games at that position) to reach that milestone. The all-time leader at the position is Mike Piazza<\/a><\/strong> (427). He is followed by Johnny Bench<\/a><\/strong> (389) and Carlton Fisk<\/a><\/strong> (376). All three are in the Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n Prior to the game, the Athletics placed starting pitcher J.T. Ginn<\/a><\/strong> on the 15-day injured list with a right middle finger blister. It was retroactive to July 18. This adds to the two players the Athletics had to add to the injured list Tuesday, reliever Mark Leiter Jr.<\/a><\/strong> (right hip impingement) and hot-hitting rookie infielder Joshua Kuroda-Grauer<\/a><\/strong> (ruptured testicle). The Athletics now have a season-high 11 players on the injured list.<\/p>\n Kelly (8\u20138) earned the win as Jump (3\u20136) took the loss.<\/p>\n The Athletics (43\u201359) will continue their road trip as the Diamondbacks (53\u201349) embark on a long one. After a Thursday off-day for travel, the Athletics will begin a three-game series Friday in Minneapolis against the Minnesota Twins<\/a>. Athletics left-hander Jacob Lopez<\/a><\/strong> (4\u20134, 6.64 ERA) will face Twins right-hander Zebby Matthews<\/a><\/strong> (4\u20137, 5.40 ERA) in the first game. First pitch will be at 5:10 pm Pacific.<\/p>\n The Diamondbacks will begin their four-city, ten-game trip with a make-up game Thursday afternoon against the St. Louis Cardinals<\/a>. It will be a battle of right-handers \u2014 Brandon Pfaadt<\/a><\/strong> (4\u20131, 4.58 ERA) of the Diamondbacks against Michael McGreevy<\/a><\/strong> (4\u20137, 2.92 ERA) of the Cardinals. First pitch will be at 2:15 pm Arizona Time.<\/p>\n Tuesday, July 21 \u2014 Diamondbacks 6, Athletics 5 (10 innings)<\/a><\/p>\n Monday, July 20 \u2014 Athletics 5, Diamondbacks 2<\/a><\/p>\nAthletics \u2013 Diamondbacks Game Summary<\/h3>\n
Game Gets Out of Hand<\/h4>\n
What Went Right for the Athletics<\/h3>\n
The First Three and Last Three Innings<\/h4>\n
What Went Wrong for the Athletics<\/h3>\n
The Middle Three Innings<\/h4>\n
Double Plays for the Third Out<\/h4>\n
Kelly\u2019s Changeup<\/h4>\n
Game Got Away from Them<\/h4>\n
Quick Hits<\/h3>\n
Looking Ahead<\/h3>\n
Coverage of the Rest of the Series<\/h4>\n
Main Photo:<\/h4>\n