Kritik und Lob » n Cleveland since being traded to the Red

PHOENIX -- The Arizona Diamondbacks looked headed for a seventh straight loss and more disappointment at home. Then Welington Castillo brought smiles and relief.The catchers three-run homer in the eighth inning rallied Arizona to a 6-5 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Saturday night.Castillo ripped reliever Hunter Stricklands 2-1 pitch into the stands in left field with one out. The Giants led 5-3 going into the inning, but starter Jeff Samardzija and reliever Josh Osich each put runners on base.I just was waiting for something over the plate and close to me that I can put a good swing on it, Castillo said. It means a lot, especially here at home.Strickland (3-1) replaced Osich and gave up the games biggest hit.I tried to throw a two-seamer, left it over the plate and it didnt move. I would say he got the best of it, Strickland said. I was trying to throw it in. I was trying to get a ground ball.Jake Barrett (1-0) earned his first major league win in relief and Brad Ziegler got his 17th save of the season.Brandon Crawford and Mac Williamson hit back-to-back home runs to give the Giants a 5-1 lead in the fourth. Williamsons blast flew well over the 413-feet sign in left-center field and off the bottom left corner of the Chase Field video board.The Diamondbacks avoided their longest losing streak of the season.Its huge. It flips the whole thing around, manager Chip Hale said. We got the one pitch from Strickland and did some damage to it.Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt made a diving stop and putout to end the game with a runner on first for the Giants.That is one we let get away, Giants manager Bruce Bochy said.The Giants scored their first three runs in the second inning. Buster Posey walked, took third on a single and scored on a fielders choice when Diamondbacks shortstop Jean Segura threw wide to home plate for an error after fielding Williamsons grounder.Recent callup Ruben Tejadas first hit and RBI as a Giant came one out later, on a single to drive in Crawford. Then Samardzija grounded to Segura, who bobbled the ball and could only get one out to allow Williamson to score.Patrick Corbin doubled and scored in the fourth thanks to teammate Michael Bourns hustle. Bourn beat out what looked to be an inning-ending double-play grounder at first base, allowing Corbin to score from third.Castillo and Chris Herrmann doubled in runs in the fifth -- Herrmanns drive close to being a home run to right-center field -- to cut the Giants lead to two.Hale was ejected before the top of the seventh inning, arguing with home plate umpire Brian Knight soon after Herrmann was called out on strikes. It was Hales second ejection of the season.ITS A BOYDiamondbacks infielder Nick Ahmed is on paternity leave after the birth of his first child, a son. Ahmed left Fridays game before it ended to be with his wife Amanda, and could return to the team by Monday.The Diamondbacks made a roster move to replace Ahmed before Saturdays game, recalling reliever Enrique Burgos from Triple-A Reno.RETURN IMMINENTDiamondbacks outfielder Rickie Weeks Jr. is expected to return from bereavement leave on Sunday, at which time the team will make another roster move to add him, Hale said. Weeks has been away from the team since Thursday.TRAINERS ROOMGiants: OF Denard Span got another day off due to neck stiffness but could be back by Sunday. ... OF Hunter Pence (hamstring strain) took on-field batting practice Saturday. Hes been on the 15-day disabled list for a month. ... Starting pitcher Matt Cain was scheduled to throw 45 pitches in a minor-league game Saturday as he returns from a hamstring strain. ... INF Ramiro Pena (ankle) was available for pinch-hitting duty Saturday. ... 2B Joe Panik (concussion) is still resting and is eligible to return Tuesday.Diamondbacks: Hale said ace Zack Greinke felt better during Fridays game, and the team has yet to decide whether to place Greinke on the disabled list with a left oblique injury. Greinke was expected to undergo a scan Saturday to determine if he has a strain. Greinke could pitch as soon as next weekend if all is well and can still be named an NL All-Star, but may not pitch in San Diego. ... OF David Peralta and OF-IF Chris Owings, both on the 15-day disabled list, are moving closer to being able to play in games. They could be back in action after the All-Star break, Hale said. OF Socrates Brito (fractured toe) is also close to returning from the DL.UP NEXTGiants: Sundays scheduled starter is Albert Suarez (3-1, 3.83 earned run average), who is in the rotation in place of Cain. Hes done such a great job in whatever role weve put him in, Bochy said.Diamondbacks: Sunday starter Robbie Ray (4-7, 4.69 ERA) is 1-0 with a 1.64 ERA in two starts against the Giants in his career. He is averaging 10.42 strikeouts per nine innings pitched, which is in the top 10 in the NL.Matt Joyce Braves Jersey . As the crowd erupted, Davis knocked the ball off the glass and back into his hands. With 1:14 to go in overtime, Davis sixth block also became his 17th rebound. That, along with his 32 points -- which tied a career high -- proved too much for Denver to overcome, and the Pelicans held on for their third straight victory, 111-107 on Sunday night. Orlando Cepeda Braves Jersey . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. 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The Vancouver coach and an announced sellout crowd of 18,910 watched in dismay as the Canucks lost 7-4 to the New York Islanders on Monday night by squandering a 3-0 lead in the third period. CLEVELAND -- Jason Giambi is showing he still has something left to give a ballclub. And thats just fine with the Cleveland Indians. Giambis three-run homer in the sixth inning was the key blow and the Indians broke a five-game losing streak with a 5-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday night. Cleveland signed the 42-year-old veteran to a minor-league contract in February. Although Giambi is batting only .185, he has four homers and 16 RBIs in 65 at-bats. His latest home run stretched a precarious 2-1 lead and sparked the offence, which scored only 14 runs during the teams skid. Justin Masterson (8-3) pitched six solid innings and worked out of a bases-loaded jam with nobody out in the sixth to preserve a one-run lead. The momentum carried over to the bottom of the inning when Giambis homer off Bronson Arroyo put the game away. Indians manager Terry Francona was the driving force behind signing Giambi, thinking he could contribute a couple of times a week and offer leadership to his teammates. "When G does something, everybody in there goes crazy," Francona said. "Hes got a lot of fans in our dugout." Although Giambi has been in the big leagues for 17 seasons, hes still approaching the game like a youngster. Earlier in the season, he won over his new teammates when he dove headfirst into first base to beat out an infield hit. Giambi hit a pinch-hit homer against the Reds on Monday to break an 0-for-24 slump. "Theres no greater feeling in the world to be able to contribute and help the ballclub out," he said. "Its exciting. Its what brings me back. Sometimes I wish I was still 25 or 26 years old, but unfortunately Im not." Cincinnatis only run off Masterson came on Joey Vottos two-out homer in the first. Mark Reynolds homer to lead off the third tied the game before Nick Swishers RBI double gave the Indians a 2-1 lead in the fourth. The Reds took the first two games of the intrastate series with wins Monday and Tuesday in Cincinnati, but the Indians bounced back after losing seven of their previous eight. Clevelands losing streak matched its longest of the season. "We had a bad week," Francona said. "Thats part of the season. I feel every bit as good about our club right now that I did 10 days ago -- maybe better because Ive seen the fight they have in them." Masterson, who has won four of his last five decisions, allowed four hits and struck out seven. Cincinnati loaded the bases with nobody out in the sixth, but Masterson worked out of the jam, getting Xavier Paul on a pitcher-to-home-to-first double play and retiring Devin Mesoraco on a fly ball. "I was hoping to get a ball right at me, but you dont always get what you hope for," Masterson said of the double play. Masterson also retired Votto on a groundout with two on to end the fiftth.dddddddddddd "First of all, you have to have stuff to do it, but he competes so well," Francona said of Mastersons ability to work out of jams. "Justin was tough over there," Reds manager Dusty Baker said. "That was their hottest pitcher, one of the hottest pitchers in baseball. Hes always had good stuff, but hes really refined his skills." Arroyo (5-5) retired the first two hitters in the sixth before Asdrubal Cabrera and Swisher singled. Giambi hit a 2-1 pitch to right for his fourth career homer in 21 at-bats off Arroyo, who gave up five runs in 5 2-3 innings. Giambi also doubled and is batting .381 (8-for-21) with eight RBIs lifetime against the Cincinnati right-hander. "Hes seen me a lot over my career, and he saw everything I had tonight," Arroyo said. "I knew hed be in the lineup because Terry (Francona) knows about our history." Cody Allen pitched a scoreless seventh and Joe Smith blanked Cincinnati in the eighth. Vinnie Pestano, who has taken over the closers role for the injured Chris Perez, inherited a four-run lead in the ninth. He was greeted by Pauls leadoff homer, but retired the next three hitters. Perez was placed on the 15-day disabled list Monday with tendinitis in his right shoulder. Arroyo has lost four straight against Cleveland, allowing 22 earned runs in 19 1-3 innings. The teams exchanged solo homers early in the game. Votto, who is batting .417 (40-for-96) in May, hit a line drive to dead centre in the first while Reynolds homered into the left-field bleachers in the third. Cabrera doubled with one out in the fourth and scored when Swishers hit found the gap in left-centre, but the inning ended in sloppy fashion. The Indians hit three straight doubles but scored only one run when Swisher and Giambi on the basepaths. Choo, who played with the Indians from 2006-12, made his first appearance in Cleveland since being traded to the Reds in December. He was 1-for-4 with a walk. NOTES: Cincinnati has lost eight in a row at Progressive Field. ... Reds RHP Homer Bailey (3-3) faces Indians LHP Scott Kazmir (2-2) in the finale of the two-game series Thursday at 7:05 p.m. ... Indians C Lou Marson (right shoulder) began a rehab assignment at Double-A Akron on Wednesday. He has been on the 15-day disabled list since April 25. Manager Terry Francona said theres no timetable for Marsons return but said, "Its probably weeks as opposed to days. Hes been out for a long time now." ... Cincinnati bench coach Chris Speier is temporarily coaching third base while Mark Berry receives treatment for throat cancer. Miguel Cairo is the interim bench coach. ... Indians RHP Brett Myers (sore elbow) could resume his minor league rehab assignment next week. He has been shut down from throwing for five to seven days because of a recent setback. ' ' '