Arizona sends Dellucci to Triple-A
PHOENIX (AP) - Arizona optioned outfielder David Dellucci to
Triple-A Tucson on Monday and activated utility player Andy Fox.
Dellucci, who has been with the Diamondbacks since he was chosen
from Baltimore in the expansion draft, is coming back from major
wrist surgery and had seen little playing time. He also was one
of the few Arizona players who could be sent to the minors
without clearing waivers. Dellucci was the odd man out in the
battle for playing time in right field, with manager Buck
Showalter platooning Travis Lee and Bernard Gilkey. Dellucci had
appeared in three games. He had one hit in two at bats. Dellucci
has had a hard time finding his old form after coming back from
surgery to repair a rare, career-threatening bone condition in
his wrist. Fox came in as a defensive replacement in right filed
and didn't have an at-bat in a 9-1 loss to Colorado on Monday.
April 16, 2000
Arizona Diamondbacks at San Francisco Giants, Postponed
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - It took nearly 2 1/2 years to build Pacific Bell Park. The San Francisco Giants hope it doesn't take that long for them to win a game in their new stadium. The Giants completed a winless first homestand in the park with a rainout of their game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday night. The game has not yet been rescheduled, but likely will be added to a series in September. San Francisco lost its first five games at the new park -- three to Los Angeles and two to Arizona. Officials waited 1:42 before postponing the game. The rainout allowed the Giants, who have lost seven straight overall, to avoid -- at least for now -- the possibility of becoming the first team to lose its first six games in a new ballpark.
April 15, 2000
Arizona Diamondbacks 7, San Francisco Giants 4
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Kelly Stinnett hit two homers, including a three-run shot caught by a fan just as Barry Bonds was about to try for a leaping grab, and the Arizona Diamondbacks sent San Francisco to its seventh straight loss, 7-4 Saturday. The Giants fell to 0-5 at new Pacific Bell Park. Their overall skid is the worst since they lost seven in a row in July 1996. Todd Stottlemyre (3-0) lasted five innings to win his third straight start. Greg Swindell pitched three perfect innings for his first save. Bonds hit his fifth home run of the season, and 450th of his career, to give the Giants a 1-0 lead in the first. Stinnett tied it for Arizona in the third with a home run off Russ Ortiz (1-2).
April 14, 2000
Arizona Diamondbacks 3, San Francisco Giants 1
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Randy Johnson struck out 11 and Damian Miller lined a two-out, two-run double in the ninth inning to lift the Arizona Diamondbacks over San Francisco 3-1 Friday night, the Giants' sixth straight loss. The six-game skid is San Francisco's longest since September 1996. Johnson (3-0) allowed five hits without a walk in his second complete game. Erubiel Durazo hit a leadoff single in the ninth against Livan Hernandez (0-3) and pinch-runner Hanley Frias moved up on a sacrifice bunt. Travis Lee reached on an infield single. After Frias was thrown out at the plate on Lenny Harris' grounder back to the mound, Miller doubled. Lee put the Diamondbacks up 1-0 with his third home run of the season in the second. Hernandez walked two and struck out five in a complete-game loss.
April 13, 2000
Arizona Diamondbacks 5, San Diego Padres 4
SAN DIEGO (AP) - Maybe the San Diego Padres should have used camouflage balls when pitching to Steve Finley. Ex-Padre Finley hit a pair of two-run homers to lead the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 5-4 win Thursday over the Padres, who wore camouflage jerseys and green hats to honor San Diego's large Navy and Marine Corps population. The Padres committed four errors, although they didn't contribute to any of the Diamondbacks' runs. Finley homered to right field in the fourth inning and to center in the sixth, both off left-hander Sterling Hitchcock (0-1). The second homer gave Arizona a 5-2 lead. Phil Nevin provided San Diego's first three runs on two homers off Brian Anderson (1-0). Mike Morgan pitched two innings for his third save this season.
April 12, 2000
San Diego Padres 4, Arizona Diamondbacks 2
SAN DIEGO (AP) - Ed Sprague delivered for the second straight game, getting a pinch-hit, two-run bloop single in the seventh inning that gave the San Diego Padres a 4-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday night. Sprague's single, which landed between left fielder Luis Gonzalez and shortstop Tony Womack, was just the second hit of the three-run inning. On Tuesday night, Sprague hit a tying solo homer in the ninth inning, then homered again leading off the 13th to give the Padres a 3-2 win. Winning pitcher Brian Meadows (2-0), acquired in an offseason trade with Florida, allowed six hits and two runs in seven innings. Loser Armando Reynoso (0-2) gave up four runs, three earned, on five hits in 6 1/3 innings.
April 11, 2000
San Diego Padres 3, Arizona Diamondbacks 2 (13)
SAN DIEGO (AP) - Ed Sprague homered with one out in the ninth inning to tie the game, then won it with another homer leading off the 13th as the San Diego Padres rallied to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 3-2 on Tuesday night. Left-hander Omar Daal was two outs away from Arizona's second complete game in three days when Sprague drove the first pitch he saw into the left-field seats to tie the game at 2. After the Padres threatened but failed to score against sidearmer Byung-Hyun Kim, Sprague hit a 1-0 fastball from Russ Springer (1-1) to left-center to win it. The Padres got runners to second and third with two outs in the 12th against Kim, who then struck out Phil Nevin on a nasty full-count slider. Matt Whisenant (1-0) pitched the 13th to get the win.
April 10, 2000
Arizona Diamondbacks 8, San Diego Padres 4
SAN DIEGO (AP) - Erubiel Durazo hit two home runs, including a three-run shot, and Jay Bell, Steve Finley and Kelly Stinnett also connected to match the club record of five as the Arizona Diamondbacks spoiled the San Diego Padres' home debut with an 8-4 win Monday. Todd Stottlemyre (2-0) was hit on the right knee by Ryan Klesko's line drive in the first but stayed in the game, holding the Padres to three runs and seven hits in six innings. Durazo went 3-for-4 with a walk, a career-high four RBIs and had his second two-homer game. He homered to right-center leading off the fourth, then hit a three-run shot to left to chase Woody Williams (1-1) with one out in the fifth, giving Arizona a 6-2 lead. San Diego's Phil Nevin and David Newman also homered.
Todd Stottlemyre honors sick father with win
(AP) - Todd Stottlemyre honored his sick father's request. The
Arizona right-hander and his father, New York Yankees pitching
coach Mel Stottlemyre, spoke by phone on Sunday shortly before
the elder Stottlemyre notified his team and the media that he has
a form of cancer. "I could tell in his voice he was going to have
a tough time with telling the club. The last thing he said to me
was, 'Win one for me tomorrow,'" Todd Stottlemyre said, pausing a
few seconds to compose himself. The son did just that, staying in
the game despite getting hit on the left wrist by a line drive in
the first inning Monday. He pitched six strong innings as the
Diamondbacks spoiled the San Diego Padres' home opener, 8-4. "I
was probably pressing a little bit," Stottlemyre said. "I was
thinking so much about the result." Stottlemyre (2-0) held the
Padres to three runs and seven hits in six innings.
Guerrero, Johnson NL players of week; Big Hurt AL player
NEW YORK (AP) - Montreal outfielder Vladimir Guerrero and Arizona
pitcher Randy Johnson were picked Monday as National League
co-players of the week, and Chicago White Sox first baseman Frank
Thomas was selected as the AL player. Guerrero was 12-for-24 with
four homers and a league-leading 11 RBIs. Johnson went 2-0 with a
1.02 ERA and a league-leading 23 strikeouts. The Big Hurt hit
.536 (15-for-28) with four doubles, two homers and eight RBIs for
Chicago.
April 9, 2000
Arizona Diamondbacks 1, Pittsburg Pirates 0
PHOENIX (AP) - Randy Johnson pitched a five-hitter and struck out 13 to beat Jason Schmidt as the Arizona Diamondbacks closed out their season-opening homestand with a 1-0 victory over the Pirates on Sunday. Steve Finley singled with one out in the seven, took third on Travis Lee's bloop single to center and scored on Lenny Harris' sacrifice fly. Johnson (2-0) didn't walk a batter and struck out the side in the third and eighth innings. He allowed only a double by Jason Kendall on the first pitch of the game and infield singles by Kevin Young in the fifth and Mike Benjamin in the sixth. Johnson got his 26th career shutout and 69th complete game. Johnson has 127 double-digit strikeout games in his career, including both of his starts this season. Schmidt (0-2) allowed four hits in seven innings, struck out five and walked four.
April 8, 2000
Arizona Diamondbacks 6, Pittsurg Pirates 5
PHOENIX (AP) - Bernard Gilkey lined a two-out single to right field off Jason Christiansen (1-1) with the bases loaded in the ninth, his first hit of the season, to give the Arizona Diamondbacks a 6-5 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday. It was the second time in three days that Arizona won in its last at bat, something the Diamondbacks did 24 times in winning the NL West title last year. Luis Gonzalez and Jay Bell both hit their second home runs of the season for Arizona. Brian Giles hit his third homer and Pat Meares hit his first for the Pirates, a solo shot to tie it at 5-all in the seventh. Reliever Greg Swindell (1-0) allowed two hits in the ninth but struck out Kevin Young on a 3-2 pitch with runners on first and second to end the inning.
April 7, 2000
Pittsburg Pirates 7, Arizona Diamondbacks 2
PHOENIX (AP) - First baseman Erubiel Durazo's error opened the way for Pittsburgh's six-run eighth inning Friday night as the Pirates beat Arizona 7-2, snapping the Diamondbacks' season-opening winning streak at three games. Durazo's inability to field a grounder allowed the tying run to score, then pinch-hitter Kevin Young singled in the go-ahead run, Wil Cordero doubled in two more, Warren Morris drove in one, and Bruce Aven doubled home another. Steve Finley's second-inning home run had given the Diamondbacks a 1-0 lead. Luis Gonzalez was 4-or-4, three of them doubles to tie a team record. In seven-plus innings, Armando Reynoso (0-1) allowed three runs on seven hits. He struck out four and walked two. Jason Christiansen (1-0) retired three of the four batters he faced in the seventh to get the victory.
April 6, 2000
Arizona Diamondbacks 3, Philadelphia Phillies 2 (11)
PHOENIX (AP) - Lenny Harris had a big game Thursday night as the Arizona Diamondbacks beat Philadelphia 3-2 in 11 innings to complete a season-opening three-game sweep of the Phillies. Harris' broken-bat grounder with the bases loaded drove in the winning run. He also had an odd sacrifice fly that scored Steve Finley from second, beat out an infield chopper for a single and made two big defensive plays at third base. The defending NL West champions loaded the bases in the 11th when Steve Schrenk (0-1) walked Erubiel Durazo, Finley and Travis Lee with one out. Harris hit a slow grounder to second baseman Kevin Jordan, who tossed it to shortstop Alex Arias for the forceout. No one covered first in time. Jay Bell homered for Arizona and Russ Springer (1-0) pitched a scoreless 11th to get the victory.
April 5, 2000
Arizona Diamondbacks 11, Philadelphia Phillies 3
PHOENIX (AP) - Lenny Harris hit a grand slam during a six-run first inning and Mike Morgan got his first save in nine years as the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 11-3, Wednesday night. Travis Lee added a solo shot for the Diamondbacks. Todd Stottlemyre (1-0), who worked out daily during the offseason to strengthen an unrepaired tear in his right rotator cuff, gave up three runs and six hits -- including Scott Rolen's second solo homer in two games -- in five innings. Morgan became the 25th major leaguer to play in four decades when he relieved starting the sixth. Philadelphia starter Paul Byrd (0-1) got just two outs, giving up six runs, three hits and four walks.
April 4, 2000
Arizona Diamondbacks 6, Philadelphia Phillies 4
PHOENIX (AP) - Randy Johnson is back at it. The NL Cy Young winner struck out 10 in 8 2/3 innings Tuesday night and the Arizona Diamondbacks opened defense of their NL West title with a 6-4 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. Johnson (1-0) gave up four hits, including home runs by Scott Rolen and Desi Relaford. Johnson, who led the majors in complete games last season with 12, was pulled after 133 pitches with a 6-2 lead. But with closer Matt Mantei on the disabled list because of a sore shoulder, the Arizona bullpen struggled to get the last out. Russ Springer gave up a walk and an RBI single to Relaford. Dan Plesac took over and allowed an RBI single to pinch-hitter Bobby Abreu. Darren Holmes recorded the save. Steve Finley, Luis Gonzalez and Damian Miller hit home runs off Andy Ashby (0-1).
April 3, 2000
Diamondbacks reduce roster to 25
(AP) - Injuries eased the decision-making process for the Arizona
Diamondbacks as they reduced their roster to 25 for Tuesday's
season opener. Infielder Luis Ordaz will report to Triple-A
Tucson if another major league club doesn't claim him within 48
hours. He would join right-handed reliever Jim Corsi, who will
start the season with Tucson. Corsi already was signed to a minor
league contract and did not make the opening-day roster for the
Diamondbacks. Right-handed reliever Vicente Padilla was optioned
to Tucson. Those surviving the cut include, 40-year-old
right-hander Mike Morgan, infielder Danny Klassen, right-handed
reliever Byung-Hyun Kim and outfielder David Dellucci. However,
more cuts will be necessary when utility infielder Andy Fox and
closer Matt Mantei come off the disabled list.
April 2, 2000
Arizona to start season with closer on DL
(AP) - The Arizona Diamondbacks, already without All-Star third
baseman Matt Williams, will begin their season with closer Matt
Mantei on the 15-day disabled list because of biceps tendinitis.
Mantei complained of soreness after his brief, unsuccessful
appearance in Arizona's 12-8 victory over Boston Saturday. After
an examination, doctors diagnosed the problem as tendinitis. An
MRI was scheduled for Monday to make sure the problem isn't more
serious. The 26-year-old right-hander did not accompany the team
to Las Vegas for its final exhibition game Sunday against
Oakland. Mantei, who has struggled throughout the spring, came
into Saturday's game in the ninth inning and allowed three runs
and two hits in just one-third of an inning. He walked three
batters, including one with the bases loaded, before being lifted
by manager Buck Showalter.
April 1, 2000
D-Backs' Williams out longer than expected after surgery
(AP) - Arizona Diamondbacks All-Star third baseman Matt Williams
had surgery Saturday to have a metal plate placed in his broken
right foot. Doctors say they found more damage during the
operation and that Williams will be out for 8-to-10 weeks, 2-to-4
weeks longer than originally estimated. Williams broke the second
metatarsal when he fouled a pitch off the foot Wednesday in an
exhibition game against Seattle in Tucson. Initially, no surgery
was planned, but Williams decided to have the plate inserted so
he could put weight on the foot sooner to keep up his
conditioning. When doctors took a new X-ray, they found that the
bone had separated slightly and that the plate was needed to keep
it from being further displaced. Williams broke the same bone in
1995 and had two pins inserted during surgery then to keep the
bone together.