Arizona Diamondbacks left fielder Jason Kubel (left), center fielder Gerardo Parra (center) and right fielder Justin Upton (right} celebrate after beating the Cubs 5-1 at Chase Field. on 6/24 Image: Matt Kartozian-US PRESSWIRE

What’s that you say?  Some kid named Trevor Bauer made his Major League debut last night?  Yeah, I know this was the moment we at venomstrikes and all Diamondbacks  fans were waiting for since Spring Training.  While it is hard not to get excited that Bauer is finally here, even more exciting is the manner in which Arizona salvaged the series in Atlanta.

Lurking over the Bauer start was the fact that Arizona was on the verge of getting swept by the Braves.  Their pitching had been battered the first two games of the series so now they were asking two rookies (Bauer and Patrick Corbin) to give the team valuable innings.  The duo did their jobs and then Jason Kubel, the D-Backs’ most valuable everyday player this season, tied the game in the sixth inning with a two-run double.   With the score tied at 2 in the 9^th, Chris Young launched a Craig Kimbrel fastball into the left-center field seats.  With the tying run on third and the winning run on first with two outs in the bottom of the inning, Willie Bloomquist made a terrific stop at third and fired a laser to first to end the game. Arizona won a thriller by the score of 3-2.

This was one of those gut-check wins that define winning teams.  With the victory, the D-Backs can take some momentum into Milwaukee to face a struggling Brewers squad.  If they can take two out of three this weekend and return home from the road trip 3-3, the next home hot streak can begin

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Arizona Diamondbacks right fielder Justin Upton (10) makes a running catch in the eighth inning against the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field. Image: Daniel Shirey-US PRESSWIRE

Record Notes: This series marked the third consecutive road series loss including a four game skid before Thursday’s victory. It was the team’s first win at Turner Field in their last six tries and they are now just 2-7 in their last nine games there dating back to 2010.

*It was the eighteenth time the team has been held to one or fewer runs on the year and seventh time in June alone.

GOOD: Bullpen. The bullpen has been sensational as of late and came through in a big way again this series. Granted, they only factored into one decision but with none of the starters pitching more than five innings, the relievers amassed a season high 14 1/3 innings over the three game set. It was the third straight series the bullpen worked at least 10 innings collectively. Still, they have allowed just three earned runs in their last 25 innings earning three wins and two saves over that stretch. Patrick Corbin made his first appearance since May 21st after being recalled on Monday and was lights out throwing three shutout innings while allowing just one hit.

*Josh Collmenter is really in a groove in his relief role and powered through another four innings of shutout ball on Monday after Daniel Hudson left with an injury. Hopefully that confidence will continue with him as he has been granted a start on Sunday against the Brewers. I am hoping this is a matter of the matchup more than anything as Collmenter has been lights out against the Brewers in his career allowing zero earned runs in 14 innings. With his outing against the Braves, the second year right hander now has an ERA of .63 in June and is averaging just over a strikeout an inning.

*When Justin Upton was benched on June 5-6 to let him regain some composure he called the move ‘unproductive.’ Well, it looks like the 24 year old has sure used those two days off to fuel some of his own production on the field. Upton was 5 for 10 against the Braves with two multi-hit games. Since the benching 18 games ago, Upton has 10 extra base hit efforts batting .377 with 12 runs and 13 RBI’s. He has raised his average to a season high .280. The one blip in his numbers for June has to be his base running. He has now been caught stealing four times in June alone while stealing just one base. In the Braves series he stole a base Tuesday and was caught stealing Wednesday.

BAD: Starting Pitching. None of the starters were able to work beyond five innings and in the first two contests, the Braves had a homerun by their leadoff man-Michael Bourn- and then Jason Heyward- their number two batter- to jump out to quick leads. In all they allowed 11 earned runs off three homeruns working just 10.2 innings between the three guys. Granted, Hudson left in the second with an injury, but not before the Braves were able to throw up five runs.

*Daniel Hudson wasn’t himself as he came off the DL at the end of May but until he signaled for Nagy and a trainer to make their way to the mound none of us knew the extent of the issue. You could read Hudson’s lips as he said, “my elbow is f**king done” and with that his 2012 campaign was finished and likely all of 2013 as well. He is to get a second opinion but the first MRI showed a 100% tear of his UCL- a ligament in his elbow that requires Tommy John surgery. It is a huge blow to the Diamondbacks as well as the 25 year old who won 16 games for the team in 2011 and is 23-13 since being acquired from the White Sox during the 2010 season.  Let’s hope he has a speedy recovery and we’re able to see Hudson back on the hill for the Dbacks in the future. Let’s also be happy that Kevin Towers wasn’t able to ship out Joe Saunders just yet as we may need him for the long haul now.

*RISP. Sometimes too much may be read into this statistic- just ask the Yankees who are second to last in average with runners in scoring position but have the fourth most runs in the A.L. Either way, the Dbacks were just 2 for 20 in the Braves series and left nine runners in scoring position with two outs. On Tuesday they went through a three-inning period where they left a runner on third base each inning without plating a run.

*Ryan Roberts was just 1 for 8 in the series- albeit a three run homerun- but is just 5 for his last 29 (.172). He also hasn’t walked in 13 games. One encouraging sign is that he has only struck out twice in his 29 at bats leading one to believe that it is just a matter of time before his balls begin to fall for base hits. Let’s hope anyway.

UGLY: *Trevor Cahill struggled through his second straight start allowing six runs- four earned- in just five innings of work. The homerun he allowed to Jason Heyward- the second batter of the game- snapped a 20 inning scoreless streak on the road for Cahill. He was good until the fifth when it began to unravel as he walked three hitters and made a throwing error while trying to turn two. He has now allowed ten earned runs in his last eleven innings and the loss Tuesday snapped a four game winning streak, dropping him to 6-6 on the year.

NOTES: Jason Kubel collected his league leading tenth outfield assist on Monday throwing out Chipper Jones at third base.

*Stephen Drew was activated from the DL Tuesday after eleven months of rehab and in his second at bat of the season he recorded a ‘hustle double’ -ruled a single with error- that was encouraging to see as he never hesitated rounding first and diving into second. Drew will most likely play around four games a week for the time being as he has said he still doesn’t feel like he is 100%.

*The highly touted Trevor Bauer made his major league debut on Thursday and last four innings while allowing two earned runs on five scattered hits. He was pulled after 74 pitches as his pitch count was climbing with three walks and a hit batsmen. He also had thrown 50 pitches on Sunday with the Reno Aces before being pulled to prepare for Thursday’s start. He struck out three batters including the first batter he ever faced. See his pregame workout and the strikeout here.

*Chris Young mashed not one but two homeruns in the Braves series to end his Homerun Watch at 29 games including the go-ahead solo shot off closer Craig Kimbrel yesterday.  I will start a Homerun Watch for Willie Bloomquist who hasn’t homered all season- a span of 231 at bats and 57 games. Let’s hope that is the turning point for CY moving forward and we can expect some production from center field again.

*The team flies to Milwaukee to take on the 34-41 Brewers beginning tonight with Ian Kennedy taking on Randy Wolf.

Now bring on the Brewers!!

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Oct 7, 2011; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Ian Kennedy throws a pitch in the second inning of game five of the 2011 NLDS against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-US PRESSWIRE

Each year the MLB Network ranks the top ten players at each position in all of baseball with the addition of managers. Over the next several weeks, I will list those rankings here and show why many of them are ridiculous including some D-backs snubs.

MLB Networks Starting Pitchers  

1. Roy Halladay
2. Justin Verlander
3. Cliff Lee
4. Felix Hernandez
5. Clayton Kershaw
6. Jered Weaver
7. Tim Lincecum
8. Dan Haren
9. C.C Sabathia
10. Zack Greinke

The whole “year of the pitcher” idea has been done to death a bit over the last couple of years but does not mean it’s not accurate. It seems that there is 12-20 pitchers that could be considered aces which makes a top ten list very hard to create.  I don’t have much of a problem with these selections except for one giant mistake at the very end. I am not sure how Greinke could be considered in the top 20 right now, let alone the top ten. To be an ace, you have to be trusted in the playoffs and it was obvious the Brewers were hiding Greinke last year in the playoffs, not featuring him. Ian Kennedy could take that place if he has another season similar to last year but for now, Cole Hamels, James Shields or Matt Cain would all be suitable replacements for Greinke.

My Rankings:

1. Roy Halladay
2. Justin Verlander
3. Felix Hernandez
4. Clayton Kershaw
5. Cliff Lee
6. Jered Weaver
7. Tim Lincecum
8. Dan Haren
9. James Shields
10. C.C. Sabathia