Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Ian Kennedy (31) pitches during the first inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. Image: Frank Victores-US PRESSWIRE

Record Notes: The team dropped to 44-48 on the year and sits seven games back of the San Francisco Giants. Their away record fell to 21-27 on the road finishing 2-5 on the road trip. They are 5-11 in their last 16 games overall.

GOOD: Bullpen. With the exception of Bryan Shaw in yesterday’s contest, the bullpen was exceptional once again. They held the Reds offense scoreless over five innings of work after Bauer’s early exit on Tuesday allowing just two earned runs over 11 1/3 innings in the series- both runs allowed by Shaw.

*Josh Collmenter was lights out in his relief appearance on Tuesday throwing three shutout innings while scattering two hits and striking out five. He will head back into the rotation with the demotion of Bauer and take the hill on Sunday afternoon against the Astros. The righties ERA has creeped under the 4.00 mark for the first time since April (3.90 ERA) and he has recorded 57 strikeouts in 60 innings of work. All a far cry from the head hunting he experienced in April.

*Ian Kennedy had one of his best starts of the season on Wednesday hurling eight innings allowing just one earned run while striking out seven. The win improved his record to 7-8 and marked the fourth time in his last six starts the ace lasted at least seven innings. For perspective, he threw seven or more innings in only four of his first thirteen starts. Not that he’s in the clear by any means, his ERA still sits a notch under 5.00 in July (4.95) and teams are hitting .279 against him on the season. Still, the longer Kennedy is the game, the better off this team will be.

*Joe Saunders deserves to be in this section for a couple reasons: first off, the lefty retired 14 of the first 16 hitters he faced- walking just two batters. It wasn’t until the sixth inning that the Reds were able to do some damage with a pair of singles and Brandon Phillips three run blast. Secondly, I think it is important to recognize that Saunders began the season as the team’s fifth starter. What do you ask of a #5 starter in your rotation? Maybe six innings of work, minimizing damage- keeping your ERA around the 3.50-3.75 mark give or take. While Saunders has now gone eleven consecutive starts without throwing seven innings, he has thrown 6+ innings in seven of his last eight starts. His ERA sits at 3.58 on the season and he burns through innings. So while Saunders may get smacked around once in a while, remember what his role on the team is- he’s certainly not expected to pitch like an ace.

BAD: Chris Young is still struggling. Have you noticed Gibby? While he did have two hits against the Reds- both doubles- he has now gone 27 games without a multi-hit effort and his average is hovering around the Mendoza line at .206. Personally not sure why he is still in the lineup over Gerardo Parra but I’ll ride it out a little longer in hopes our .238 career average center fielder busts out in a big way.

*Stephen Drew was just 2 for 13 with three strikeouts and an error in the series against the Reds. As he continues his return from a long DL stint, the shortstop is having a difficult time finding his swing. He is hitting just .192 with an on base percentage of .246 through his first 15 games.

Stolen Bases. Again this team is extremely inefficient in their stolen base attempts. They were caught stealing on three occasions against the Reds while stealing two successfully. Obviously Willie Bloomquist was one of the guys caught stealing- twice actually. It’s a good thing Fast Willie has a multi-hit game every night or he would probably be riding the pine. Still, in all seriousness, these guys continue to run themselves out of innings and one would think this would be a priority for the club.

UGLY: Trevor Bauer struggled through his start on Tuesday working just three innings while allowing three earned runs and a homerun. He only surrendered one hit but walked FIVE batters, had a throwing error and threw two wild pitches- one of them in the first inning on ball four allowing the first run to score.

One would hope that the rookies first stint with the team will be a humbling one as he only made it out of the fourth inning once in his four starts before being demoted after his start against the Reds. Still, this short stint could be the best thing for the right hander as he can head back to Reno to regroup a little without all the media hoopla surrounding him and use his experience from his first four starts to propel him when he returns. Worth mentioning is Bauer’s groin injury that he says wasn’t an issue but his fastball velocity was more consistently 91-93 rather than the normal 93-96. We’ll see if they allow him to skip a start to allow the groin more time to heal.

*Bryan Shaw had a less than memorable appearance in yesterday’s game as he walked consecutive batters on eight straight pitches before Brandon Phillips smashed a two run double to centerfield. Four runs would eventually score (two earned) and Shaw would suffer the loss. Now, Shaw was lights out for all of June posting an ERA of .79 in 11.1 innings but hasn’t fared as well in July allowing five runs in five innings. Gibby had this to say about Shaw following yesterday’s appearance, “You can’t come in and walk two guys on eight pitches. That’s just totally unacceptable,” Gibson said. “Not that he’s trying to, but in all honesty, Shaw has struggled a lot lately walking guys when he’s come into games. It’s something that’s going to have to be looked at.” Yikes. I wonder what he thinks about big belly Zagurski then?

NOTES: The Diamondbacks were shutout on Tuesday 4-0 marking the fourth time in five games the offense plated one of fewer runs. In their last 37 games the team has been shut out five times. The team went the first 54 games without being shutout.

*David Hernandez has now recorded at least two strikeouts in 10 of his last 19 appearances and is averaging 13.9 K’s/ game.

*Jason Kubel hit two homeruns Wednesday after sitting out four games with a hamstring injury, giving him seventeen on the year. It was his first multi- homerun game since May 27, 2010 vs. the Yankees when Kubel was with the Twins.

*Fast Willie Bloomquist recorded three more multi-hit games against the Reds. He now has 26 multi-hit efforts in his 69 games played. His Homerun Watch continues at 69 games and 285 at bats without a tater. He is now the only player without a homerun on the team as Henry Blanco put one in the seats yesterday.

*Justin Upton Homerun Watch has returned. As I was away on vacation the last two weeks I was unaware the right fielder wanted back in on the Watch so badly but he again has a streak over 20 games without a homerun (21 games currently) and still sits at seven on the season. He did hit eight homeruns last July so there is hope that his power numbers will return.

The team returns home for a 10 game stretch that begins against the Houston Astros. The Astros are just 10-38 on the road and have the worst record in the major leagues at 34-59. Which means we’ll probably get swept. Trevor Cahillwill take the hill tonight to try to get his record back to .500 after dropping three of his last four.

Now bring on the Astros!!

Follow me on Twitter at @ndougherty313 and our team at @venomstrikes.

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!!

Follow me on Twitter at @ndougherty313 and our team at @venomstrikes.

June 22, 2012; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks left fielder Jason Kubel (13) celebrates with Justin Upton after hitting a two run home run against the Chicago Cubs at Chase Field. Image: Matt Kartozian-US PRESSWIRE

Record Notes: With the series sweep, the Diamondbacks improved to 37-35. It is the first time they sit two games over .500 since they were 13-11 on May 1^st. They have swept two of the last three visitors to Chase Field and finished their second straight homestand at 5-1. They are now 13-3 in their last 16 home games scoring an average just short of eight runs a game. With a 14-7 record, the Dbacks hold the best record in the National League in the month of June and have cut the division race to 5.5 games.

GOOD: Team Offense. This offense has been absolutely on fire over the last week. But compared to who you ask? Well- in the last seven days the Dbacks are first in runs, triples, homeruns, RBI’s, team average and OPS in all of baseball. They lead the majors in nearly every one of these stats for the entire month of June as well (the A’s have scored one more run than the Dbacks to date). Pretty incredible when considering the team was shutout in four of their twenty-one games in June.

Notable Players: Nearly all players helped contribute to the weekend sweep but Jason Kubel, Paul Goldschmidt, and Aaron Hill continue to hit the ball very well. Add in five hits each from Miguel Montero and Willie Bloomquist and six hits from a surging Justin Upton and the 1-6 hitters batted a smooth .400 for the series.

*Wade Miley completed his fourth straight start going at least seven innings while allowing just one earned run. He collected his ninth victory tying him with Yu Darvish among all rookies in the big leagues. His ERA is actually getting lower and now sits at 2.19 on the year. He is tied for the third best ERA in the game and has an all-star worthy ERA in June of 1.89.

What has made Miley so impressive to this point is his ability to minimize damage. With no one on, hitters are batting .239; with runners on they’re hitting .182; and with runners in scoring position Miley has held opposing hitters to an impressive .145 average. Also causing problems for opposing managers when filling out their lineup card has been Miley’s success when facing right handed hitters as he’s held them to an average of just .204- nearly 45 points lower than that of left handed hitters.

*Bullpen. The bullpen was probably the MVP of this series if there was one to give out. They battled through 10 2/3 innings without allowing a single earned run over the weekend and striking out 11 on their way to two victories and one save. You could argue that Josh Collmenter’s start could be considered ‘bullpen’ work but his four innings on Friday in place of the injured Joe Saunders was a spot start. Still, Collmenter was again excellent allowing just one earned run over four innings. Since moving to the bullpen, Collmenter sports a 1.62 ERA and has walked just five batters while striking out 24 in his 22 2/3 innings of relief work.

BAD. Ian Kennedy struggled through 4 1/3 innings of work on Saturday giving up ten hits and five earned runs while striking out just two. It took the floundering ace 108 pitches to get into the fifth inning and watched a 7-2 lead slowly disappear before being pulled with one out in the fifth. He has now allowed 26 hits and 13 earned runs in his last 18 innings pitched (6.50 ERA).

*Base Stealing. They haven’t been stealing many bases as of late with their recent offensive explosion but Upton was AGAIN picked off from first and was caught stealing for the sixth time this year. The team continues to sit in the basement in stolen base percentage at 62% and Upton continues to look lackadaisical on the base paths.

UGLY. Chris Young unfortunately takes the cake in this category again as he was just 1 for 9 with five strikeouts in the Cubs series before being given a day off Sunday. He is 2 for his last 19 with zero walks and his OPS in June is an abysmal .460. His last four hits have been doubles and he is hitting at a .141 clip in June. Personally- as I’ve mentioned before- I think they should remove Young from the lineup. He is not helping the team and Gerardo Parra can step in at any time and play center field at a very high level. I do remember how poorly Goldie was hitting through April (.198) and there were times when I probably said the same thing, but bear in mind that Young is a .236 career hitter. Center field has taken over the spot from third base with the least amount of production over the last six weeks.

*Ryan Roberts was just 2 for 12 against the Cubs and is now 4 for his last 21 (.190). His OBP for the season is below .300 (.288) and his average is hovering around .240. While personally it’d be nice to have both of these players stay with Arizona through the season and beyond- business would say otherwise and frankly, these two are not producing.

NOTES: With an attendance of 38,542 on Saturday, the club surpassed the million mark- six games earlier than in 2011.

*On Friday both Brad Ziegler and David Hernandez recorded their first major league hits.

*Upton did not strike out in the Cubs series. It is only the third series all season in which he did not record a strikeout and the first since the Brewers were in town from May 25-27^th.

*Chris Young Homerun Watch officially takes over for Upton now and he currently sits at 29 games without a ding dong. He also hasn’t recorded an RBI in 14 games. C’mon CY let’s have one!!

*The Dbacks travel to Atlanta to take on the Braves Tuesday. Stephen Drew is expected to join the team on Wednesday after missing the last 11 months due to his ankle injury. The Braves are 4-6 in their last ten and have lost two straight.

Now bring on the Braves!!

Follow me on Twitter at @ndougherty313 and our team at @venomstrikes.