D-Backs 7, Rays 0
Recap: Resurgent LHP Wade Miley had yet another strong outing and the Diamondbacks offense broke out early, scoring four runs in the first three innings en route to an easy win over the Rays on Wednesday night at Tropicana Field.
Miley issued five walks but gave up just two hits in 61⁄ innings, working out of every
3 jam in which he found himself while also getting a huge assist from RHP Heath Bell.
With the bases loaded and one out in the seventh, Miley was lifted for Bell, who proceeded to strikeout the top two hitters in the Rays lineup, Desmond Jennings and Evan Longoria, to end the threat.
Early runs: For the second time in as many nights, the Diamondbacks threatened in the first inning. But after coming up empty on Tuesday, they got the sort of big hit that’s been so hard to come by in recent weeks in the form of a two-run single by Cody Ross.
“The two-out hit by Cody was just refreshing for us,” Eric Chavez said. “We were struggling offensively so it was nice to get off to a good start like that. … (It was a) breath of fresh air to put some runs on the board early.”
They also benefited from what appeared to be a bad call in the first inning when Aaron Hill was called safe at first on chopper to short, loading the bases for Ross, who shot a single into left field. Miley rolling: Miley wasn’t as sharp as he had been in previous starts, but the results were just as good. After11starts this season, Miley had a 5.01ERA. But he has a 2.44 ERA over his past 11.
“I was able to make some good pitches when I needed to and that kind of got me out of some jams,” Miley said. “Once again, (catcher) Wil (Nieves) did a good job of knowing when to go to pitches and just kind of feeling me out, sticking with me the whole game.”
Finding ways to keep innings from spiraling out of control was an issue for him earlier in the season, but he escaped two jams — second and third with one out in the fourth and first and second with one out in the sixth — without any damage.
“He’s been on a pretty good roll for us,” manager Kirk Gibson said. “He seems to keep things pretty well under control in those situations and makes his pitches.” Bell escapes: Bell said he tried not to focus on the fact that the bases were loaded when he entered in the seventh, a way of not putting too much pressure on himself.
“I wasn’t thinking, ‘Oh, it’s bases loaded. I’ve got to go out there,’ ” he said. “It’s just, ‘I’m going out there and executing my pitches and trying to get Wade out of that jam.’ I was just trying to not think about it.” View from the press box: These next few days probably won’t be easy for the Diamondbacks, who were flying late Wednesday night to Texas and then will immediately fly to Boston after their game against the Rangers tonight. They didn’t do well in handling a weird travel schedule in April, struggling in a series against the Rockies. We’ll see if they can get through this stretch with their heads above water.