LDN - Sports

D-backs suffer double whammy in loss to Phillies

[June 29, 2016] PHOENIX -- Ryan Howard hit the fourth of his 13 grand-slam homers to help the Phillies beat Arizona in 2007. This time, a walk did the trick.

Howard walked with the bases loaded to force in the winning run in a two-run ninth inning when the Phillies further spoiled an awful Arizona evening with a 4-3 victory at Chase Field on Tuesday, when the Diamondbacks lost ace Zack Greinke to left oblique muscle tightness.

"I am sure he (Howard) would have preferred to hit a grand slam to win the game, but I am sure he is happy getting that run across with a walk," Philadelphia manager Pete Mackanin said.

"This whole road trip we have swung the bats pretty good. When Greinke had to come out of the game I kind of got perked up a little bit because you never like to have to face Greinke."

Pinch-hitter Jimmy Paredes doubled to open the ninth inning off Brad Ziegler (2-3) and scored on a single by Andres Blanco to tie the game at 3.

Odubel Herrera singled to right to send Blanco to third and Peter Bourjos walked to load the bases. Ziegler struck out Maikel Franco to bring up Howard, who walked on a 3-2 pitch.

Ziegler has failed to convert two of his last three save opportunities after setting a franchise record with 43 straight.

"When you pitch to contact a lot, occasionally that is going to happen," Ziegler said.

"It sucks that it happens several times in one game. They got enough of the barrel on it do just enough damage."

Maikel Franco's two-out homer in fifth inning, his 13th, gave the Phillies a 2-1 lead before Yasmany Tomas tied the game with a 460-foot homer, his 13th, in the last of the sixth.

Jake Lamb gave Arizona 3-2 lead with a bases-empty homer in the seventh inning, his 16th homer of the year.

Greinke, who is 10-3 and has won his last seven decisions, left the game before the start of the third inning after feeling tightness on his first warmup pitch. Greinke spoke to home plate umpire Pat Hoberg after throwing his second pitch and then summoned manager Chip Hale and trainer Ken Crenshaw to the mound.

Greinke ran into the dugout to apply some heating ointment to his oblique, but after returning to the mound and throwing another warmup pitch in front of Hale and Crenshaw he left. Greinke threw 35 pitches, including first-pitch strikes to all 10 Phillies he faced.

His sacrifice fly in the last of the second inning tied the game at 1 after Phillies starter Jerad Eickhoff singled in a run in the top of the inning.

"I think it happened during the swing," Greinke said. "That would just be the most likely scenario. I didn't really feel anything until warming up that inning."

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Diamondbacks left fielder Yasmany Tomas (24) is congratulated after hitting a solo home run in the sixth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Arizona opted for the big picture approach for their $206.5 million man.

"Something that maybe he can miss a start, possibly not miss a start, possibly at the worst maybe 15 days on the DL," manager Chip Hale said. "You never know. But if you go out and really yank it bad, you are talking about a month or two. We'll hope for best-case scenario."

Welington Castillo had three hits, and Lamb, Tomas and Jean Segura had two for the Diamondbacks (36-44), who have lost four in a row.

Franco and Freddy Galvis had two hits for Philadelphia (34-45), which has won four of six. The Phillies won their first series in 13 after going 0-10-2 in their last 12.

NOTES: Arizona and the Chicago Cubs were the two teams with three position players in the top 11 in the NL in Wins Above Replacement through Monday. The Diamondbacks are 1B Paul Goldschmidt (3.4), 2B Jean Segura (2.5) and 3B Jake Lamb (1.1). The Cubs are 3B/OF Kris Bryant (3.1), CF Dexter Fowler (2.6) and 2B Ben Zobrist (2.6). ... Arizona Double-A LHP Anthony Banda and Phillies Double-A OF Dylan Cozens were named Tuesday to the U.S. team for the Futures Game, and Phillies Double-A RHP Ricardo Pinto was named to the World team. Cozens, a second-round pick in 2012, hit his 20th homer Monday. ... LHP Robbie Ray, removed from Monday's start with a blood blister on his left middle finger, is expected to make his next scheduled start Sunday. ... Arizona RHP Jake Barrett and Philadelphia 1B Tommy Joseph were Little League teammates in the Phoenix area and opposed each other in the 2009 Arizona Class 5A-2 state championship game.

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