File This Under "Helping Your Own Cause"
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by Smittylite
The Dbacks have been throwing around a motto in their clubhouse lately, 'Anyone, anytime'. Last night, it truly was an anyone. Micah Owings, the rookie pitcher who has been fourth in the pitching rotation for the Dbacks all year, is having a pretty good last month after struggling a bit around the middle of the season. Last night he was at his best, putting a game that will be talked about for years. His line? 4 for 5, with a single, a double, and two home runs, for six RBI's and four runs.
Oh, you wanted his pitching stats? How about 7 innings pitched, 7 strikeouts, no walks, three hits, and three runs allowed? That good enough for you? All good for a 12-6 Dbacks win, with 5 of the runs for the Braves coming late against our relief pitchers.
Owings has, since he started the season, always claimed he is a good hitter, and indeed is often praised for his approach to hitting not just at the plate but during batting practice and down time as well. He has always prided himself on actually being able to hit, not just 'hitting good for a pitcher'. Last night was the perfect example of this. Stepping to the plate in the 2nd inning, Owings scalded a ball down the left field line, driving in two runs with the double, then moved to third on the same play after an error by the Braves. He scored two batters later with an Orlando Hudson single to center.
Then things got fun. Leading off the 4th inning, Owings crushed a 415 foot home run to left field, with the ball landing (no joke) about 20 rows into the seats. Stepping to the plate again in the 6th inning, the opposing pitcher apparently thought Owings' effort up to that point had been a fluke. So Buddy Carlyle threw him a fastball right down the middle of the plate, which Owings promptly deposited in dead away center field, a towering 446 foot shot. 446 feet! For perspective, the night before Mark Reynolds, who has maybe the most power on the team behind Tony Clark, muscled a 453 foot bomb into the seats, which was the 6th longest home run in the history of Turner Field. Our pitcher was only 7 feet behind that.
In the 7th inning, Owings once again stepped to the plate, and hit a broken bat single back up the middle for yet another base hit, making him 4-4 at that point, and driving in another run, his sixth of the night. Owings had one more chance at the plate, and needing a triple for the cycle, hit a hard shot to first that was caught on a pretty good play to retire Owings for the first time of the night. With his 4-5 effort, Owings raised his Batting Average for the season to .273.
As for the records? His 6 RBI's were the first for a pitcher since 2002. The last time a pitcher hit two home runs in a game was Dontrelle Willis for the Marlins just last year. His 11 total bases were the most by a pitcher since 1942. He is the only pitcher ever to have four hits, four RBI's, and score four runs in a game. All that led to this quote from the opposing pitcher Carlyle, who gave up both home runs to Owings: "He hit the ball 900 feet tonight. It's kind of frustrating that it's the pitcher that did all that damage". All in all not a bad night, especially when you consider he tossed a 7 inning, 3 hit gem in there as well.
With the win, the Dbacks won their 9th series in a row, tying the record for most this year. 15 in a row is the all-time record, which is possible with the way the Dbacks have been playing, but hard with the schedule they have coming up. But if there's one thing i've learned watching this team, it's that they tend to defy odds and find a way to win. If a pitcher can have a night like Owings did, then it truly is anyone, anytime.
Originally posted at http://valleysports.blogspot.com
