It's the bottom of the sixth, with the home team down by two runs, a man on base, and the pitcher's spot up. Time for a pinch-hitter. In his second year of big-league play, the youngster stepping out of the dugout stands 6'5", weighs around 220 pounds and boasts a career batting average of .350 or so (over .400 this season), with 4 career homers to his credit. People still talk about the game last season when he went 4 for 5. Two home runs and a double. 6 RBIs and 4 runs scored.
The opposing manager opts for a pitching change to face this powerhouse. The duel begins, and it doesn't end well for the visitors. The little white ball suffers a fearsome knock and sails over the right-field fence. Two runs score and the game is tied. Unquestionably this is the play of the game, even more dramatic than the winning run scored later.
Why is the game-tying, pinch-hit homer a bigger deal for a guy batting over .400, with only 5 starts and 4 pinch-hit appearances, than the winning run for an everyday player batting .267 (career and season)? Maybe it's the other set of stats the pinch-hitter is racking up. Like an ERA of 3.48 so far this season, and a win-loss record of 4-0 (4.17 and 12-8, lifetime).
Yup, Micah Owings is a junior member of the Arizona Diamondbacks' starting rotation. And so far it looks like he knows how to win games - no matter whether he's standing 60 feet in front of home plate, or right next to it.
So far, it's a fun year to be a D-Backs fan!
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Some people's minds are filled with musings, and when these musings mature they become eloquent writings. My head, on the other hand, is inhabited by stray thoughts and ideas that just bounce and rattle around in there until they fall out and land here. Welcome to my little corner of the blogosphere...
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