Diamondbacks Rally at Home to Bring Game 5 to Milwaukee

It just wouldn't be Arizona Diamondbacks baseball at Chase Field without a grand slam these days. Showoffs.

After returning to the desert staring down an 0-2 hole in the National League Division Series, the Diamondbacks won both of their home games to force a deciding Game 5, including an 8-1 rout Tuesday evening before their 10-6 win Wednesday night over the Milwaukee Brewers.

Thanks in part to Randy Wolf being completely out of control early on, the D'Backs enjoyed a five-run first inning highlighted by a Ryan Roberts grand slam -- the team's fourth in as many home games. In fact, they're just the second team to hit grand salamis in consecutive playoff games since the 1977 Dodgers.

Chris Young went yard twice, and Aaron Hill added a solo shot to Arizona's 13 hits to shift the series back to Milwaukee.

Rallying for a win is nothing new to the D'Backs, and frankly I'm sure they're offended that everyone outside of Arizona pretty much wrote them off after dropping the first two games of the series. In case it's your first day, they had a big league-best 48 comeback wins during the regular season.

They might not have a rally squirrel, but they do have a Kirk Gibson, whose unorthodox managing techniques had fans and analysts questioning his sanity Wednesday night. The second-year skipper pulled starter Joe Saunders for a pinch-hitter in the third inning of his team's must-win postseason game after the lefty surrendered three runs on five hits with two walks. Not a good outing at all, but definitely not something you can't come back from. It was so Tony La Russa... but it worked.

Diamondbacks Stay Alive Thanks to Rookies Collmenter and Goldschmidt

Putting a rookie on the hill and one in the no. 5 spot of the batting order in a must-win situation is just how Arizona Diamondbacks Kirk Gibson rolls. And apparently it works.

Josh Collmenter silenced the Milwaukee Brewers abusive bats for a second time this season with six strikeouts and two walks, while first baseman Paul Goldschmidt added five RBI, including the third grand slam by a rookie in postseason history, to give the Diamondbacks an 8-1 rout to force Game 4 of their NLDS.

While the 25-year-old Collmenter and his crazy changeup were called up as a reliever back in mid-April before eventually becoming a starter, the 24-year-old Goldschmidt didn't join the team until August 1 when he was called up from Double-A Mobile. Goldy had this to say about the victory:

"It was awesome. Now to be back home and hear almost 50,000 people screaming for us is awesome."

Meanwhile, Ryan Braun, who had been 6-for-8 with a homer and two doubles in the series so far, went 0-for-3 with a walk. Prince Fielder managed only an infield single after being hit by a pitch following Brauny's walk in the first. Brewers starter Shaun Marcum didn't help matters by giving up seven runs on seven hits in just 4.2 innings.

Game 4 begins at 9:30pm ET Wednesday on TBS in a battle of lefties with Randy Wolf taking on Joe Saunders.

[AZ Central]

The Milwaukee Brewers are One Win Away from the NLCS

In front of yet another sold-out crowd at Miller Park, the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 9-4 Sunday afternoon to give themselves a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five National League Division Series for their hometown fans.

In fact, they're the only team to have a 2-0 lead in the playoffs thus far, with every other series tied at 1-1. Oddly enough, this marks the first time in franchise history that the Brewers hold a shutout lead in a postseason series.

Ryan Braun was at it again for Milwaukee, nailing a two-run homer in the first inning before Paul Goldschmidt answered with a solo shot in the second for the Diamondbacks. Prince Fielder and Rickie Weeks then drove in a few runs in the third for a 6-1 lead, but Chris Young and Justin Upton each hit homers in the fourth in fifth, respectively, in an attempt to chip away at Milwaukee's rather comfortable position.

Jonathan Lucroy, who his teammates call "Mr. Squeeze", drove in the go-ahead run with a bunt during the Brewers' five-run sixth that busted the game wide open. Corey Hart, Nyjer Morgan, and Braun each singled to chip right back and eventually earn the win for the Brewers.

Diamondbacks Win NL West, Giants Fail Miserably

After a pair of 90-loss seasons and just a year after going 65-97, the Arizona Diamondbacks are sitting an impressive 91-66 and heading to the playoffs as the division champions for the first time in four years.

In his first full season as manager, Kirk Gibson watched in amazement as his team celebrated on the field, in the clubhouse, and of course, in the pool out behind the right field fence. Sadly, they still had their uniforms on.