The Diamondbacks are sitting at 89-70 on the season which gives them a 1-game lead on the Padres for the N.L. West.  They also lead the Rockies by only 2 games and they open a 3-game set in Colorado tonight against a Rockies team that has won 11 games in a row!  Eric Byrnes should get a lot of MVP votes in the National League with the way he has played this season.  In 158 games, Byrnes is 178 for 619 (.288 avg, .817 OPS) with 103 runs scored, 21 homers, 83 RBIs and 49 stolen bases.  No one is more valuable to their team than Byrnes has been for the Diamondbacks.

The Arizona Diamondbacks are sitting in first place in the National League West with a 85-67 record, 1 game ahead of the Padres.  The Diamondbacks must keep playing well as the Phillies have gotten hot and they are only 2.5 games behind the Diamondbacks if the Padres overtake them in the division.  A big reason for the success of the Diamondbacks this season has been the pitching of closer Jose Valverde who has saved 45 of the Diamondbacks 85 victories (52.9%).  Valverde has worked in 62 games this season for the D-Backs and he is 1-4 with 45 saves, a 2.79 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP.  He has thrown 61.1 innings this season and he has allowed only 44 hits, walked 24 batters and whiffed 73.  The Diamondbacks knew that they would have a good starting rotation this season but Valverde and the rest of the bullpen has been a major surprise as they have saved a lot of close games because the D-Backs don’t score a lot of runs.

The Arizona Diamondbacks have won 7 of their last 10 games as they now sit on top of the National League West with an impressive record of 82-64.  That has them not only 2.5 games up on the Padres in the division but also 5 games up on the Phillies for the Wild Card.  The D-Backs must stay focused the last couple of weeks to get into the playoffs.

The Diamondbacks are an amazing 76-63 this season which has them in 2nd place only 1 game behind the Padres in the National League West.  The Diamondbacks are 3 games ahead of the Phillies and the Dodgers for the NL Wild Card despite getting outscored 635-591 this season.  The D-Backs offense has been a two man crew this season.  Eric Byrnes has been good all season as he is hitting .293 with 86 runs scored, 20 homers, 77 RBIs and 39 stolen bases this year.  Rookie CF Chris Young has been a monster in the 2nd half of the season which has skewed his season stats.  Young is hitting .234 with 72 runs scored, 28 homers, 54 RBIs and 23 stolen bases.  Brandon Webb is having an incredible season as he has taken the D-Backs on his back.  He is 14-10 with a 2.91 ERA this season.  Tony Pena has been really solid as a setup man for the D-Backs this season as he is 5-3 with 1 save and a 2.78 ERA.  Stopper Jose Valverde has been awesome as he is 1-4 with 41 saves and a 2.88 ERA.

The last two weeks the Diamondbacks are 8-4 as they’ve outscored their opponents 50-44.  The D-Backs hitting is starting to come around and that’s the reason for the recent surge as their pitching has been good all season long.  The D-Backs enter this week with a 37-27 record which has them tied for first place in the National League West with the Padres, 1.5 games ahead of the Dodgers.