German_Force » Buster_ESPNELIAS: Over his last 9

PHOENIX (AP) — Bryan Mitchell’s strong return to San Diego’s rotation and a big boost from Franmil Reyes‘ bat put Arizona in a deeper hole in the NL West.Reyes homered twice and had four RBIs http://www.twinsfanproshop.com/authentic-jake-odorizzi-jersey , Mitchell pitched five effective innings in his return from the DL and the Padres knocked off the playoff-contending Diamondbacks 6-2 Monday night.“I just tried to take one pitch at a time and not really let things speed up,” said Mitchell, who earned his first win since April 12, 2017. “It had been a while so that first inning was kind of different, but we were able to get out with one run, limit the damage there. I definitely settled in after that.”Mitchell (1-3) was sharp in his first start off the DL due to a right elbow impingement, holding the Diamondbacks to a run on two hits — all in the first inning.Reyes hit a three-run homer off Zack Godley (14-8) in the second inning and a solo shot off the right-hander in the fourth. Austin Hedges added a two-run single in the eighth inning for the Padres, who have won five of seven.Reyes had his first career multihomer game and has homered in five of the past nine games to extend his hitting streak to nine games.“He looks really confident in the batter’s box,” Padres manager Andy Reid said. “I can’t really think of anybody in big league baseball who has as much pop or more pop than him.”Steven Souza Jr. had a run-scoring single in the first inning and Paul Goldschmidt an RBI double in the eighth for Arizona. The Diamondbacks were limited to five hits in their fourth loss in five games Eddie Rosario Jersey , dropping two games behind Colorado in the NL West.“This is a group of guys that have done it before. They have done it this year at times,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “It obviously hasn’t been as consistent as we have seen it. The same theme I have been talking about. Grind it out, keep getting after it, stay with the process. If it is not there for you, hand it off to the next guy.”The Diamondbacks returned to the desert after a difficult trip to Southern California. Arizona entered a four-game series with the Dodgers atop the division and left a game back after Los Angeles won three of four. All three loses came when the Dodgers rallied late, including Matt Kemp’s two walk-off hits off Archie Bradley.The Diamondbacks found themselves needing to rally after Godley walked the first two batters of the second inning and Reyes followed with a three-run homer to the pool deck in right-center to put San Diego up 3-1.Godley gave up two hits for the second straight start, but both were home runs. He allowed four runs and struck out six in five innings.“I felt like I made really, really good pitches,” Godley said. “I made two bad pitches on the night. Both of them I paid for.”LOPEZ RECALLEDThe Diamondbacks recalled RHP Yoan Lopez from Double-A Jackson and transferred 3B Jake Lamb to the 60-day disabled list. Arizona signed Lopez to an $8.27 million bonus coming out of Cuba in 2015 Robbie Grossman Jersey , but he spent four seasons in the minors and at one time considered leaving baseball. The 25-year-old was 2-5 with 12 saves and led Southern League relievers in opponent average at .174. Lamb had season-ending left shoulder surgery last month.PADRES MOVESSan Diego reinstated RHP Luis Perdomo (right shoulder) from the 10-day disabled list and RHP Kirby Yates from the bereavement list. Both will work in the Padres’ bullpen.TRAINER’S ROOMDiamondbacks: Catcher Alex Avila had a foul ball bounce off the dirt and hit him in the throat in the third inning, but stayed in the game before being replaced by a pinch hitter in the seventh.UP NEXTDiamondbacks LHP Robbie Ray has allowed three runs or less his past five starts heading into Tuesday’s game against the Padres. San Diego LHP Joey Lucchesi is winless in four career starts against the Diamondbacks with a 7.71 ERA. It was more of the same for Springer from the Astros' victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2017 World Series. Springer won the series MVP on the strength of a 1.471 OPS and five home runs.This is typically where one pays lip service to the notion that elite postseason performers have a special gene that makes them all sparkly under the October lights. The "clutch gene," they call it.But while Springer himself can't help but wonder about that, even he hesitated to buy completely into it."I just think it's one of those times where the lights get brighter, the stage gets a little bit bigger, and I think guys tend to concentrate more," Springer said after the ALDS, according to Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post. "You hone in on stuff, and http://www.twinsfanproshop.com/authentic-kyle-gibson-jersey , again, I don't know. I'm not going to complain about it. I'm happy that it happened."For what it's worth, Springer knows as well as anyone that October stardom can be easy come, easy go.Take how he started his postseason career. He collected only five hits in 23 at-bats in Houston's abbreviated October run in 2015. He caught fire (1.180 OPS) when the Astros took down the Red Sox in last year's ALDS, but the fire quickly went out. He went 3-for-30 over his next eight games. Included within was a golden sombrero (four strikeouts) in Game 1 of the World Series.To his credit, Astros manager A.J. Hinch refused to drop Springer out of the leadoff spot or out of the lineup entirely. He issued a vote of confidence instead, which didn't go unnoticed by the man himself."For him to have my back and say that, 'You're still going to hit first and you're still going to set the tone for us,' it slowed me down Logan Morrison Jersey ," Springer told reporters.What followed was no ordinary World Series hot streak. Springer destroyed the Dodgers to the tune of a 1.693 OPS over the final six games. His five homers tied a World Series record. His 29 total bases set a new record.It ought to have been impossible for Springer to author a worthy follow-up to that performance this time around. But as ESPN's Buster Olney noted, he was back in record territory as soon as he slammed three homers against Cleveland:Buster Olney Buster_ESPNELIAS: Over his last 9 postseason games (dating back to Game 2 of 2017 World Series), George Springer is 17-for-39 (.436) with eight home runs. That鈥檚 tied for the most homers over a 9-game span in the postseason, done by three others: Reggie Jackson, Jim Thome, Carlos Beltran.Springer didn't go deep Saturday, but his single did run his postseason hitting streak to 10 games. Per MLB.com's Mark Feinsand, that ties Lance Berkman for the longest in Astros history.Despite his occasional slumps, Springer now has a 1.008 OPS through his first 28 postseason games. That doesn't quite put him on the same level as Carlos Beltran (1.306) and Lou Gehrig (1.263) through the same stage Tim Tebow Jersey , but it does sandwich him nicely in between Chipper Jones (1.010) and Paul Molitor (1.000).Ultimately, what the Astros have atop their lineup is a very good player who's totally locked in. Whether it's due to a special gene or blessing from the baseball gods, that's the reality of George Springer right now.Lucky for the Astros, they don't need to question it. They just need to enjoy it for as long as they can. Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference.