Byrnes, Clark nail homers as D-Backs take down Phillies

Diamondbacks 3, Phillies 2

PHOENIX (AP) -- Eric Byrnes hit a ball into a restaurant above the seats in left field. Tony Clark hit one off the facing of the loge in right.

The two homers added up to a combined 930 feet and helped the Arizona Diamondbacks defeat the Philadelphia Phillies 3-2 on Tuesday night.

"Between those two, even though they were only worth one run [apiece], they looked like they were worth more," Arizona manager Bob Melvin said.

Clark's pinch-hit shot off Adam Eaton (3-3) in the seventh won it for the Diamondbacks, who improved to 10-6 in one-run games, 9-1 at home.

Players say the ball jumps when Chase Field's roof is open -- and it was jumping with the roof open on a windy, 92-degree evening. Each team homered twice.

Chase Utley and Greg Dobbs hit solo homers for the Phillies, who fell to 3-6 on their 10-game road trip.

Byrnes' homer gave Arizona a 1-0 lead and measured 473 feet, matching St. Louis' Scott Rolen, who hit a ball into the same area on April 19, 1999. Chase Field's longest homer is a 503-foot blast by former Diamondback Richie Sexson off the video board in center field on April 26, 2004.

"I wish it was worth two," said Byrnes, who got a second RBI with a two-out single in the sixth. "It's been a while since I've hit a home run so I decided to take all my aggression out on that one ball."

It was Byrnes' fourth homer and his first since April 13.

The game turned on two managerial decisions in the seventh.

With the game tied 2-2, Philadelphia had runners at first and third with two outs. Manager Charlie Manuel let Eaton bat for himself. Eaton, hitting .133, bounced to third to end the inning.

"During the seventh inning, when we had two outs, and the fact he's a pretty good hitting pitcher, we wanted him to stay in the game," Manuel said. "He had 87 pitches and had the bottom of the order coming up.

"The bottom of the lineup was the main reason I let him pitch," Manuel said. "He was pitching good."

Arizona starter Micah Owings (2-1) said he was "a little bit" surprised that Manuel let Eaton hit.

"I know they've got some quality bench hitters, and his pitch count was down," Owings said.

In the bottom of the inning, Melvin had Clark pinch hit for Owings with two outs. Clark took Eaton deep for the eighth pinch-hit homer of his career.

Clark, a 10-year veteran who is comfortable coming off the bench, was looking for a pitch to drive. Eaton's first pitch was a slider, and Clark pounced.

"You try to put yourself in a position to hit the ball hard," Clark said. "You can't dictate, 'OK, in this at-bat I'm going to try to hit a home run.'"

The shot gave Owings his second career victory. He went seven innings, giving up two runs and five hits. He walked two and struck out two.

Though he has made only five major league starts, Owings is learning to pitch with little run support.

"I can't speak for anyone else, but I focus on keeping the team in it as long as I can," he said.

Eaton also kept his team close, allowing three runs and seven hits in seven innings. He walked one and struck out four.

"I made some good pitches when I needed to and some not-so-good pitches when I needed to make good pitches," Eaton said.

Brandon Lyon pitched the eighth inning for Arizona, and Tony Pena worked the ninth for his first save.

Pena stepped in for closer Jose Valverde, who had pitched the last two days.

Game notes
Eaton, who entered with an 8.81 ERA, allowed fewer than four earned runs for only the second time in seven starts. ... Owings gave the Diamondbacks a scare when he was thrown out trying to take an extra base in the fifth. Owings was making his second start since coming off the disabled list after injuring his hamstring running the bases April 17.