Claudio

Vargas

With the Expos playing in Puerto Rico, they want Vargas more readily available in case they need another pitcher. Vargas had a 2.79 ERA in his first two starts for Edmonton.

Vargas threw on the side and briefly worked off the mound. Doesn’t seem like anything too serious.

The Expos haven’t announced who will fill in against the Astros, but it is expected to be Eric Knott.

Vargas retired 18 straight after Colorado’s Luis Gonzalez doubled in the first. The Rockies finally got to him in the seventh, with Jorge Piedra hitting a three-run homer to bring the Rockies within three runs. However, the Diamondbacks responded with three of their own in the bottom of the inning and went on to win 9-4.

Vargas has recorded seven straight quality starts, but this was the best of them. He struck out five and walked two in the 116-pitch outing. Vargas is 6-6 with a 4.57 ERA overall. He has a 3.75 ERA since joining the Diamondbacks.

Vargas struck out five in his eighth straight quality starts. He’s lowered his ERA in each of his last 12 appearances and is currently at 4.47.

The Diamondbacks probably aren’t going to consider replacing Vargas, but he’ll need to finish strong in order to guarantee himself of a place in the club’s plans for 2007. He currently had as 5.43 ERA, and he’s not helping to make up for it by pitching deep into games.

Vargas struck out six on his way to getting back over .500 for the season. He’s 9-8 with a 5.30 ERA. The Diamondbacks are one game over .500 and two back of the Padres in the NL West. With starts against the Marlins and Padres coming up, Vargas seems OK to use in NL-only leagues.

Reliever Brandon Medders stranded a pair of inherited runners in the sixth, but then was a large contributor in the Diamondbacks’ seven-run meltdown in the seventh. The club still held a 10-9 lead going into the eighth and added three more runs in the top of the ninth, thus allowing Vargas to pick up the victory. The right-hander is 6-0 when allowing less than five runs in an outing.

Vargas was making his first start since being torched for eight runs in three-plus innings by the Cardinals on May 13. The Diamondbacks probably won’t use Thursday’s off day as an excuse to push him back again. He’ll be a decent play when he starts against the Mets and Braves next week.