DENVER -- As he was handed the ball from D-backs manager Torey Lovullo, right-hander Yoshihisa Hirano took in the situation -- runners on first and third, no one out and the D-backs clinging to a three-run lead in the ninth inning.
Lovullo marveled at Hirano's composure. Meanwhile, fellow reliever Brad Ziegler, who had worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the seventh, noticed Hirano looked like many Japanese pitchers on the big stage.
"They're always in control on the mound at all times," Ziegler said.