Grit Index: Bats, Miley magnificent in D-backs’ 9-2 drubbing of Rockies

When he took the pitcher’s mound Saturday at Chase Field, Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Wade Miley was undefeated in seven career starts against the Colorado Rockies.

And his eighth career start against the division foe didn’t change that.

Through his first six innings pitched, the left-hander had faced just one more than the minimum, allowing only four Rockies hitters to reach base while striking out five.

And he had plenty of support.

Despite striking out in order to Rockies starter Roy Oswalt, who carried an 0-5 record and 8.57 ERA into the game, the Diamondbacks used back-to-back doubles from third baseman Matt Davidson and rightfielder Gerardo Parra to plate a pair of runs and take the lead in the second inning.

Later, in the sixth, catcher Miguel Montero grabbed his third hit of the night, reaching base safely in his eighth consecutive plate appearance in doing so. The knock, a ground-rule double, began a double-stuffed rally, with Parra and Miley joining the parade. Their efforts scored two runs, bringing the Diamondbacks’ lead to 4-0.

Then, in the seventh inning, things began to slowly unravel for Miley, but to no severe detriment. The 26-year-old allowed three straight one-out hits — all sharply hit — in the seventh inning, with two scoring, before he was lifted by manager Kirk Gibson with a pitch count of 97. Josh Collmenter stopped the bleeding, stranding the lone runner he inherited by getting a flyout and a groundout to end the inning.

The Rockies, on the other hand, couldn’t cut off their own bleeding.

Every spot in the Diamondbacks’ batting order managed to reach base safely, while only Martin Prado, who hit fifth, missed getting a hit. Davidson, Miley and Parra all recorded a pair of hits while Montero and Aaron Hill had three-hit nights.

David Hernandez continued his solid work since returning from Triple-A Reno in his throwback setup role, working a 1-2-3 inning in the 8th while Heath Bell closed out the 9th, allowing a hit.

In eight career starts against the Rockies, plus a relief appearance, Miley is now 6-0 with a 2.56 ERA spread over 56.1 innings pitched.

The Good:

The Diamondbacks played as complete a game as they have all season Saturday, getting contributions throughout the batting order and taking advantage of rock solid pitching, from both their starter, who got his first win decision since August 6, and their bullpen.

The Bad:

After leading the majors in several offensive categories for the month of August, Martin Prado has cooled down tremendously, going just 4-for-34 (.117) over his last nine games played. In that span, he has just two RBI, one extra-base hit and one walk. Prado was 0-for-3 with a sacrifice fly RBI and a walk Saturday.

Noted:

-J.J. Putz threw a successful simulated game Saturday and he could be activated as early as Sunday. Putz was placed on the 15-day disabled list on August 24, after suffering an injury to his right little finger while trying
to field a groundball.

-Rockies second baseman D.J. Lemahieu extended his hitting streak to 14 games Saturday.

-Paul Goldschmidt has been walked 51 times (including 13 intentional) in his last 56 games, dating back to July 10. Only Joey Votto and Mike Trout have walked more frequently in that span.

He Said It:

“It was good. We finally put one together. It’s been a while.” -Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson, with intermittent chuckles

Up Next:

Randall Delgado (4-6, 4.04 ERA) will look to rebound from his last start, which ended in an 8-1 beatdown at the hands of the Dodgers, as he takes the mound for the Diamondbacks in the series finale. Facing him will be Rockies ace Jhoulys Chacin (13-8, 3.09 ERA), who has a 2.24 ERA over the last two months and a 2.10 ERA on the road this season. The right-hander is 2-1 with a 1.78 ERA in four career starts at Chase Field. First pitch is at 1:10 p.m. MDT and can be heard on Arizona Sports 620 AM.