ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS

Sedona Red Recap: Rough start too much to overcome as Diamondbacks fail to complete sweep of Rockies

Jul 5, 2015, 6:10 PM | Updated: Jul 6, 2015, 9:16 am

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Rubby De La Rosa closed out the month of June pitching as well as he’s pitched since joining the Arizona Diamondbacks. In fact, he had allowed just four earned runs in his previous four starts — a stretch spanning 27.2 innings.

That wasn’t the case on Sunday though.

De La Rosa allowed six straight hits to begin the game, letting the first four Colorado Rockies he faced cross home before he even recorded an out. Prior to this outing, he had ceded six first-inning runs total in 2015 over the course of 16 starts.

He seemed to regain control for awhile after the brutal first, but then gave up two more runs in the sixth. The D-backs rallied, but could never completely close the gap, missing a chance to pull off a four-game sweep of the visiting Rockies in front of 22,996 fans at Chase Field.

And, of course, failing to reach .500 in the process. Again.

As well as Arizona has played at times this season, getting back to even has proven quite elusive. Since manager Chip Hale’s group fell to 8-9 back on April 25, they’ve had 12 chances to get back to .500. They’re 0-12 in those games.

THE GOOD

– After his rough start, De La Rosa settled down and retired 14 consecutive Rockies in order.

– Nick Ahmed saved at least one run by making a nice barehanded grab and throw to first on a Ben Paulsen bunt that was lofted just over Andrew Chafin in the eighth. He closed out the inning by turning an acrobatic double play at second.

– Even though they didn’t complete the four-game sweep, the D-backs did win the series with the Rockies. It’s the first series they’ve won since taking two of three from the Padres June 19-21.

THE BAD

– The start of the game was about as bad as it gets for a pitcher. De La Rosa gave up hits to each of the first six Colorado hitters, four of whom came around to score. After the game, Hale attributed most of the problem to the fact that his pitcher was simply leaving balls up in the zone, and called the effort “a step back”.

– After regaining control for awhile, De La Rosa got into trouble again in the sixth. He gave up a leadoff single to Troy Tulowitzki, surrendered a two-run home run to Carlos Gonzalez and walked Michael McKenry before exiting with the score 6-1.

– Arizona got a run back in the bottom half of the sixth and threatened to do more damage, but ultimately left runners stranded on first and third when Aaron Hill grounded out to end the inning.

STAT OF THE GAME

.330: That’s the batting average (36-for-109) posted by Yasmany Tomas when he hits cleanup this season — second only to Bryce Harper in that category among qualified hitters. He went 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBI Sunday, and would’ve had another hit if not for a nice play by Colorado third baseman Daniel Descalso, who made a leaping grab on a line drive to rob him of extra bases in the fourth inning.

HE SAID IT

“It’s pretty cool, you know. Very appreciative of everyone’s support here in Phoenix and around the state and country… and maybe the world? I don’t know where you can vote — I guess you can vote anywhere, so I’m very thankful for that. It definitely speaks to the fan base we have here that they’ll get out there and vote. They did a great job.” – Paul Goldschmidt, on being voted in as a starter at the upcoming All-Star Game. He’s now a three-time All-Star.

NOTED

– Goldschmidt has reached base safely in 29 straight games against Colorado. Overall, he’s reached base in 16 consecutive outings, dating back to June 19.

– The Arizona bullpen has yielded just one total run (in 17 innings) over the last five games.

– The Diamondbacks’ 40 wins are six more than they had a year ago at this point in the schedule.

– This was Arizona’s final home game before the All-Star break (July 13-16).

– The team acquired Minor League LHP Josh Taylor, RHP Chris Oliver and Philadelphia’s first international bonus pool slot (No. 9 overall) in exchange for their first international bonus pool slot (No. 1 overall).

UP NEXT

Even though Sunday’s game was the Diamondbacks’ 82nd of the year and, therefore, technically the start of the second half, they still have five more contests to go before the All-Star break.

Three of those games will be in New York against the Mets later this week. And the first two are interleague matchups with the Rangers in Texas. The first of those will take place on Tuesday night, as Robbie Ray takes the mound for Arizona against Yovani Gallardo. First pitch is set for 5:05 p.m., with pregame coverage beginning at 4:30 p.m. on ESPN Phoenix 620.

Ray (2-4) has lost three straight, including his last outing on July 1 against the Dodgers. In that game, he struck out six but allowed four runs on seven hits over six innings. Tuesday will mark his second career start against the Rangers. His first didn’t go so well (seven earned runs over just 3.1 innings), but it also took place over a year ago on May 22, 2014.

Gallardo (7-6) has been on an absolute tear of late, giving up just two earned runs since May. In his last four starts, he’s yielded zero runs and allowed just 14 hits over 26.1 innings. There’s not a hotter pitcher in baseball right now.

The 29-year old righty is 7-1 lifetime against the D-backs, though the one loss did come earlier this season on April 22 at Chase Field.

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