Grit Index: D-backs’ comeback falls short, lose in 10

The Arizona Diamondbacks looked lifeless through first six innings of Tuesday’s contest at Coors Field.

Colorado Rockies starter Jhoulys Chacin, who had already thrown 6 1/3 shutout innings against Arizona on April 19, had no problem picking up right where he left off.

Kirk Gibson’s squad had just one hit through the first six frames and fell behind 4-0, but that all changed on one fortuitous fly ball.

With the bases loaded in the top of the seventh and one out, Jason Kubel hit a ball to left centerfield that looked to be well within the range of Carlos Gonzalez. However Gonzalez’s dive attempt came up empty-handed and the deficit was cut in half as two runners scored on the play.

One batter later, Martin Prado, who was 2-of-40 with runners in scoring position heading into the at-bat, lined a two-run single to center to tie the game.

Arizona, though, couldn’t muster up another run in the inning — Gerardo Parra and Didi Gregorius struck out looking — and ultimately that would prove costly.

After three scoreless frames, the game moved to the bottom of the tenth and the D-backs’ fate was directly placed in the hands of one of their more reliable pitchers in 2013.

Unfortunately, familiarity beat out reliability.

Former Colorado reliever Matt Reynolds, who came in with an 0.92 ERA, couldn’t get past the heart of the Rockies’ order. Following a Carlos Gonzalez double and an intentional walk to Troy Tulowitzki, Reynolds surrendered an RBI single down the right field line to Wilin Rosario and the Rockies walked off to a 5-4 victory over the D-backs.

The Good

The D-backs looked well on their way to their first shutout of the season but found a way to come to life in the seventh.

In their four-run inning, the D-backs sent 10 batters to the plate.

Outside of Reynolds’ poor outing, Arizona’s bullpen did a nice job of limiting Colorado’s offense late in the ballgame. Brad Ziegler, Tony Sipp and David Hernandez combined to throw three scoreless innings while allowing just one hit.

The Bad

Ian Kennedy continues to throw like a back-end starter rather than an Opening Day starter.

For the fifth consecutive outing, the D-backs’ right-hander gave up multiple runs in an inning.

On Tuesday night, the Rockies had no problem getting to Kennedy early, scoring two runs on four hits in the second inning. Kennedy would also go on to give up an addition run in each of the next two innings, as Walt Weiss’ club built a comfortable four-run lead.

Noted

• D-backs starting pitchers have had five quality starts in their last seven games. The only two non-quality outings were turned in by Kennedy.

• With the loss, Arizona moved to 6-2 in extra-inning games.

• Paul Goldschmidt’s seven-game hit streak came to an end.

Up Next

Trevor Cahill (3-4, 2.48 ERA) will look to secure a third straight series victory for the D-backs Wednesday night. Cahill previously took a loss (three earned runs in seven innings) against the Rockies at Coors Field on April 20. He will be opposed by left-hander Jorge De La Rosa (5-3, 3.58 ERA). First pitch is set for 12:10 p.m. and can be heard on Arizona Sports 620.