Diamondbacks avoid post-Dodgers letdown, clobber Rockies in Soroka’s return

PHOENIX — After playing in front of 46,000 fans against the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers this weekend, the Arizona Diamondbacks had to avoid a letdown in a different environment, facing the lowly Colorado Rockies in a sparsely-crowded ballpark on Monday.

They did, as the Diamondbacks jumped to a 4-0 lead in the first inning off a Nolan Arenado grand slam against his former club. The D-backs tacked on three more in the second inning against Rockies starter Gabriel Hughes, who needed 62 pitches to get through the first two frames.

That early surge was all the D-backs needed to bury the Rockies in the opener, 9-0.

Arizona has won nine of its last 13 games to improve to 64-56, tied for the second National League Wild Card spot with the Philadelphia Phillies.

GRAND SLAM NOLAN ARENADO ‼️ pic.twitter.com/VcsAqBPUa1

— MLB (@MLB) August 11, 2026

With the Diamondbacks having passed the test of not starting out lethargically, the two biggest storylines of this game became how starting pitcher Michael Soroka fared coming off the injured list and the status of shortstop Geraldo Perdomo, who exited after four innings with left knee soreness — more to come on his condition postgame.

Michael Soroka returns for Diamondbacks

Soroka returned from an eight-week IL stint with a left glute strain and pushed his pitch count to 77. He was not super efficient with three walks, but he shut out the Rockies for 4.1 innings and struck out four batters, three with his slurve.

Soroka was having his best season since making the All-Star Game in 2019 before the glute injury, as his ERA went down to 2.92 across 86.1 innings after Monday’s start.

He threw four innings and 57 pitches in his last rehab start for Triple-A Reno, and he will continue to push that count upward.

Arizona’s sizable lead and need for bulk innings in relief led to the team debut of Zack Littell, a veteran swing man who signed with the club on Monday.

Littell saved the rest of the bullpen with 4.2 innings of relief off only 45 pitches.

His arrival could not have been better timed, and between Eduardo Rodriguez’s seven innings (on 115 pitches) on Sunday and Littell’s efficiency, Arizona’s bullpen has received a much-needed breather. This was the D-backs’ 11th straight day with a game on a run of 13 that will end with Thursday’s day off.

With the Diamondbacks’ offense going to sleep until the eighth inning, their highlight moments the rest of the way were defensive. While the Rockies committed an error and let a run score on a wild pitch, the D-backs remained sharp.

Max Kepler made a sliding play going toward the foul line in left field. Ryan Waldschmidt made a leaping catch at the wall in center field. Perdomo delivered a leaping throw to second for a force out before leaving the game.

Wall-dy pic.twitter.com/GneddTzf98

— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) August 11, 2026

Beyond Arenado’s grand slam — his 18th home run of the season and 371st of his career, passing Hall of Famer Gil Hodges for 88th all-time — here were Arizona’s offensive standouts:

• Gabriel Moreno: 2-for-4, walk, double, triple
• Ketel Marte: 2-for-4, hit-by-pitch, double
• Ryan Waldschmidt: 2-for-3, walk

Monday attendance

17,358

Tuesday’s starters

Mitch Bratt (3.90 ERA) will start for the D-backs on Tuesday after beating out Kohl Drake for the final rotation spot as Soroka made his way back. The 23-year-old threw seven shutout innings in his last appearance against the San Diego Padres.

The Rockies will start 36-year-old right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano (4.51 ERA).

First pitch is at 6:40 p.m. MST on 98.7 and the Arizona Sports app. 

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