Sedona Red Recap: Corbin makes triumphant return as Diamondbacks notch third straight win

The Arizona Diamondbacks knew this series with the Colorado Rockies was a golden opportunity to make up ground heading towards the All-Star break.

So far, they’ve taken full advantage of that opportunity.

A.J. Pollock drove in a pair of runs, every Arizona position player reached base and Patrick Corbin made the most of his long-anticipated return, as the Diamondbacks picked up their third straight win over the Rockies in the last three days. They’ll get a shot to complete the four-game sweep on Sunday.

One night after rallying to win in extra innings, Arizona made this one a little less dramatic. The D-backs jumped on Colorado starter David Hale early, getting two runs in the first and another two in the fourth. That gave them a 4-2 lead — one they wouldn’t relinquish.

The Rockies did trim the margin to 4-3 in the top of the eighth, but manager Chip Hale’s squad quickly responded with three of their own in the bottom half of the inning to seal the deal.

The story of the evening, however, was Corbin, who picked up the win in his return from Tommy John surgery. Saturday marked his first appearance in a Major League game since Sept. 27, 2013, and he delivered a solid effort throwing 76 pitches while allowing two runs over five innings.

From there, the bullpen took over, yielding just one run over the final four frames. And, to make Corbin’s night that much better, he was credited with the win.

THE GOOD

– The Diamondbacks gave Corbin some early run support to work with, as their first two batters of the game — Pollock and David Peralta — each came around to score in the bottom of the first inning.

– With his first inning walk, Paul Goldschmidt has now reached base safely in 28 consecutive games against Colorado.

– Pollock delivered some two-out magic by ripping a two-run double down the third base line in the fourth. The hit gave him 38 RBI on the year, tying a career-high. He then picked up his second stolen base of the game — and 18th of the season — on the next pitch.

– Arizona played small ball to extend the lead in the bottom of the eighth, executing three bunts in the inning and cashing in on a Colorado error to trigger a three-run rally and put the game out of reach.

THE BAD

– With runners on first and third and no outs in the fourth, Nick Ahmed chopped the ball back to Hale, who promptly threw back home to get Jarrod Saltalamacchia out.

– The bullpen had gone three straight games without allowing a run, but that streak came to an end when Daniel Hudson allowed D.J. LeMahieu to come around and score on a fielder’s choice in the eighth.

STAT OF THE GAME

42,113: That’s the number of fans who attended the game — the largest home crowd at Chase Field since Opening Day. It also represents a sellout, because the rest of the seats were being held for the Fourth of July postgame firework show.

HE SAID IT

“I feel awesome. It’s great to be back. Yeah, a lot of emotions going. When they announced my name before pregame, the fans gave a pretty nice applause there. That gave me some chills and some butterflies and after that it just seemed to calm me down. I just wanted to go out there and don’t overthrow…just throw a lot of strikes. And I felt like I was able to do that tonight.” – Patrick Corbin

NOTED

– Yasmany Tomas is hitting .321 (34-for-106) as a cleanup hitter this season.

– Arizona is now 10-3 in the last 13 meetings with Colorado at Chase Field.

– Overall, the Diamondbacks are 11-7 in games played on the Fourth of July.

– For the 12th time since they were 8-8 back on April 24, the D-backs will enter a contest one game below .500. They’re winless in their previous 11 tries to get back to even.

– With a record of 40-41, Arizona is exactly halfway through the regular season schedule after Saturday’s contest.

– To make room for Corbin (and catcher Oscar Hernandez), the club optioned Matt Stites and Danny Dorn to Triple-A Reno.

UP NEXT

Arizona and Colorado will meet again Sunday, with the Diamondbacks taking aim at the sweep. First pitch is slated for 1:10 p.m., with pregame coverage beginning at 12:30 p.m. on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM.

It will be a battle of De La Rosas, as Jorge takes the mound for the Rockies, while the D-backs counter with Rubby.

Jorge De La Rosa (5-3) won his last outing by scattering four hits and throwing seven innings of shutout ball in a 2-1 victory over the Athletics on June 30. Rubby De La Rosa (6-3) has allowed just four earned runs total over his last four starts — a stretch of 27.2 innings. In his most recent outing, he gave up two runs over 5.2 innings in a 6-4 loss to the Dodgers, though he’d come away with a no-decision.

The two pitchers also squared off back on June 25 in Denver. Colorado won that game 6-4, though neither of the starters factored into the decision.