Grit Index: Corbin shines in D-backs’ fifth straight win

He had to wait — awhile, but Patrick Corbin is finally a 10-game winner.

On his seventh attempt, Corbin earned his tenth victory while the Diamondbacks earned their season-high tying fifth straight victory, sweeping the three-game series from Colorado,
6-1
in front of 22,090 at Chase Field Sunday afternoon.

Corbin, who retired 12 straight and 20 of 21 at one point, pitched eight effective innings, limiting the Rockies to one run on three hits plus he tied his career-high with 10 strikeouts.

Corbin is the Majors’ tenth 10-game winner (fifth in the NL), and the fourth D-backs pitcher with ten wins before the All-Star break (also Randy Johnson, Curt Schilling and Brandon Webb).

Corbin also joined the 11-hit attack with a run-scoring double in the sixth.

For the series, the Diamondbacks outscored the Rockies 22-2, the fewest runs allowed by Arizona in a three-game set since August 26-28, 2011 vs. the Padres (also 2).

The Good

The Diamondbacks, who lead the NL West by 4.5 games, recorded their fourth series sweep of the season with three left-handed starters winning three straight starts for the second time in franchise history (last: Omar Daal, Johnson and Brian Anderson from Aug. 15-17, 1999).

Aaron Hill, after going 2-for-4 with two RBI, is hitting .326 (15-for-46) and seven RBI since returning from the 15-day disabled list.

Gerardo Parra, after going 2-for-4, has hit safely in five of his last six games (.308, 8-for-26).

The Bad

Rockies starter Roy Oswalt exited the game with two outs in the second inning with what the team announced as a strained left hamstring. He suffered the injury running to home plate to cover on a wild pitch in which Eric Chavez scored the game’s first run. The 1 2/3 innings pitched marked Oswalt’s shortest outing since July 28, 2009 at the Chicago Cubs (also 1 2/3 IP).

Stat of the Game, Part 1

3: Number of innings pitched by the bullpen in the three-game series as each starter (Tyler Skaggs, Wade Miley and Corbin) worked eight innings.

Stat of the Game, Part 2

72: Number of consecutive games in which the D-backs have an extra-base hit, best current streak in the Majors and tied for the sixth-longest in team history.

Noted

The Diamondbacks announced the makeup date for the May 29 game postponed by rain at the Texas Rangers will be Thursday, August 1 with first pitch at 4:05 p.m. MST.

He Said It

“I just felt like every inning I was getting a little bit stronger; felt like I was able to throw everything today, just the one first pitch right down the middle for the homer,” said Corbin. He had been winless in his last six starts looking for his tenth victory. “I’m trying to win every game that I go out there. I got No. 10 today, so hope for No. 11 next start.”

What’s Next

The Diamondbacks welcome in the Los Angeles Dodgers for three games.

Randall Delgado (1-2, 3.67 ERA) will start the opener. The right-hander is making his fifth appearance and fourth start for the D-backs. He won his most recent outing, allowing two runs in 7.0 innings at the New York Mets on July 3. Delgado will be opposed by Zach Greinke (6-2, 4.30 ERA), who, according to Major League Baseball, was intentionally thrown at by Ian Kennedy which sparked the brawl between the two teams on June 11.

First pitch Monday night is 6:40 p.m. with pregame coverage starting at 6:10 p.m. on Arizona Sports 620.

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