D-backs collapse late and fall to Rockies 5-4, by the numbers
Aug 31, 2015, 9:32 PM | Updated: Sep 1, 2015, 9:38 am
Colorado Rockies' Charlie Blackmon, (19) slides safely into third base with a triple as Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Jake Lamb waits for the throw in the third inning of a baseball game Monday, Aug. 31, 2015, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
(AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
The D-backs entered Monday night’s game as one of the coolest teams in baseball after finishing a 1-6 homestand that featured a four-game sweep to the St. Louis Cardinals.
Maybe that is why they decided to play with fire all night, to warm back up.
Unfortunately no one told them that they can only play with fire for so long before getting burned.
The Colorado Rockies scored four runs in the ninth inning to defeat the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-4 in the first game of a four-game series, dropping the team to 63-68.
Entering the ninth-inning, the Rockies had left 10 runners on base and were 0-for-15 with runners in scoring position for the night, continuously bailing out the D-backs pitching inning after inning.
D-backs starting pitcher Robbie Ray, who has not recorded a win since July 7, did pitch well enough to win. The southpaw lasted 5.2 innings and only gave up one run with eight strikeouts, tying a season-high.
He even got some run support after receiving a combined two runs scored for him over his last five games.
Ender Inciarte and David Peralta had RBI singles in the third and fifth inning respectively, with A.J. Pollock launching a mammoth home run after Inciarte’s RBI hit in the third to give the D-backs a 3-0 cushion early.
The D-backs offense pounded out 11 hits throughout the night, but it proved to not be enough.
Colorado’s offense came alive just in time against the usually reliable Brad Ziegler, who has now given up seven runs in the last two days after giving up nine runs the entire season before Sunday.
The closer gave up two hits and struckout a batter before Nolan Arenado nearly tied the game when he hit a ball off the top of the left field wall that scored two runs. Arenado reached third base on a Ziegler throwing error on a groundball that put DJ LeMahieu on second base. Nick Hundley walked when D-backs manager Chip Hale took out Ziegler for Matt Reynolds.
The left-hander was brought on to face the left-handed hitting Ben Paulson, who lined a single to center field on a 0-2 pitch to complete the Rockies comeback.
It was the first save Ziegler has blown since May 27, a span that stretched 22 consecutive games.
Let’s take a look at the D-backs’ collapse, by the numbers.
158
The number of hits this season for A.J. Pollock, which is good for second in the National League. In fact, he has six more hits than Paul Goldschmidt has on the year.
96.2
Amount of innings thrown by Ray this season, the fourth-most by a D-backs southpaw during their rookie campaign.
87
The number of runs scored by the D-backs in 13 games against the Rockies this season.
3
The number of losses when leading after eight innings this season.
.382
Chris Owings’ batting average in his last eight road games. The D-backs infielder is 13-for-34 during this hot hitting stretch.
31
The number of games remaining against National League West opponents. Arizona only has six games (3 at Chicago and 3 vs. Houston) outside of the division to finish the season.
