Diamondbacks’ rally falls short as Rockies win
Jun 25, 2016, 6:36 PM
Arizona Diamondbacks relief pitcher Josh Collmenter reacts after giving up a three-run home run to Colorado Rockies' DJ LeMahieu in the eighth inning of a baseball game Saturday, June 25, 2016, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
(AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
DENVER — The Arizona Diamondbacks were on the verge of another comeback against Colorado but their tired bullpen couldn’t hold down the Rockies’ offense.
Arizona nearly erased a six-run deficit, but the Rockies pulled away with a four-run eighth off reliever Josh Collmenter for an 11-6 win Saturday.
Michael Bourn hit a two-run homer and drove in three runs, and Jean Segura walked four times and scored twice for Arizona, which is 7-2 on a 10-game trip.
“We are a team that fights to the end,” Bourn said. “There are 27 outs to be made, and until that 27th out — we try all the way to the end of the game.”
Arizona rallied twice Friday night to beat the Rockies 10-9.
“It was tough for our bullpen,” Diamondbacks manager Chip Hale said. “It is a tough lineup to navigate, and we have guys pitching in unfamiliar roles. And Colly couldn’t get the ball down — everything was up.”
Tony Wolters hit his first major league homer and drove in four runs for the Rockies.
His two-run drive in the sixth, which boosted Colorado’s lead to 7-1, went in the right-field second deck and would have traveled 421 feet had it landed unimpeded, according to MLB’s Statcast program.
Wolters also hit a two-run double in the fourth off Miller that gave Colorado a 4-1 lead. His four RBIs were his big league best.
“It was a tough day,” Miller said. “They got a lot of hits and, personally, I didn’t pitch very well at all.”
DJ LeMahieu and Charlie Blackmon also homered for the Rockies, who stopped a three-game losing streak.
Jorge De La Rosa (5-4) improved to 9-1 with a 1.96 ERA in 13 Coors Field starts against Arizona, allowing one run, six hits and five walks in six innings. He worked out of jams in the fourth and fifth innings with inning-ending double plays.
“He did a nice job of mixing his speeds and throwing a lot of those splitters,” Hale said. “He did a good job of keeping us off-balance.”
Gonzalez Germen got four outs for his first save this season.
Miller (2-7) gave up seven runs and 11 hits in six innings, raising his ERA to 6.79. Hale needed Miller to get deep into the game after using his entire bullpen in Friday’s 4-hour, 30-minute game.
“If we had our bullpen at full strength, we would have been able to get him out of there a little earlier,” Hale said. “He tired a little bit toward the end and the ball got up.”
Paul Goldschmidt hit an RBI single in the first and has reached base in 47 consecutive games against Colorado, second behind Mike Piazza’s 48 from 1995-99.
Blackmon homered leading off the bottom half, Daniel Descalso hit a go-ahead single in the three-run fourth and Nolan Arenado doubled in a run in the fifth.
Arizona closed to 7-6 with a three-run eighth, but LeMahieu hit a three-run homer in a four-run bottom half.
TIRED ARMS
Friday’s marathon game depleted both teams’ bullpens and forced roster moves. TheDiamondbacks recalled RHP Silvino Bracho and optioned RHP Zack Godley to Triple-A Reno. The Rockies sent RHP Miguel Castro to Triple-A Albuquerque and selected the contract of LHP Yohan Flande.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Diamondbacks: SS Nick Ahmed was back in the starting lineup after sitting out Friday’s game with hip soreness.
UP NEXT
LHP Patrick Corbin (4-6, 4.63) is to start Sunday’s series finale for Arizona and RHP Chad Bettis (6-5, 5.44) for Colorado – facing the Diamondbacks for the fourth time this season. He had a no-decision May 11 in his last outing against the Diamondbacks.
