Sedona Red Recap: Segura homers twice, D-backs bomb Rockies

No lead is safe, no deficit too large to overcome when the spring training neighboring Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies get together in the regular season.

Of course, it helps that the pitching staffs of said teams are the two worst in the National League.

In other words, offense is never lacking.

Trailing 3-0 after the top of the first inning, the D-backs responded with four runs in their first at-bats. They then tacked on two in the fourth and another five runs in the fifth inning on their way to an 11-4 victory to take game two of the three-game series in front of an announced crowd of 20,897 at Chase Field on Tuesday.

The D-backs will go for the series sweep Wednesday.

Starter Robbie Ray benefited from the run support.

After struggling in the first, Ray (8-13) rebounded with three straight scoreless frames before Charlie Blackmon led off the fifth inning with a home run.

Ray’s night ended after the fifth, having thrown 103 pitches. He allowed four runs on six hits with one walk and seven strikeouts for his first win since Aug. 20.

Jean Segura homered twice and drove in two. He finished with three hits.

Paul Goldschmidt and Yasmany Tomas also had three-hit games as the D-backs pounded out 17, one off their season-high.

Tomas and Welington Castillo joined Segura in the two-RBI club, while Goldschmidt, Brandon Drury, Mitch Haniger and Jake Lamb added an RBI apiece.

Drury hit his 13th home run of the season.

The D-backs have won back-to-back home games for the first time since July 16-17 against the Dodgers.

THE GOOD

For the fifth time this season, Segura hit a leadoff home run. It was his 13th overall, setting a new career-high. More importantly, it set the stage for a big inning as the D-backs batted around—the second time this season they’ve sent at least nine batters to the plate in the first inning—with Castillo, Lamb and Haniger driving in runs to erase the early three-run deficit and jump in front 4-3. The Lamb and Haniger RBI each came with two outs.

The answer is De La Rosa, the Rockies’ left-hander. The question is who did Ray fan to record his 200th strikeout of the season. It happened on a swing-and-miss slider to end the fourth inning. Ray, who hit the mark in 159.1 innings, became the fourth pitcher (10th time) in franchise history to reach the 200-strikeout plateau, joining Randy Johnson (five times; 1999-02, 2004), Dan Haren (twice; 2008-09) and Curt Schilling (twice, 2001-02).

Consistent playing time leads to consistent at-bats, which, for Drury, leads to sustained success at the plate. His fifth-inning leadoff home run was his 13th of the season, and it once again set the stage for another big inning as the D-backs batted around, scoring five times on five hits and a wild pitch to increase their lead to 11-4. Drury finished 1-for-4 with a walk and is now batting .407 (24-for-59) with three homers and 12 RBI over his last 17 games.

In each of his five plate appearances, Goldschmidt reached base safely—walk, single, double, single, walk—raising his batting average to .302, the highest it’s been in the month of September. He also scored three times. Way back in the first inning, Goldschmidt stole second, his 25th steal of the year, making him the fourth player since 1974 to record 20 or more home runs and 25 or more stolen bases in a single season by a first baseman.

THE BAD

Ten minutes and 20 pitches into the ballgame, the Rockies had a 3-0 lead. Yeah, it was that fast. It began with a leadoff walk, followed by an RBI double and RBI triple off the bats of DJ LeMahieu and Nolan Arenado, respectively. Carlos Gonzalez then grounded out to plate the third run. Four batters equaled three runs. LeMahieu, by the way, has now reached base safely in a career-high 30 consecutive games since Aug. 9.

When the first two batters reach base to begin an inning but neither score, it’s not productive baseball. It happened in the third as Tomas singled and Lamb walked. Drury was called out on strikes, and then with Haniger at the plate, Tomas inexplicably took off for third base (missed sign?) and was easily thrown out. The Rockies chose to intentionally walk Haniger, Ray struck out and the scoring threat ended rather peacefully.

STAT OF THE GAME

17: The D-backs recorded 17 hits, marking the 13th consecutive game against Colorado with 10 or more hits, the longest streak by a NL team against a single opponent in a single season since the 1930 Brooklyn Robins had 17 such games in a row against the Phillies

HE SAID IT

“Obviously the first inning, it was like getting punched in the nose there,” manager Chip Hale said, referring to Ray. “He battled after that. It didn’t seem like there was any easy innings for him.”

NOTED

– A 39-minute first inning that saw a combined 69 pitches thrown produced seven runs on seven hits.

– Segura’s five leadoff home runs are tied for the second-most in a single season in franchise history.

– Segura now has 27 extra-base hits when leading off an inning this season, the highest total in the NL.

– Drury became the ninth rookie in franchise history to homer directly into the RamTrucks.com Pool.

– Matt Koch earned the save, the first of his career; it was the fourth 4.0 inning save in franchise history.

– Catcher Chris Herrmann underwent surgery earlier to repair two broken metacarpals in his left hand.

– Reliever Steve Hathaway (26) and outfielder Rickie Weeks, Jr. (34) each celebrated their birthdays.

– With a first-pitch temperature of 93 degrees, the game was played with both the roof and panels open.

UP NEXT

The series concludes with Rubby De La Rosa making his second start following a three month-plus stay on the disabled list because of right elbow inflammation. He’ll be opposed by fellow right-hander Jeff Hoffman on Wednesday. First-pitch is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. with pregame coverage beginning 40 minutes earlier on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM.

De La Rosa (4-5) did not factor into the decision in his last outing, allowing one run on one hit with two walks and three strikeouts in two innings against the Giants.

De La Rosa will once again be on a restricted pitch-count: no more than 60 according to Hale.

Meanwhile, Hoffman (0-3) will be looking for his first big-league win in what will be his fifth career start. He lasted only 2.2 innings in his last mound appearance as the Padres touched him up for seven runs (all unearned) on six hits, including a home run, and two walks.

Hoffman is a 23-year-old rookie, acquired last season from Toronto, who is two years removed from Tommy John surgery.

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