Diamondbacks 9, Rockies 7
DENVER, Aug 16 — Monday night, Colorado Rockies manager Bud Black said of Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Christian Walker, “If you make mistakes, he can make you pay. If you make pitches, like all hitters, you can get him out. But if you make a mistake, he’s dangerous, man.”
Wednesday afternoon was a prime example. The Rockies were happy to see Walker leave town after the game. He had tortured them once again, going 3-for-3 with two homers, two walks, four RBI, and three runs scored as the Diamondbacks downed the Rockies, 9–7, in yet another seesaw battle. This one saw four lead changes and gave the Diamondbacks, who took two of the three games, a series victory. Walker homered in all three games of the series, with Wednesday’s performance giving him four in the series.
Diamondbacks Take Early Lead, Rockies Respond
Designated hitter Kyle Lewis gave the Diamondbacks their first baserunner with a one-out double to left in the top of the first. A sharp grounder to third by right fielder Tommy Pham for the second out forced Lewis to stay at second. First baseman Christian Walker brought Lewis in, however, with a homer to right-center, his 27th of the season and 21st career homer against the Rockies. The Rockies cut the lead in half in the bottom of the first on a two-out solo homer to right by designated hitter Ryan McMahon.
Rookie Diamondbacks starting pitcher Slade Cecconi lasted into the fifth but only pitched to one batter. Once he hit shortstop Ezequiel Tovar, that was the end of his day. In came lefty Tyler Gilbert, who ran into some trouble. Left fielder Jurickson Profar welcomed him with a double off the high wall in right. McMahon plated Tovar with a game-tying single to right, also advancing Profar to third. That brought up second baseman Brendan Rodgers, who hit a chopper to third. Buddy Kennedy fielded it, checked Profar back to third, and whipped the ball to second. Marte caught it for the force but lost the handle on the transfer, losing out on the chance of a double play. The ball squirted upward like a wet bar of soap, enabling Marte to grab it before it hit the ground.
Profar broke for home as soon as Marte bobbled it, allowing him to slide in safely a split second before Herrera could get the tag down. The Diamondbacks challenged, but the call stood. Gilbert, despite a passed ball followed by two walks, escaped the inning without any further damage, but the Rockies still held a 3–2 lead.
Teams Trade Big Innings
The Diamondbacks counterpunched in the top of the seventh, and it was a haymaker. It started with a pair of one-out walks by Pham and Walker, the third time Walker had reached base but the first time it wasn’t due to a hit. Pinch-hitter Corbin Carroll — in for left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. who left in the middle of the fifth with a left hip contusion — hit a low fly into shallow center field. It fell into the Bermuda Triangle of Tovar, Rodgers, and center fielder Brenton Doyle for a single, loading the bases for Kennedy. A walk forced in the tying run and ended Gomber’s day.
In came Jake Bird with the bases loaded, but instead of putting out the fire, he poured gasoline on it. Nick Ahmed cranked the first pitch high and deep to right-center. It hit high on the bullpen fence and caromed back toward the line. Right fielder Nolan Jones had played it to rebound toward back toward center field, so it was off to the races for everyone. Pham, Walker, and Kennedy scored easily. Ahmed, 10 to 15 feet behind Kennedy and waved home by third base coach Tony Perezchica, dove in on the outside of the plate, poking out his left hand at the last possible second to swipe it across. Catcher Austin Wynns tagged Ahmed as soon as he caught the relay from first baseman Elehuris Montero.
Narrowly Missing an Historic Feat
At first glance, Ahmed appeared to be out by a comfortable margin. Walker, however, immediately signaled for a challenge. The Diamondbacks were out of challenges, forcing them to live with a three-run triple from Ahmed. Slow motion replay, however, seemed to show that Ahmed’s hand hit the plate while the glove was still about an inch from touching his forearm. Had the call been overturned, Ahmed would have had the first Diamondbacks inside-the-park grand slam since Tony Womack in the Astrodome in 1999 against the Houston Astros. Despite the lost run, the Diamondbacks now had a 6–3 lead.
But it did not last long. Miguel Castro came in to pitch the bottom of the sixth. Doyle led off with a bouncer up the middle. When Ahmed reached it, he had no play on the speedy Doyle. As typically happens to Castro when a runner reaches via an error or infield hit, he struggled to recover. Tovar followed with a single before a Profar strikeout and fly to shallow left by McMahon. Up came Rodgers, who cracked a drive down the left-field line. Both runners scored, narrowing the Diamondbacks lead to 6–5. Jones kept the rally going, sending a drive to the seats in left-center to retake the lead for the Rockies, 7–6.
Diamondbacks Seize Control for Good
Neither team scored in the seventh. In the top of the eighth, off new Rockies pitcher Tyler Kinley, Walker struck again. After Pham singled to left, Walker belted a deep fly into right-center, clearing the fence for a two-run homer. His second dinger of the game, and 22nd against the Rockies, gave the Diamondbacks an 8–7 lead. Carroll followed with a single and stole second. He also attempted to steal third but was called out. Replays showed he was safe, but again, the Diamondbacks were out of challenges, so the call stood. Kennedy struck out looking, and Ahmed flied to center, retiring the side.
Kevin Ginkel pitched a 1–2–3 eighth for the Diamondbacks, striking out McMahon and Jones in the process. The Diamondbacks added a run in the top of the ninth off Rockies righty Daniel Bard. This came after Bard hit center fielder Alek Thomas with a pitch, walked catcher Jose Herrera, and — after retiring Marte on an infield-fly-rule popup — walking Lewis. Pham scored Thomas with a sacrifice fly to left before Walker walked to reload the bases. In came Justin Bruihl to face Carroll in a lefty-lefty matchup. Bruihl won this round on a side-retiring groundout to second. Closer Paul Sewald notched his fourth save as a Diamondback, with a leadoff single to center by pinch-hitter Charlie Blackmon as his only blemish.
Bud Black Postgame
Black said the Diamondbacks had “some really disciplined at-bats,” specifically mentioning Pham, Walker, and Kennedy. “…(they) laid off borderline pitches, were probably ready to hit but laid off,” he said.
Nolan Jones had an outfield assist for the second straight game and hit a lead-taking home run in the bottom of the same inning. Black said of Jones, “He’s doing a lot of good things. What a play that was off the wall.” He added, “He’s getting his hits. Dug out a low pitch and hit it over the wall. That’s power. It’s good to see a young player with less than 400 at-bats in the big leagues make his mark. He’s getting there. And he’ll be the first to tell us he has a lot to work on, but you’re seeing the results of the work and the everyday experience that he’s getting. It’s good stuff, good to see — it’s fun. Fun to see a guy like that play because he’s dynamic.”
Austin Gomber Postgame
Austin Gomber, specifically referring to the top of the sixth, said he didn’t feel tired but wasn’t able to “physically execute.” He added, “My arm was great, my stuff was fine. I just lost the ability to command the ball there.” … When asked about the challenges of facing Christian Walker when he’s locked in, Gomber said, “He’s got a lot of pop. We’ve seen him a lot over the years, and he’s done damage against us. So you gotta be ahead of him. I feel like I was behind him all day, and it makes for a much easier job about him. But you tip your cap. He’s a good player.” … Gomber also said that the heat from this game, on one of the hottest days of the year, did not bother him. He reiterated that he simply lost command of the ball.
Looking Ahead
Kyle Nelson (7–3) earned the win in relief, while Kinley (0–1) got tagged with the double whammy of a blown save-loss. Sewald, as mentioned earlier, got the save. Combining his totals in Arizona and Seattle, he now has 25.
The Rockies (46–75) have Thursday off before continuing their homestand with a three-game weekend series against the Chicago White Sox (48–73). On Friday at 6:40 pm Mountain Daylight Time, righty Michael Kopech (5–10, 4.58 ERA) will take the mound for the White Sox against Rockies right-hander Peter Lambert (2–4, 5.46 ERA). … The Rockies have lost three straight series and six of their last seven. Their last series win came when they took two of three on the road against the St. Louis Cardinals between August 4 and 6. As far as home series go, the last win for the Rockies came when they took two of three from the New York Yankees between July 14 and 16.
The Diamondbacks (61–60) head to the coast for a four-game Thursday-to-Sunday series against the San Diego Padres (58–63). First pitch Thursday will be at 6:40 pm Arizona Time and will feature Diamondbacks ace Zac Gallen (12–5, 3.17 ERA) against veteran Padres lefty Rich Hill (7–12, 5.15 ERA). They have won back-to-back series for the first time since taking two of three from both the Cleveland Guardians and Milwaukee Brewers between June 16 and 21. Taking this one from the Padres would make it three straight series wins, something the Diamondbacks have not done since winning four in a row from May 11 to May 24 against the San Francisco Giants, the Oakland Athletics, the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the Philadelphia Phillies.
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