Four-run Eighth Rallies Rockies Past Diamondbacks

Brendan Rodgers of the Rockies hitting a game-tying two-run single against the Diamondbacks

Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images

August 15, 2023

Rockies 6, Diamondbacks 4

DENVER, Aug 14 — Diamondbacks fans are calling it another late-inning meltdown; Rockies fans are calling it a dramatic comeback. Either way, a four-run rally in the bottom of the eighth propelled the Colorado Rockies to a 6–4 victory over the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks Monday night in an NL West clash.

The Diamondbacks took a 1–0 lead in the top of the first. Left fielder Corbin Carroll led off with a walk against Rockies starter Chris Flexen and scored on a two-out double off the high wall in right by first baseman Christian Walker. They ran it to 2–0 in the second thanks to back-to-back one-out doubles by center fielder Alek Thomas and catcher Gabriel Moreno.

Rockies Chip Away, Diamondbacks Respond

In the bottom of the fifth, the Rockies cut the lead in half with a 433-foot blast to dead center by first baseman Elehuris Montero. The Diamondbacks countered in the top of the sixth. Left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. lined a one-out single to right, and Walker brought him home with a dinger over the right-field wall. This gave the Diamondbacks a 4–1 lead. It became a 4–2 game in the bottom of the sixth on a leadoff homer by shortstop Ezequiel Tovar.

Despite the two home runs — something that is to be expected in the thin air of Coors Field — Diamondbacks starter Merrill Kelly gave the Rockies fits. Tossing 92 pitches (65 strikes) across six innings, Kelly allowed five hits and one walk while striking out 11. “He’s a good pitcher, man,” Rockies second baseman Brendan Rodgers said. “(Kelly) always seems to find his stuff against us. His changeup, sinker, cutter, slider — he’s got the kitchen sink.” Left fielder Nolan Jones added, “He did a good job of staying out of the middle of the plate.” In addition, Kelly “changed speeds” and kept the Rockies “off balance,” according to Jones.

Thanks to shutdown relief from Rockies lefty Brent Suter, along with righties Matt Koch and Justin Lawrence, Walker’s homer was the last time all night that any Diamondback reached base. Diamondbacks right-hander Miguel Castro pitched a 1-2-3 seventh in relief, keeping the score at 4–2.

The Bottom of the Eighth

But the tables turned in the bottom of the eighth. Diamondbacks left-hander Joe Mantiply took the hill, since — according to Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo — setup man Kevin Ginkel and closer Paul Sewald were not available. First to face Mantiply was designated hitter Charlie Blackmon (aka Chuck Nazty), in his first game back from a nine-week absence due to a fractured right hand. Blackmon hit a sinking line drive to short. Perdomo did not charge the ball but squared up to play it on a short hop. He muffed it and recovered, but it was too late to retire the hustling Blackmon.

Although the official scorer ruled it a single, Lovullo acknowledged that it was a play he would have liked to see Perdomo make. To Rodgers, on the other hand, it was something completely different. “When Chuck busts his butt to get down the line, it shows the boys that we’re still in this game. That was huge for Chuck to beat that one out and give the boys some hope.”

The Spark Ignites a Fire

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With this sudden spark, Tovar and McMahon followed with line-drive singles to right and center, respectively. Exit stage right for Mantiply, who failed to record an out. Enter Scott McGough, who had allowed runs in six of his twelve appearances since the All-Star Break. McGough was in a terrible jam, with the bases loaded, nobody out, and catcher Elias Diaz — the All-Star Game MVP — coming to bat. Diaz ripped a blistering liner directly to Perdomo, who made the catch for the first out. He tried to double up Tovar at second but dropped the transfer. Up came Rodgers, who ran the count to 3–2 before smashing a hot grounder up the middle for a game-tying two-run single. On the play, McMahon took third. Up came Jones, who stroked the first pitch up the middle for a go-ahead single.

Out came Lovullo with the hook. He handed the ball to lefty Kyle Nelson. Black countered by pinch-hitting with the right-handed-hitting Alan Trejo, who dumped the first pitch into shallow left-center for a base hit. Rodgers scored easily, making the score 6–4. Jones tried to take third, but Gurriel hosed him despite bouncing the throw. Up came Montero, who lined to third and ended the inning.

In came Lawrence to close. He struck out Walker, designated hitter Kyle Lewis, and third baseman Jace Peterson on a combined 15 pitches, sealing the victory for the Rockies.

Postgame

Black said the key to the eighth inning came from guys having great at-bats as a result from not trying to “do too much.” Blackmon “stayed up the middle” and “got down the line great” when Perdomo couldn’t handle his sinking liner. Tovar had a “really good at-bat” with “multiple foul balls” before driving a knee-high sinker the opposite way for a single. McMahon took two breaking balls, one for a strike and the other for a ball, before a hanging sinker stayed over the plate. “Banged it up the middle, good approach. Didn’t try to get too big,” Black recounted.

It continued after the pitching change. “Diaz, bullet right at Perdomo. Tough break for us.” Rodgers had “another good at-bat. Took it to 3–2, didn’t try to do too much. Short, compact swing, hard grounder up the middle, scored two.” Jones did the same, “shorter stroke, banged it up the middle,” as did Trejo, who had a “good, short stroke again.” Black called these plate appearances “a lot of great at-bats, putting the ball in play” while avoiding strikeouts through shortened swings.

Kelly and Walker Give Rockies Fits

Kelly fell one strikeout short of matching his career high Monday night. “Kelly’s good,” Black bluntly stated. “He punched a lot of our guys out, and he’s a really good pitcher.” Black explained in further detail that Monday night, Kelly was doing “what he normally does.” Kelly keeps his fastball “around the zone with movement. He cuts it away from the righties into the lefty. It’s got some two-seam sink to it, away from the lefty into the righty. He’s got a change up that has movement. He whipped up a couple of slower breaking balls. He’s got a little bigger slider, too.” Black said that Kelly’s five pitches all look similar out of the hand. “But there’s movement in the hitting area,” he said, “and that’s what gets you.”

Walker went 2-for-4 with a run scored and three RBI. Both hits went for extra bases, one a double and the other a homer. About Walker, Black said, “He’s a veteran hitter. With Walker, if you make mistakes, he will make you pay.” He added that teams can get him out “at times” if they make pitches, like any hitter. “But if you make a mistake,” Black warned, “he’s dangerous. He’s got power. We’ve seen it up close for five, six years now that he’s been their first baseman, but he’s a steady, dependable offensive player.”

Pulling Kelly When He Did

Lovullo pulled Kelly at 92 pitches, which falls within the pitch range Kelly has had since his return from a right calf inflammation injury July 25. In his four starts between then and Monday, Kelly lasted 86, 90, 93, and 85 pitches, with the last — August 9 against the Los Angeles Dodgers — being cut short by a leg cramp.

“We’ve asked a lot of Merrill with the cramping,” Lovullo explained. He pointed out that he shortens every starting pitcher’s outing by five to seven pitches when playing in Colorado anyway, but he “had to be mindful” of Kelly’s health, “first and foremost.” Lovullo also said he was “starting to get a little bit uncomfortable, given everything that he’s been through with his body this year.”

“It Hurts”

With Ginkel and Sewald unavailable, had the Diamondbacks reached the ninth, they would have used Nelson and Luis Frias in matchup situations. But it never reached that point. With where they are in the season, Lovullo bluntly summarized the result with, “We’ve got to win a lot of baseball games, and we let one slip away like this. It hurts. We’ve got to be better.”

Looking Ahead

Koch (2–0) earned the win, while Mantiply (1–1) took the loss, both in relief. Lawrence notched his 10th save. The Rockies (46–73) and Diamondbacks (59–60) square off again Tuesday in the second game of this three-game series. In a battle of lefties, Ty Blach (1–1, 4.22 ERA) will toe the rubber for the Rockies against Mantiply, who will pitch in an opener role for the Diamondbacks. First pitch will be at 6:40 pm Mountain Daylight Time, or 5:40 pm Arizona Time.