OFFENSE MISSING
Diamondbacks win again 6-2
With their offense in a funk of playoff-crippling proportions, the Rockies’ margin for error has become tissue-paper thin.
The latest example: A 6-2 loss to Arizona on Saturday night in front of 39,442 fans at Coors Field, many of them no doubt wondering what’s become of Colorado’s bats. Handcuffed by Arizona starter Patrick Corbin for 5L innings, then blanked by five relievers, the Rockies managed only four hits in their home ballpark.
The Diamondbacks’ ninth consecutive victory moved them to 78-58, 5K games in front of Colorado (72-63) for the National League’s top wild-card slot. And the Diamondbacks rewrote the history books, too. They have now held the lead for 52 consecutive innings, the third-longest stretch during baseball’s live-ball era (since 1920). The only teams with longer streaks are the 1983 Baltimore Orioles (55) and the 1963 St. Louis Cardinals (53). Thanks to Milwaukee’s 3-2 loss to Washington, the reeling Rockies maintained a 1K-game lead over the Brewers (71-65) for the second wild card. The Rockies have lost four of five games on this important nine-game homestand.
Are they pressing?
“We have talked about this, as a group and individually,” said manager Bud Black. “This is a great time for these players. I mean, these guys have not been through this before. They know where they are. They might be pressing, but I sense that they care. That’s what I like.”
Some perspective on Colorado’s offensive woes: From opening day to June 20 (when they were a season-high 21 games over .500 at 47-26), the Rockies batted .321 with runners in scoring position. Since then, they have hit .261 with runners in scoring position, including their 0-for-7 performance Saturday, and are 25-37 in that 62-game stretch.
Arizona scored three runs in the first inning Saturday, and it stood up. Rockies starter Jon Gray almost averted disaster, but not quite, and so his one, big mistake pitch ended up deciding the ballgame early.
David Peralta opened the game by smacking a loud leadoff double. Ketel Marte followed with an infield single to third, just beating Nolan Arenado’s throw after a barehanded grab. But Gray got the next two batters out and seemed to have J.D. Martinez on the ropes with a 2-2 count. But on the seventh pitch of the at-bat, Martinez crushed Gray’s 88 mph slider to center for a threerun homer. Martinez’s 30th of the season traveled 449 feet, according to Statcast.
Pretty quickly after Martinez hit the ball, Gray realized it was gone, displaying his frustration on the mound by bending over and pounding his glove.
Gray pitched well after that, but his night was short and unrewarding: five innings, three runs on five hits, with six strikeouts and three walks. Arizona made him work, as evidenced by his 100 pitches.
“Jon threw great, but he would love to have that one pitch back,” Black said, referring to Martinez’s home run.
“It didn’t have the action it was supposed to,” Gray said of the home run pitch, “then my tempo got really quick and it was hard for me to slow down. It was very frustrating when the game starts out like that. It seems like worsecase scenario, but I just did what I could and tried to take us deeper into the game.”
Arizona added an insurance run in the sixth off reliever Chris Rusin, who uncorked a wild pitch, allowing Chris Herrmann, who had walked, to score from third.
The Rockies nicked Corbin for a run in the fourth when DJ Lemahieu led off with a triple high off the right-field fence, Arenado walked and Lemahieu scored on Mark Reynolds’ double-play grounder.