ROCKIES END ROAD TRIP WITH A THUD
DIAMONDBACKS 7, ROCKIES 0
After winning the first six games of their Western road trip, the Rockies stumble in the final two games at Arizona, losing both, including a 7-0 drubbing Thursday.
PHOENIX» One of the Rockies’ biggest road trips in years began with celebratory fireworks, only to end with a big dud.
After winning the first six games, including a four-game sweep of the Dodgers in Los Angeles, the Rockies fell hard in the final two games at Arizona, losing both including a 7-0 drubbing Thursday. The D-backs blasted starter Chad Bettis in the first inning.
“To go 7-1 would have been great,” second baseman DJ LeMahieu said. “I thought overall, we played really well on this road trip. We just to have to keep going, keep winning series.”
Despite stumbling in the last two games, the Rockies remain in control of their playoff destiny. With 15 games left on their schedule, their hold on the National League’s second wild card remains tenuous, however. Colorado leads both Milwaukee and St. Louis by 2K games.
It will be difficult for Colorado to catch Arizona, which has a fivegame lead as the NL’s top wild card and the right to host a onegame playoff.
“We are frustrated because we won six in a row on this trip, so you would like to finish it off with a bang,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “As you know, we talk a lot about starting pitching, and the last two (games) it hasn’t been there for us.”
The most disconcerting aspect of Colorado’s loss Thursday was the performance of Bettis, who failed to make it out of the first inning. The veteran right-hander opened the game by walking Gregor Blanco, and it got worse from there.
Arizona ripped Bettis for five runs on three hits and also drew three walks. Bettis’ bases-loaded walk to Brandon Drury was a warning sign that he simply didn’t have it on this day, and it was followed by a sharply hit, two-run
double by A.J. Pollock. At that point, Black had seen enough, and he yanked Bettis, who retired just one hitter.
“I think I was trying to get too cute with my pitches, and I didn’t really attack the zone,” said Bettis, now 1-3 with a 6.23 ERA in seven starts since returning from treatment for testicular cancer.
“Chad had (three) walks in the first inning, and that was very un- characteristic of Chad,” Black said. “Five runs in the first inning really got us behind the 8-ball.”
It marked the first time Colorado allowed five runs in the first inning since April 20, 2015, vs. San Diego, a game Jorge De La Rosa started. The last time the Rockies gave up five runs in the first inning on the road was Sept. 23, 2011, at Houston, when Drew Pomeranz was pitching.
Colorado’s offense, meanwhile, was shut down by Arizona righthander Zack Godley. He allowed just five hits in eight innings and whiffed seven. He improved to 3-0 with a 1.71 ERA and 22 strikeouts in three starts vs. Colorado this season.
“He pitched very well and had three pitches working today,” LeMahieu said. “He had a really good changeup working today, and he mixed up his pitches today.”
Colorado had a chance to creep back into the game in the second inning with one-out singles by Gerardo Parra and Trevor Story, but Ian Desmond grounded into an inning-ending double play. He also hit into an inning-ending double play in the fifth and is now hitting .186 (8-for-43) since coming off the disabled list Aug. 28.
Arizona had nine hits, including a leadoff home run in the third by J.D. Martinez off Chris Rusin. It was Martinez’s 39th home run, extending his career high. His 23 home runs since the all-star break are the most in Arizona franchise history during the second half of the season.