The Colorado Rockies notched a close win over the Arizona Diamondbacks in a bit of an odd game where the final score doesn’t quite reflect how many runners got on in a game where both teams combined for 21 hits.
Pitchers and the defense were ultimately able to work out of trouble. Tomoyuki Sugano 菅野 智之d set the tone, the offense chipped away at Eduardo Rodriguez, and the bullpen closed things out.
Heavy traffic on the basepaths early
It was a small ball battle through the first few innings. Both teams found ways to get runners on and
move them around, sometimes in wonky ways.
Sugano was able to withstand some early pressure from Arizona. Ketel Marte started things off immediately with a leadoff single to right field. Fortunately for the Rockies, Marte took off to second on a broken bat line drive from Corbin Carroll and got doubled up. After the double play, Sugano gave up another single to Geraldo Perdomo who then stole second, but Sugano ultimately worked out of the inning without any damage.
After going missing Friday, the Rockies offense came alive. The team matched the four hits they posted through all of last night in just the first inning. Better yet, baserunners were converted to runs.
Willi Castro, batting leadoff to take advantage of his strong numbers against Rodriguez, singled to center field before being moved to third on a Brenton Doyle ground rule double. TJ Rumfield singled to bring Castro home. Then, Mickey Moniak added to his team-leading 27 RBI, scoring Doyle with a bloop single out to left center.
In the second inning, Arizona cut into the lead on a weird one. After a Lourdes Gurriel Jr. double and a Jose Fernandez single put runners on first and third, the Diamondbacks went for a rare double steal. Fernandez made it safely to second and Gurriel beat the throw to steal home, notching a run.
The Rockies were able to get the run back in the bottom of the inning. Kyle Karros doubled and Jake McCarthy tried to copy that feat, but was thrown out trying for two. Nevertheless, Karros was able to speed around to home, making it a 3-1 game.
Calmer middle innings (mostly)
With all of that early traffic, both starters found themselves high in their pitch count with over 60 pitches each by the third inning. They pushed through and were able to settle things down for the next few innings.
Despite more guys finding their way on via a walk, a hit by pitch, and a single, both teams posted a scoreless third. Hunter Goodman had a fantastic defensive play to help make that happen, throwing Carroll out on an attempted steal of second. Both teams were kept in check in the fourth as well, each posting a 1-2-3 inning.
A pair of doubles from Marte and Carroll in the fifth inning got the Serpientes back on the board again, bringing the game to 3-2. Following that, the Rockies turned to the bullpen in the top of the sixth. Juan Mejia replaced Sugano, who ended his day with 5.0 innings pitched, seven hits, two earned runs, and a single strikeout.
Arizona tried to get a little more out of Rodriguez and let him start the sixth. After getting Moniak to fly out, Rodriguez was pulled for Taylor Clark. He left after 5.1 innings pitched, giving up nine hits, three earned runs, and six strikeouts.
Holding your breath with the bullpen
Mejia got off to a strong start in relief, forcing two grounders and a fly out for a quick sixth inning. Clark did the same, getting Ezequiel Tovar to pop out and Sterlin Thompson to ground out after coming in for Rodriguez.
The seventh inning was a different story for Mejia. After getting James McCann to ground out, he walked Ryan Waldschmidt and, later, Carroll. With runners on first and second with two outs, the Rockies went back to the bullpen and brought in Jaden Hill to get the last out. Hill threw a wild pitch, which moved the tying run up to third. Thankfully, Hill stayed strong and got Gurriel to ground out.
The Diamondbacks’ bullpen faced pressure from a runner in scoring position in the bottom of the inning, but escaped as well. Following a Karros groundout, McCarthy singled and stole second. He couldn’t do anything with it though, getting doubled up after a bad baserunning read on a Castro pop out to shallow right.
Aaand… exhale!
Hill pitched a wonderful eighth inning, which set things up nicely for the Rockies as things fell apart for Arizona with a rough bottom of the inning from reliever Brandyn Garcia. Garcia gave up a single, followed that up with a wild pitch and a walk, and then another single to load the bases. Moniak took one for the team, getting plunked in the ribs to take first, pushing Doyle home. Colorado took a 4-2 lead into the ninth.
Antonio Senzatela entered to close out the game and, while it didn’t come easy, he did just that. Perdomo had a great at-bat, fouling off several balls to stay alive with runners on first and second. Senza got the better of him after 10 pitches, with a deep fly ball to end the game with a win.
Final thoughts
Sugano earned the win, moving to 4-3 and bringing his ERA down to 4.02 in the process. He also notched the 150th victory of his professional career. In a postgame interview, he noted that he’s happy about it but is already focused on trying to earn his 151st win for the team.
Skipper Warren Schaeffer celebrated 150 a little more: “Isn’t that great? He’s just such the ultimate professional on a daily basis, whether he’s pitching or not… You can just tell he’s been doing it at a high-level for a long time… It’s a great milestone, well deserved.”
Antonio Senzatela was credited with his third save of the year.
Rodriguez took the loss, his first of the season, bringing him to 4-1. Schaeffer praised the team’s quick start and their ability to get to Rodriguez: “We needed that. We’ve been talking about starting things early in the game… and we did a nice job with that today.”
Up Next
The Rockies and DBacks will conclude the three game series with a Sunday afternoon rubber match.
In a battle of the Michaels, Michael Soroka is scheduled to start for Arizona while Michael Lorenzen will take the mound for the Rockies. Soroka is 5-2 in eight starts with a 3.53 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, and 47 strikeouts. Lorenzen has the opposite record, going 2-5 in nine starts with a 6.55 ERA, 1.84 WHIP, and 31 strikeouts.
First pitch is set for 1:10 pm.
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