Rockies halt home skid after losing big lead
DENVER -- It wasn't easy, but the Colorado Rockies ended their slide at Coors Field with an 8-7 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday.
The Rockies blew a 7-1 lead, but Nolan Arenado homered with two outs in the eighth inning to salvage the victory.
Arenado's 13th home run of the season helped the Rockies end their seven-game losing streak at Coors Field, their third longest home losing streak in franchise history.
The blast, which came against Tyler Clippard (2-1), also ended Arizona's five-game winning streak and kept the Diamondbacks from sweeping the three-game series.
Charlie Blackmon went 3-for-5 with a home run, three RBIs and three runs scored, and Arenado and Ryan Raburn each had two RBIs for the Rockies.
The Diamondbacks were hurt by their defense. Third baseman Jake Lamb's error led to two unearned runs in the fourth. And Raburn's two-run double in the sixth came when Blackmon beat second baseman Jean Segura to the base, avoiding an inning-ending force play.
Chad Bettis, who has emerged as the Rockies' best starter, sailed through five scoreless innings before Paul Goldschmidt's two-out double made it 5-1.
Raburn doubled home two runs in the bottom of the inning, but the Diamondbacks whittled into the Rockies' lead with a three-run seventh that finished Bettis.
The inning began with three straight hits, including a two-run double by Chris Herrmann. Then, with one out, Bettis gave up a run-scoring single to Nick Ahmed that trimmed the Rockies' lead to 7-4 and ended Bettis' 95-pitch workday.
Bettis left after giving up nine hits with no walks and a career-high tying eight strikeouts.
Rookie Carlos Estevez struck out Segura and got Brandon Drury to fly out to end the inning.
Estevez yielded a leadoff double to Goldschmidt in the eighth and gave way to left-hander Boone Logan, who retired Lamb on a slow comebacker that enabled Goldschmidt to move to third. Chad Qualls came on and quickly gave up Yasmany Tomany's run-scoring double, Chris Herrmann's run-scoring triple and Chris Owings' topper to second base that he beat out for a single to tie the score at 7.
Gonzalez Germen (1-0) got the final out in the eighth and Jake McGee retiired the side in order in the ninth for his ninth save of the season.
Raburn's key double came after the Diamondbacks muffed a chance to end the sixth. Mark Reynolds, batting ahead of Raburn, hit a grounder to Ahmed, who was shifted to the right side of second base. Blackmon, who was on first, beat Segura to the base and Raburn followed with his double.
After giving up a double to Segura to start the game, Bettis retired the next 12 batters before Tomas singled in the fifth. Phil Gosselin followed with a bunt single, but Bettis struck out Herrmann and Owings to end the inning.
The Rockies took a 2-0 lead in the third. Blackmon led off with his second homer of the season and the 500th hit of his career. Trevor Story singled, moved to second on a walk and scored on Reynolds' single.
Blackmon singled home two runs in a three-run fourth. Gerardo Parra, who had three hits, led off with a single. He reached second when Lamb dropped Dustin Garneau's grounder and threw too late to get Parra. After Bettis' sacrifice, Blackmon fisted a single into short right field.
With two outs, Arenado hit a high popup behind first base that eluded Goldschmidt and landed on the foul line for a run-scoring double.
NOTES: Diamondbacks OF David Peralta did not start for the fourth straight game but reported improvement in his sore right wrist. He is scheduled to be examined Thursday morning by a hand specialist in the Phoenix area. ... Rockies OF Carlos Gonzalez was not in the lineup. With the Rockies off Thursday, manager Walt Weiss wanted to give him two days of rest. ... Diamondbacks LHP Keith Hessler was claimed off waivers Tuesday by the San Diego Padres. Arizona designated Hessler for assignment on April 30. He was 0-0 with a 5.06 ERA in seven games for Double-A Mobile and had no record with a 9.00 ERA in two outings for the Diamondbacks. ... Diamondbacks RHP Josh Collmenter (right shoulder inflammation) is scheduled to make his third rehab appearance for high-Class A Visalia on Thursday. ... The Rockies were limited to a season-low four hits on Tuesday night, their lowest total against the Diamondbacks at Coors Field since they had three hits on May 20, 2013. ... Diamondbacks 2B Jean Segura has reached base safely in 18 consecutive games. ... Diamondbacks 1B Paul Goldschmidt has reached base safely in 44 straight games against the Rockies, a franchise record against any opponent.