Record: 24-36 On Pace: 65-97 Change on '04/'10'/'13: 0/0/-10
In the Keys to the Game on the radio, Schulte and Candiotti mentioned that Jorge De La Rosa doesn't do well under pressure, and the Dbacks seemed to get the memo. They started off the game off with getting a couple runners on, including a Geraldo Parra walk, against a left handed pitcher, no less! That didn't lead to anything substantial, though, and neither did the one out, Chris Owings triple in the second, or the three, non-consecutive walks in the third.
However, the back-to-back home runs in the fourth inning did put the Dbacks on the board. Nick Evans, starting at first base in the stead of Paul Goldschmidt tonight, lead the inning off by hitting his first major-league home run since September, 2011, making the score 1-0 in favor of the Diamondbacks. The next batter, Owings, followed that up with a solo home run of his own to add to the lead.
They weren't done in that inning yet. The third batter, Ender Inciarte, got a single. He was moved to second by a sacrifice bunt, courtesy of Chase Anderson. A wild pitch from De La Rosa sent him to third, and a ground out to second by Geraldo Parra brought him home. 3-0 Dbacks.
Really, that was all Chase Anderson needed. He ploughed through the Rockies lineup today. He had a spot of trouble in the second inning where Wilin Rosario was called safe at the plate on a Charlie Culberson double. On review, however, the call was overturned and he got out of the inning, stranding Culberson at third.
He wasn't quite so successful at avoiding trouble in the fifth. D. J. LeMehieu hit a lead-off home run of his own, making the score 3-1, still in favor of the Diamondbacks. That was it off Anderson. He went six innings, gave up four hits, and only allowed the one run. I'd take that from just about any pitcher at Coors Field, much less a rookie making his first start there. Evan Marshall and Brad Zeigler pitched scoreless innings in the seventh and eighth, repsectively.
Addison Reed came in for the save, and despite a semi-rocky inning, including a home run, did close out the game. Couple that with an RBI double for Owings in the eighth inning, and you get your final score of Diamondbacks 4, Rockies 2.
Some other notes on the game, Carlos Gonzalez exited the game in the sixth inning with swelling in his left index finger, which has been a recurring issue for him this season. It seems it gets so bad, he is unable to hold a bat or a ball. Also of note, Chase Anderson became the seventh pitcher since 1980 to win his first four MLB starts. Granted, wins are a pretty useless statistic, and he was helped by copious amounts of run support, but still a cool fact.
Source: FanGraphs
Westly: Chase Anderson, 27.2%
Inigo Montoya: Chris Owings, 22.4%
Prince Humperdink: Cody Ross, -12.7%
The Six-Fingered Man: Aaron Hill, -9.8%
Comment of the Night goes to preston.salisbury for reading the game previews:
Those who read the previews
know there have been 6 since 1980
Heath Bell Syndrome is like the Chicken Pox. Even if you get rid of it, it comes back as the Shingles of bullpen failures.
Will buy dinner for the next D-back to convert 10 straight save opportunities.