Carlos Gonzalez hits pair of home runs in 9-4 Rockies win

Carlos Gonzalez and Nolan Arenado combined to hit three home runs and drive in all nine Rockies runs as Colorado earned a series split with a 9-4 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks at Coors Field.

Rockies starting pitcher Jon Gray did a good job of limiting damage as he allowed 10 hits and walked two in 5⅓ innings, but allowed just four runs and struck out one. Gray threw 79 pitches, 58 for strikes.

Arizona got on the board against Gray in the top of the first with an A.J. Pollock sacrifice fly that scored Ender Inciarte, who had walked on a pair of borderline pitches.

The Rockies struck back quickly against Diamondbacks starter Chase Anderson in the bottom of the first, Charlie Blackmon and Jose Reyes led the inning off with back-to-back singles, setting the table for Gonzalez to bring home Blackmon on a sacrifice fly and Arenado to plate Reyes, and himself, with a two-run home run, his league-leading 33rd long ball of the season that gave Colorado a 3-1 lead.

Gray allowed another run in the top of the second on an RBI single from Chris Owings, but the Rockies rookie kept the score at 3-2 until the sixth, when the Diamondbacks leveled the score on back-to-back doubles from Jake Lamb and Owings, the latter of which chased Gray from the game. Owings then scored on an RBI groundout from Inciarte, which gave Arizona a 4-3 lead.

Colorado took the lead for good in the seventh. Diamondbacks reliever Randall Delgado began the inning by giving up singles to Blackmon and Cristhian Adames and walking Reyes before being removed from the game as Diamondbacks manager Chip Hale called on lefty Keith Hessler to face Gonzalez. The move backfired, as Hessler hung a slider to Gonzalez who lined it off the facade of the second deck in right field for the fourth grand slam of his career, giving the Rockies a 7-4 advantage.

Gonzalez then gave the Rockies some insurance in the eighth with his second home run of the game, a two-run shot against Matt Stiles to give the Rockies a 9-4 lead and bring him even with Arenado in the NL home run race with 33.

Justin Miller pitched a perfect ninth inning to secure a Rockies win.

The San Francisco Giants will come to Coors Field tomorrow to begin a four-game series with Chris Rusin taking the mound for the Rockies against Ryan Vogelsong. First pitch is at 6:40 p.m. Mountain time.

Source: FanGraphs