Diamondbacks stifle Rockies, 3-1

The Colorado Rockies failed to get anything going on offense tonight, as Arizona Diamondback pitching held them to one run on five hits. Needless to say that wasn't enough, despite a strong start from Chad Bettis. The result was a 3-1 loss in the desert.

Bettis finished his 2015 campaign strong with six innings of two run ball--and only one of those runs was earned. In the fifth Socrates Brito advanced to third on a wild pitch off the mitt of Dustin Garneau with one out. He would score on a sacrifice fly. The other run scored an inning later after three consecutive hits greeted Bettis in the sixth, but he managed to strand the remaining runners. Overall he did well to limit damage thanks to six strikeouts, most of which occurred when opposing runners were clogging the bases. Hist 2015 ERA will end at 4.23; not too bad.

The Rockies' lone run came after Justin Morneau tripled and scored after a DJ LeMahieu sacrifice fly. Other than that, the Rockies were thoroughly shut down. Nolan Arenado came about two feet away from blasting a two run home run in the first inning, but the drive fell harmlessly into the left fielder's mitt.

A day after Purple Row wrote nice things about Scott Oberg, he proceeded to allow a single and two walks in the seventh inning without recording an out. Christian Friedrich had to clean up his mess, but not before another run scored.

This was a prototypical road loss, one the Rockies have experienced countless times over the years. I would have liked to have covered a thrilling shootout, a come-from-behind victory, or a complete-game shutout for my last recap of the season, but baseball is rarely so accommodating. The Rockies have been exactly the same this year as they've been in the three other seasons during which I've written for Purple Row: y'know, cruddy. Despite this, I've always had fun watching the games, analyzing them, dissecting them, and reading the community's reaction to them. The knowledgeable, passionate, absurd little community we have here is a valuable thing, and every day I'm grateful I stumbled upon it. Thanks for reading.

<iframe src="http://www.fangraphs.com/graphframe.aspx?config=0&static=0&type=livewins&num=0&h=450&w=450&date=2015-09-30&team=Diamondbacks&dh=0" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" height="450" width = "450" style="border:1px solid black;"></iframe><br /><span style="font-size:9pt;">Source: <a href="http://www.fangraphs.com/livewins.aspx?date=2015-09-30&team=Diamondbacks&dh=0&season=2015">FanGraphs</a></span>