Diamondbacks 5, Rockies 3: Arizona’s bullpen shuts it down

After taking an early 3-0 lead, tonight was looking like the game Colorado would turn around their road woes. Arizona would immediately answer back before the Rockies could prolong the momentum, and the Rockies were unable to respond to a lights-out Arizona bullpen.

The Rockies have fell to 1-9 on the road this year.

Early offense: Colorado takes charge

Arizona starter Luke Weaver was chased after four innings, tabbed with three earned runs. Weaver would allow five hits and four walks this evening.

A second-inning single by Ryan McMahon and a walk by C.J. Cron set the table for an RBI double by Charlie Blackmon. Weaver would only allow one run in that frame, but the Rockies would continue the attack in the third with a Garrett Hampson double, an RBI triple by Trevor Story, and another single by McMahon that would drive in the third run of the game.

This would be the extent of Colorado’s run production; the Rockies held a win probability of 82.1% after they took a 3-0 lead.

Arizona flips the script

The D-Backs would respond with five unanswered runs after the middle of the third. David Peralta plated a run in the third with an RBI triple, and another run would be credited to Colorado starter Antonio Senzatela in the fourth when Josh Rojas put one in the left field seats. Pavin Smith would later double to left, and the fourth inning ended with the score tied 3-3.

Senzatela leaves the door open

Bud Black emerged from the Chase Field dugout with two outs in the fifth, signaling for a pitching change after a brief discussion with his starter. Senzatela left runners on first and second and the leverage index spiked to 2.24 for Carlos Estévez to save the day. Nick Ahmed would rope one into deep left-center field, but Yonathan Daza covered much of the Chase Field turf to make the catch. Estévez escaped the jam with one pitch, preserving the starter’s final line. Senzatela’s ERA now stands at 5.76 after allowing four earned runs in 4 ¹⁄₃ innings.

Estévez carves

1 ¹⁄₃ innings and he faced the minimum: a pair of flyouts, a groundout and a punchout lowered Estévez’s season ERA to 3.60. His continued success could be vital in the wake of losing Yency Almonte to the injured list.

Stephenson ends his carving streak

Robert Stephenson had pitched five consecutive scoreless outings before tonight’s game. The streak ended in his one inning of work, as he allowed both an earned and unearned run.

The unearned run came by way of a ground ball by Josh VanMeter, fielded by Cron at first and tossed to Stephenson covering the bag. The throw from Cron hit off Stephenson’s glove; the official ruling was an error on the pitcher.

Eduardo Escobar would hit a triple in the next at-bat, scoring VanMeter. A David Peralta single would plate Escobar and Arizona would take a 5-3 lead. Stephenson would walk Stephen Vogt immediately after and escaped a two-on, no-out jam before any further damage could ensue.

Lawrence turns heads in big league debut

101 MPH from THAT arm slot?

Nasty.

Welcome to the big leagues, Justin Lawrence. He worked a scoreless eighth inning, settling in after a four-pitch walk and a single to begin his MLB tenure. A flyout, strikeout and groundout ended Arizona’s threat, and Lawrence stranded both baserunners. He hit triple digits multiple times and threw 16 total pitches.

D-Backs bullpen steals the show

Arizona had five pitchers throw one inning a piece, and each of them worked a scoreless frame. Their combined line: 5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K.

“These guys came out on the attack,” says D-Backs manager Torey Lovullo. “I could feel it in the dugout that they were making pitches.” All five arms threw 16 pitches or less this evening, which puts the Diamondbacks in prime position to respond on Friday with a replenished bullpen.

9th inning threat: Adams makes Rockies debut

Yonathan Daza kept things alive with a two-out single in the ninth. Black would then call for a pinch hitter, and Matt Adams stepped in the box for his first plate appearance in a Rockies uniform. Adams had a chance to be an instant catalyst.

He quickly fell to an 0-2 count, and Stefan Crichton put a nasty breaking ball on the outer half for a called strike three. Ballgame.

Up Next

Jon Gray will make his sixth start of the season on Friday night opposite Madison Bumgarner, who pitched a seven-inning no-hitter in his last outing. Gray has been the more consistent of the two, however; Bumgarner holds a 6.31 ERA and 7.18 FIP this year to Gray’s 2.54/2.93. The Diamondbacks have announced the Chase Field roof will be open for Friday’s game, and temperatures in Phoenix are projected in the low 90’s at first pitch (7:40 p.m. MDT).