Not even three homers from Ryan McMahon were enough in this four-and-a-half-hour, 13-inning marathon as the Rockies ended up dropping a heartbreaker that started Tuesday night and ended Wednesday morning. The Rockies blew a 3-0 lead, but then climbed back to tie the Diamondbacks three times, but eventually ran out of comebacks.
In the end, Matt Peacock, a 27-year-old righty making his MLB debut, turned out to be the star of the game. Not only did he hold the Rockies to one run on two hits in the 11th, 12th, and 13th innings, but also got his first Major League hit with an RBI single in the 13th off Ben Bowden. He then came around to score on a Ketel Marte double that capped off a three-run frame that proved too much for the Rockies to overcome.
McMahon blasts three solo shots
The first one, a 415-footer to right, came on a fastball on an 0-3 count in the second inning. The second, in the fourth inning, sent a changeup 420 feet to center field. In the seventh inning, McMahon hit his third, blasting a slider 412 feet to right field with an exit velocity of 106.2 miles per hour. McMahon became the 18th player in Rockies history to hit three homers in a game and the first since Trevor Story did it in 2018. McMahon also became the first MLB player to hit three homers in a game in the 2021 season. Moral of the story: The Rockies need players to get on base in front of him so that the knocks make more of an impact.
In the 13th inning with two outs, McMahon added an RBI double to briefly keep the Rockies hopes alive and reduce Arizona’s lead to 10-8. In the end, McMahon went 4-for-6 with five RBI and he tied a club record with 13 total bases in a game (tying a certain former third baseman named Nolan Arenado, who did that in 2017). The performance was also McMahon’s first four-hit game in the MLB.
Coming up clutch
With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Sam Hilliard smashed the game-tying homer 455 feet to right (107 mph exit velocity) to send the game to extra innings. Arizona, with an assist from C.J. Cron missing a routine ground ball, took the lead right back in the top of the 10th inning at 6-5. It didn’t last long as Josh Fuentes, who didn’t start because of a sore left wrist, came into pitch hit and ripped a double down the third-base line to score Elias Díaz and tie the game again. The Rockies found themselves down 7-6 in the 12th, but this time it was Garrett Hampson who came up big. With Fuentes starting on second, and then being advanced to third on a grounder by Raimel Tapia, Hampson hit a sac fly to score Fuentes to send the game to the 13th.
Missed opportunities
Despite some clutch moments, the Rockies also wasted plenty of scoring chances. In the 10th, Fuentes was the winning run on second with no outs. Tapia and Hampson struck out, Story and Charlie Blackmon were intentionally walked, and then Cron flied out. In the 11th, Blackmon got to third with one out, but couldn’t get home. In the 13th, Hilliard had a chance to be a hero again as the tying run after McMahon’s double, but he struck out looking to end the game.
Márquez looks better for 4 innings
For four innings, Gérman Márquez was sailing, which was a welcome sight compared to the baserunner-filled season opener vs. the Dodgers. He only gave up one hit with no walks while striking out three and registering eight groundouts. In the fifth inning, Márquez walked two batters and in between threw a wild pitch that allowed Asdrúbal Cabrera to advance to second and later to third on an Eduardo Escobar grounder. That’s when D-Back’s pitcher Luke Weaver hit an RBI single to center field to cut the Rockies lead to 3-1. In the sixth, Marte started the action with a single and then Christian Walker hit a homer to tie the game. Márquez was able to get out of the inning without further damage and ended the night giving up three runs on five hits with five strikeouts and two walks. He threw 56 of his 91 pitches for strikes, but still struggled with command, especially pitching out of the stretch. Since he left with the game tied, Márquez ended up with his second no decision in as many chances.
Where have all the baserunners gone?
Through nine innings, the Rockies only managed to post seven hits, five of which were homers and all of those were solo shots. Outside of McMahon, Dom Nuñez also added a solo shot in the second inning in a ball that reached the stands very quickly with a 106.8 mph exit velocity. The other hits came when Tapia led off the game with a single and Hampson hit a single in the eighth. Chris Owings reached base on an error before Hampson’s single, which gave the Rockies their first runner in scoring position in the game. They didn’t capitalize with Story striking out and Blackmon grounding out. Hilliard drew the only walk for the Rockies, compared to nine strikeouts in nine innings (they finished with four walks and 10 strikeouts). Hilliard walked in the seventh, but was doubled up after attempting to steal second and being thrown out when pinch-hitter Díaz popped out.
Almonte and Bowden struggle, rest of bullpen pretty solid
Geraldo Perdomo welcomed Yency Almonte to the game with a single for his first MLB hit and then Stephen Vogt hit a homer to right field to put the D-Backs up 5-3. Almonte gave up another double in the inning, but didn’t allow any more runs. Almonte has now given up two runs in his last two appearances for a total of four runs in three innings this season.
In the eighth, Tyler Kinley issued a walk and hit Tim Locastro with a pitch, but worked his way out of the drama with two strikeouts. Carlos Estévez threw a perfect ninth and Daniel Bard looked good in the 10th, only allowing the runner who started on second, Walker, to score after a sacrifice fly and a grounder that went right under the glove and between the legs of C.J. Cron. Mychal Givens pitched a scoreless 11th and struck out two. In the 12th, Robert Stephenson got unlucky when he knocked down batted ball from David Peralta that would have been a groundout, but instead gave Arizona runners at the corners with no outs. Cabrera then hit a double to put the Diamondbacks up 7-6. Stephenson then struck out two D-Backs to get out of the inning.
When Bowden entered the 13th, despite getting two outs, Vogt started the winning rally with an RBI single and Peacock and Marte added on.
Coming up next
The Rockies and D-Backs will be back in action on Wednesday night at Coors Field. The game will feature two pitchers who were hit hard and hit often in their 2021 debuts. For the Rockies, Antonio Senzatela (0-1, 18.90 ERA) will be hoping for a better performance after giving up seven runs on nine hits in 3 1/3 innings in Friday’s 11-6 loss to the Dodgers. The Rockies will be hoping to hit Madison Bumgardner (0-0, 13.50 ERA) like the Padres did on April 1, when Bumgardner gave up six runs on seven hits.