To paraphrase the immortal Crash Davis, all the Rockies needed to beat the Diamondbacks on Tuesday night at Coors Field was “just one extra flare … a gorp … a groundball with eyes … a dying quail.”
But the clutch hit — even a cheapie clutch hit — never arrived.
So the D-backs prevailed, 3-2, to end their five-game losing streak. A crowd of 19,359 watched the Rockies slip to 3-9 on the young season.
Colorado had eight hits but was 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position and never really rattled the D-backs’ Merrill Kelly, who recorded his 32nd consecutive start of at least five frames, the second-longest active streak in the majors behind Pittsburgh’s Mitch Keller (34).
“Overall, our at-bats were OK,” manager Bud Black said. “Kelly has good stuff, and the changeup tonight was really devastating, with its movement. To me, that’s his best pitch. We stressed him a little bit, but we couldn’t get a two-out hit.”
Colorado wasted a rock-solid start from right-hander Cal Quantrill and quality relief work from Victor Vodnik, Tyler Kinley and Jalen Beeks.
Quantrill, making his first start at Coors in a Rockies uniform, endured a bumpy beginning before rebounding to pitch six solid innings.
“I have to be better in the first inning,” Quantrill said. “It’s been a problem, but we’ll work on it. It’s my first time pitching in Denver in a long time and it took a second to figure out what was working and what wasn’t.”
Quantrill last pitched at Coors in 2020, when he made two relief appearances for the Guardians. He entered Tuesday’s game with a 6.91 ERA in LoDo.
“He made better pitches as the game went on,” Black said. “And he had better command as the game went on, and the splitter and the change came into play. I thought he threw the ball well.”
Arizona’s Corbin Carroll led off the game with a home run to left, the first leadoff homer of his career. Gabriel Moreno followed with a loud double to right, and scored on Christian Walker’s one-out single. When former Rockies outfielder Randal Grichuk led off the second with a homer to left, the Diamondbacks led 3-1, and Quantrill looked to be taking on water.
But Quantrill escaped the second with minor damage and smothered the D-backs’ bats for the next four innings. The right-hander, acquired in a trade from Cleveland during the offseason, gave up three runs on eight hits, struck out six, and walked none.
But Kelly outpitched Quantrill, allowing two runs on six hits over his six innings. His three walks were potentially dangerous at Coors, but he dodged significant trouble.
Colorado cobbled together a run in the first on a leadoff, infield single by Charlie Blackmon, a bloop double into no man’s land behind first base by Ezequiel Tovar, and an RBI groundout by Ryan McMahon to score Blackmon.
Tovar hit 2-for-4 and extended his on-base streak to 11 games, the second-longest of his career behind a 15-game stretch from June 13 to July 2 last season.
The Rockies cut the D-backs’ lead to 3-2 in the sixth, fueled by Tovar, who singled, stole third and scored on Elias Diaz’s infield single. Colorado’s rally had a chance to be bigger, but McMahon was thrown out at second by Moreno on the double-steal attempt that advanced Tovar to third, and Nolan Jones struck out looking with Diaz at second.
Moreno went 4-for-4 with two doubles, matching his career-high with four hits.
The Rockies, meanwhile, are getting scant production for three players they are counting on to have any chance of being a competitive team this season.
• Kris Bryant was 0-for-3 with a walk. He’s hitting .114 (4-for-35) with 14 strikeouts, one home run and four RBIs.
• Jones was 0-for-4 and struck out looking in his final two at-bats. Jones is batting .174 (8-for-46) with no home runs and 20 strikeouts. He has yet to hit a home run and has driven in four runs.
• Brendan Rodgers was 0-for-4 with a strikeout. He’s hitting .167 (7-for-42) with no homers and no RBIs.
“It’s not coming yet, not in the first 12 games,” Black said of Bryant. “Hopefully, in the next 150 (games) the (hits) come in a big way. He’s too good a hitter not to come through.
“The early part of the year, we have some guys off to slow starts. Some of our bigger fellas. We have to get them going.”
The teams play the third and decisive game of the series on Wednesday afternoon.
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