DENVER — A (not so) marquee Friday night matchup between the last place Diamondbacks and second to last place Rockies turned out to be a pretty enticing game.
Over 30,000 fans came out on a gorgeous night to watch two teams that are afterthoughts the NL West. While the Giants, Dodgers and Padres fight for the division crowd and the two remaining wild card spots, the Diamondbacks and Rockies just hope to make it to the offseason in one piece.
The gist: The Rockies score two. Then the Diamondbacks did the same. Colorado added one, and the Diamondbacks did too. This continued for the rest of the game, until the Rockies scored three in the eighth to take control. They won 9-4 in the first of three at Coors Field.
Brendan Rodgers showed off his continued evolution on defense to stop Diamondbacks from scoring extra runs, including one diving throw with the bases loaded and another relay throw from Charlie Blackmon to Rodgers to home.
“I think he showed tonight he’s capable of those plays,” manager Bud Black said. “Now, the challenge for him is to have that mindset and that mentality from February to October that he’s a defender and not a hitter. So good lessons tonight.”
Austin Gomber was steady on the mound in his first game after the birth of his second son, Charlie Mark Gomber, on Aug. 17. He pitched five innings, allowing six hits and three earned runs. He’s obviously had to adjust to a different in between start routine, one that included a lot less sleep with a newborn and toddler now at home. Gomber said he felt a little bit off with his delivery and timing.
“I was able to keep the team in it,” he said. “Gave up some runs after we scored which is frustrating for me personally but overall it was OK.”
Facing Tyler Gilbert, the Diamondbacks pitcher who wowed the baseball world less than a week ago by throwing a no-hitter in his first major league start, the Rockies put up nine hits against him.
CJ Cron had a single and two doubles, continuing his August tear. It was his seventh multi-hit game in a row, tying Larry Walker (2002) for the franchise record. Entering Friday’s game, he led the majors in RBI (25) , slugging percentage (.887) and home runs (7) this month. His .415 batting average and .500 OBP both rank second.
Garrett Hampson homered in the second, his seventh of the season, while Trevor Story managed to be hit by a pitch…again. He’s been hit a career-high 11 times this year, including six in the month of August. He did also manage a triple in the third, which set up an RBI single from Charlie Blackmon.
And who can forget Connor Joe, who hit leadoff for the 10th game in a row, the most consecutive games he’s started at the major league level. He’s gotten on base in 28 of the 30 games he’s started for the Rockies, and also had two RBIs on Friday.
DENVER — Jon Gray and the Rockies are taking the next step this weekend toward inking a new …
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