Colorado Rockies Rally Back To Defeat The Arizona Diamondbacks, 9-4

Apr 5, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado (28) watches his second home run in the sixth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Coors Field. The Rockies defeated the Diamondbacks 9-4. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Colorado Rockies starter Jorge De La Rosa didn’t have his best outing Saturday night but the bullpen would back him up. De La Rosa struggled in the early goings, needing 42 pitches to get through the first inning where he gave up an RBI double to Martin Prado and struck out the side. De La Rosa would get pulled in the fifth inning after going 4 1/3 innings, giving up four hits, four runs, three earned, three walks, and four strikeouts. Tommy Kahnle would come in for relief and held it down for Colorado. Kahnle would earn his first Major League victory, pitching 1 1/2 innings, giving up just one hit.

Mark Trumbo was acquired in the offseason by the Arizona Diamondbacks to do exactly what he did in the third inning, to hit home runs and drive in runs. He would hit an opposite field two-run home run off of De La Rosa to push the Diamondbacks lead to 4-0. Colorado would bounce back in the bottom of the fourth inning however. After a Carlos Gonzalez walk, last year’s batting champion Michael Cuddyer would club a two-run home run to right-center to cut the deficit to two runs.

Just one batter later, Nolan Arenado would get his bat going as he drove a pitch to deep-right center that went over the fence for a home run, aided by center field A.J. Pollock where it bounced off of his glove and over. Colorado would trail by one run at that point as the D’Backs led 4-3. Jumping ahead to the bottom of the fifth inning, Charlie Blackmon would get an infield base-hit and would steal second. This brought DJ LeMahieu to the plate as he singled down the right field line to score Blackmon to tie it up at four apiece. The next batter would be Carlos Gonzalez who on a hit-and-run, would knock it into the right-center gap for a single as DJ scored all the way from first base to give the Rockies the lead, 5-4.

Nolan Arenado kept his bat hot entering the bottom of the sixth inning, as he clubbed out a no-doubt shot to left field to score the sixth run of the night for the Rockies. Fast-forward to the bottom of the eighth where the Rockies are up 7-4, they would hit back-to-back-to-back doubles (Justin Morneau – Nolan Arenado – Jordan Pacheco) to take the 9-4 lead and that’s all they would need.

The bullpen consisting of Tommy Kahnle, Adam Ottavino, Rex Brothers, and LaTroy Hawkins did an excellent job spelling De La Rosa. They would combine for 4.o innings pitched, giving up just two hits while striking out four batters.

Notable Rockies Hitters:

• Charlie Blackmon: 3-for-4, 1 R.
• Michael Cuddyer: 1-for-4, 2-run HR.
• Nolan Arenado: 3-for-4, 2 HR, 3 RBI’s.

The Colorado Rockies (3-3) return to action tomorrow afternoon looking to sweep the series from the Diamondbacks. A pair of lefties will go at it tomorrow as Arizona’s Wade Miley will go head-to-head with Colorado’s Brett Anderson. First-pitch is scheduled for 4:10 PM ET, 2:10 PM MT.