Diamondbacks 11, Rockies 2
PHOENIX, Oct. 2 — Christian Walker went 3-for-5 with three doubles, and Pavin Smith went 2-for-2 with three walks and a double as the Arizona Diamondbacks routed the Colorado Rockies, 11–2, Saturday night. Ketel Marte added two doubles to go along with one each from Carson Kelly and Zac Gallen to tie a club record — eight.
The Diamondbacks started hacking right out of the gate, as right fielder Smith led off with a single. A Marte fly to left and Daulton Varsho grounder to second put Smith on third with two out.
Then the hit parade began.
Walker doubled Smith home and himself scored on a David Peralta single. Kelly belted a double to bring in Peralta and scored when Josh VanMeter followed with a single. VanMeter stole second, and when the Rockies countered by walking Geraldo Perdomo intentionally to bring up pitcher Zac Gallen, it looked at first like the stolen base might have been ill-advised. It wasn’t. Gallen smoked a frozen rope to the gap in right-center, plating both runners with a double. When Smith followed with a walk, Rockies manager Bud Black gave Senzatela the hook. New pitcher Yency Almonte got Marte to ground to first, giving Marte the dubious distinction of making both the first and last outs of the inning. At the end of one, it was 6–0.
Rockies Avoid Shutout, but Diamondbacks Keep Pouring It On
The score became 6–1 in the top of the third when Sam Hilliard launched a line drive into the pool area for a homer. In the bottom of that inning, the Diamondbacks responded with two runs. A one-out triple to the right-field corner and two-out walk by Pavin Smith set the table for Marte, whose double off the fence in right-center brought both in, making the score 8–1.
Rockies catcher Dom Nuñez led off the fifth with a majestic home run to make the score 8–2. The Diamondbacks got that run back in the bottom of the sixth, when Walker hit his third double of the game and scored on a two-out single by Kelly. Varsho hit a two-run, two-out single in the bottom of the seventh to finalize the score.
Looking Ahead
Gallen (4–10) earned the win, while Senzatela (4–10) took the loss. With the victory, the Diamondbacks (51–110) ensured that they will not break the franchise mark for worst record in a season. They can avoid tying it Sunday afternoon, with first pitch at 12:10 pm Arizona Time. The Diamondbacks and Rockies (74–86) have yet to announce their starting pitchers.
Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images
Players/managers mentioned:
Christian Walker, Pavin Smith, Ketel Marte, Carson Kelly, Zac Gallen, Daulton Varsho, David Peralta, Josh VanMeter, Geraldo Perdomo, Bud Black, Yency Almonte, Sam Hilliard, Dom Nuñez
