Jordan Pacheco’s three-run home run sealed the deal for the Diamondbacks against the visiting Colorado Rockies Wednesday night. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
The Colorado Rockies faced the Arizona Diamondbacks Wednesday evening in the desert for the rubber match of the three-game series.
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Former Rockie Jordan Pacheco hit a three-run home run in the fifth inning, and Jordan Lyles allowed five walks in five innings of work Wednesday night, as the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Colorado Rockies 9-1 in Phoenix.
Jordan Lyles started for the Rockies, and he never really had it going quite as smoothly as he had in his first four starts of the season.
Nevertheless, he was rewarded with a 1-0 lead after the Rockies’ first bats at the top of the game, when the Rox took advantage of a Chris Owings error, and Nolan Arenado drove in Troy Tulowitzki with a soft single to center field off Diamondbacks’ starter Josh Collmenter.
In the bottom of the first, the Dbacks immediately got two runs right back. Lyles picked Ender Inciarte off second base, but after catching him in a rundown, second basemen Daniel Descalso threw a ball to Arenado that would’ve retired Inciarte, only to hit him in the back of the helmet and roll to the Dbacks’ dugout.
Inciarte scored on the error, and in that very same at-bat, Mark Trumbo drove in Paul Goldschmidt with a single to make the game 2-1 in favor of Arizona.
The score held like that until the fifth, when Lyles gave up five runs and put the game out of reach for the Rockies.
After walking three batters in the inning, Lyles took his chances – with two outs – on Diamondbacks’ third baseman Yasmany Tomas’ .100 batting average. Tomas won the battle, driving in two runners with a single to extend the Arizona lead to 4-1.
The very next hitter, Pacheco, hit a three-run home run off Lyles – the first he’s allowed this season – to put the game out of reach at 7-1 after five frames. Lyles was done after five, as well, allowing seven runs (six earned) on eight hits and five walks, while striking out just one hitter. Lyles threw 48 strikes out of his 87 pitches Wednesday night.
The Dbacks pushed another run across in the bottom of the seventh against reliever Christian Friedrich, when another Tomas single scored David Peralta and padded the lead for Arizona behind starter Collmenter.
For good measure, in the eighth, the Dbacks scored once again, this time off Boone Logan, to make the game 9-1. Scott Oberg, who threw 1.2 innings and retired all five batters he faced, was the only Rockies pitcher not to allow a run tonight.
The Rockies never figured out Collmenter, unfortunately, who went eight innings for the Diamondbacks, allowing just one unearned run on a meager five hits. Collmenter struck out six Rockies hitters and didn’t walk anyone, tossing 70 strikes on 102 pitches.
Troy Tulowitzki had a multi-hit game for the Rockies, who were stymied on offense all night. Pacheco (2-for-4 with the three-run home run) and Goldschmidt (3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI) led the way for Arizona.
After losing two of three to the Diamondbacks in Arizona, the Rockies are now 11-10 on the season.
They will next face the San Diego Padres for three games at Petco Park on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, before returning home to face the Diamondbacks in Denver early next week.