Raimel Tapia’s clutch hit got Colorado even. His aggressive baserunning gave the Rockies a chance to win and took the pressure off his teammate.
Tapia hit a tying, bases-loaded triple and scored the go-ahead run during a five-run eighth inning, and the Rockies beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 8-7 on Sunday.
The rally salvaged the finale of the three-game series and ended Arizona’s six-game road winning streak. Eduardo Escobar and Blake Swihart homered for the Diamondbacks.
The Rockies trailed 7-3 when they loaded the bases with no outs against reliever Archie Bradley (1-3). David Dahl walked on a full count and Tapia tripled to left, just beating the throw as he slid into third.
“That made my job a million times easier,” Ryan McMahon said. “He had an amazing hit, hustled his butt to third. When he did that, called him safe, all this weight came off my shoulder and made my job easier.”
McMahon made Tapia’s hustle worth it when he followed with an RBI single through a pulled-in infield.
“He plays an up-tempo game,” manager Buddy Black said of Tapia. “We want that out of him.”
Bradley struggled after allowing just one run in his last six appearances. Lefties were hitting .153 against him since May 2018, but the three he faced Sunday reached base, with Tapia capping it with his triple.
“I was trying to go up and in, and I think it was just middle-up,” Bradley said. “Really since the first hitter, just kind of really didn’t have good stuff and was just trying to make some pitches here and there. When you fall behind like, no outs, guys are going to be super aggressive and that’s what they did.”
Scott Oberg (1-0) allowed two runs in the eighth but got the win, and Wade Davis got the final three outs for his fifth save. It was just the sixth win in 15 home games for the Rockies.
Swihart came into the game hitting .071 but hit a two-run drive against starter German Marquez in the sixth to give Arizona a 5-3 lead. Marquez had tied it in the fifth with a two-run bloop single, but Zack Greinke worked out of the no-out jam without any further damage.
Arizona tacked on two more in the seventh before Colorado rallied.
“Fundamentally I think we broke down in the eighth inning and we ended up absorbing a tough loss,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said.
Marquez struck out nine over six innings but allowed five runs and seven hits.
Escobar’s home run leading off the second tied it at 1, and Arizona took a two-run lead in the third on an RBI double by David Peralta and a sacrifice fly from Escobar.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Rockies: LHP Jake McGee (left knee sprain) will throw a simulated game in Arizona on Tuesday before beginning a three-game rehab assignment with Triple-A Albuquerque on Thursday. … LHP Chris Rusin (mid-back strain) will start a rehab assignment Monday in Tacoma with Albuquerque followed by another outing on Wednesday in El Paso.
TROUBLE AT ALTITUDE
Arizona outfielder Adam Jones was feeling better Sunday after he left Saturday’s game feeling lightheaded. Lovullo said Jones was feeling the effects of the thin air and kept him on the bench Sunday. He said he is taking the same approach to playing at altitude as San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich, who frequently sat players when playing in Denver.
“It’s always a challenge coming up here, so it’s one of the reasons why I want to give guys days off here and days off coming out of here,” Lovullo said. “I know the Spurs have come up here and not played any of their five starters. I know Pop has done that on several occasions. He was the first to spot there wasn’t something up here.”
UP NEXT
Rockies: RHP Antonio Senzatela (2-1, 4.03) will face San Francisco LHP Madison Bumgarner when Colorado’s homestand continues on Tuesday.
AROUND THE MAJORS SUNDAY
The San Diego Padres used a walk-off grand slam to avoid a three-game sweep by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Pinch-hitter Hunter Renfroe followed three San Diego singles with a two-out blast off Kenley Jensen in the bottom of the ninth to give the Padres an 8-5 comeback win over the NL West leaders. Jansen struck out Greg Garcia and got rookie Francisco Mejia to pop up before Renfroe’s slam.
— Brandon Crawford delivered a tiebreaking, pinch-hit homer in the ninth inning as the Giants withstood a power surge by the Reds in a 6-5 win at Cincinnati. Buster Posey smacked a tying, three-run homer in the sixth and opened the ninth with a one-out double before scoring on Crawford’s two-run blast. Eugenio Suarez, Jesse Winker and Derek Dietrich homered on consecutive pitches by Jeff Samardzija to give the Reds a 4-0, first inning lead.
— Kris Bryant belted his fourth career grand slam while the Cubs were tacking on six runs in the eighth inning of their seventh straight win, a 13-5 pounding of the Cardinals. Willson Contreras, Anthony Rizzo and David Bote each drove in two runs as Chicago leapfrogged the Cardinals for first place in the NL Central. Ben Zobrist had two hits and made two nice plays in left field while the Cubs were polishing off their first three-game sweep of St. Louis since September 2017.
— Christian Yelich returned to the Milwaukee lineup and blasted a three-run homer into the third deck at Miller Park in the third inning of a 3-2 win over the Mets. Yelich leads the majors with 15 home runs after going deep following a five-game absence caused by lower back soreness. Kyle Davies helped the Brewers complete a three-game sweep by limiting New York to two runs and six hits over 7 2/3s.
— The Phillies won for the sixth time in nine games as Zach Eflin held the Nationals to a run and four hits over seven innings of a 7-1 victory. Rhys Hoskins had two RBIs and Cesar Hernandez added a pair of doubles for the NL East leaders. Kurt Suzuki homered for the third straight day, but Washington lost for the eighth time in 11 games.
— Ender Inciarte faked a bunt and slapped an opposite-field RBI double down the line to break a 10th-inning tie as the Braves topped the Marlins, 3-1. Nick Markakis’ home run gave Atlanta a lead in the seventh, but the Marlins tied it with three consecutive singles in the eighth before the Braves completed a three-game sweep. Five Atlanta pitchers combined to hold Miami to six hits.
— The Pirates pulled out a 5-3 victory over the Athletics on Starling Marte’s three-run homer in the bottom of the 13th. The A’s scored twice in the final inning before Adam Frazier singled home a run and scored on Marte’s walk-off blast. Pittsburgh starter Jordan Lyles gave up one run and five hits over 6 2/3 innings.
— Alex Bregman’s grand slam was among the Astros’ three home runs in a 10-4 romp over the Angels in Monterrey, Mexico. Carlos Correa had a two-run homer in the second inning and Michael Brantley hit a two-run shot in the ninth. Justin Verlander moved to 5-1 by working 6 1/3 innings, shaking off two homers by Jonathan Lucroy.
— Domingo German tied for the major league lead with his sixth win as the Yankees picked up a 4-1, rain-shortened win over the Twins. German stayed in control despite the precipitation, giving up one run and four hits in 6 2/3 innings while striking out seven. Mike Tauchman hit a two-run homer for New York, which claimed its 11th win in 15 games after the game was called in the bottom of the eighth.
— Boston won for the sixth time in seven games as Xander Bogaerts hit a grand slam during a seven-run eighth that turned a 2-2 tie into the Red Sox’s 9-2 rout of the White Sox. Mitch Moreland went 2 for 3 with two RBIs for the Bosox, who had a nine-run third in Saturday’s 15-2 win. Boston’s bullpen tossed three scoreless innings after Rick Porcello allowed six hits, including solo homers by Jose Abreu and Ryan Cordell.
— Jay Bruce blasted a grand slam and the Mariners snapped a six-game losing streak with a 10-0 blowout of the Indians. Rookie Erik Swanson worked six innings and didn’t allow a hit until Jose Ramirez doubled with two out in the sixth. Mitch Haniger hit a solo shot in the second and Edwin Encarnación belted a two-run blast in the fifth, giving Seattle a major league-leading 68 home runs this year.
— The Tigers celebrated a 5-2 victory over the Royals when Brandon Dixon slammed a three-run homer with two out in the bottom of the 10th. Spencer Turnbull was in line to get the win after yielding one run and six hits over seven innings, but the Royals tied it on Hunter Dozier’s solo shot off Joe Jimenez in the eighth. Kansas City starter Brad Keller allowed two runs, six hits and five walks in 5 1/3 innings.
— The Rangers blew out the Blue Jays, 10-2 as Rougned Odor and Asdrúbal Cabrera each homered and combined for seven RBIs. Odor’s average had dropped to .122 before he ended an 0-for-21 skid with a two-run blast in the second inning. Cabrera added a three-run homer and finished with four ribbies.
— The Rays and Orioles were rained out in Baltimore, a game that has been rescheduled as part of a split doubleheader on July 13.