DENVER –
Colorado manager Walt Weiss was well aware his team would be in a bind if it had to play extra innings. Mark Reynolds rescued the Rockies with a clutch drive.
Reynolds hit a two-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning for a 9-7 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday.
Carlos Gonzalez launched a grand slam, and Trevor Story and Charlie Blackmon also went deep for the Rockies, who earned a split of the four-game series.
It might turn out to be a costly win. Story sustained a bruise on his right middle finger when he was hit by a pitch leading off the ninth. He stayed in the game and later said X-rays were negative.
“Everything’s OK, just bruised really bad,” the rookie shortstop said. “It’s hard to move, real swollen. A lot of ice and we’ll wrap it up.”
The Rockies had already lost All-Star second baseman DJ LeMahieu to a bruised left knee. LeMahieu was hurt making a sliding attempt at Paul Goldschmidt’s two-run single in the sixth inning and left the game.
LeMahieu will have an MRI on Monday, the Rockies said.
Weiss said Story wouldn’t have played defense in the 10th, leaving Colorado without its starting middle infield, no bench players and a limited bullpen.
“We knew if we went extra innings we were in trouble,” Weiss said.
Reynolds made sure that didn’t happen. With Story on first, the strikeout-prone slugger drove a 2-1 fastball from Silvino Bracho (0-1) an estimated 464 feet to left-center for his eighth home run of the season.
“It was my first walk-off homer so it’s probably the timeliest one I’ve hit,” he said. “I knew he didn’t want to walk me and put a guy in scoring position. I knew he was going to throw a strike and he grooved a fastball.”
It was Colorado’s first walk-off win since Sept. 26, 2015.
Carlos Estevez (2-5) struck out two in a hitless inning for the victory.
Goldschmidt had two hits and four RBIs for Arizona. He has reached base in 48 consecutive games against the Rockies, a mark that ties him with Mike Piazza, who did it from 1995-99.
“Oh good, send me a trophy. I don’t care, guys,” Goldschmidt said. “I mean, 48 – that’s like three years ago. Who cares?”
Arizona led 3-1 after three innings and increased the margin to 5-1 on Goldschmidt’s two-run triple in the fourth.
The Rockies rallied in the fifth to take a 6-5 lead on Gonzalez’s grand slam off starter Patrick Corbin.
It was Gonzalez’s 16th homer of the season and fifth career slam.
Goldschmidt gave the Diamondbacks the lead again with his two-run single off Rockies starter Chad Bettis. Story answered with a solo homer in the seventh, his 19th, to tie it.
The Diamondbacks finished 7-3 on their road trip.
“That’s just the way things break in this ballpark,” manager Chip Hale said of Colorado’s four home runs. “You have to live with it. We had a real good road trip. I’m happy with the way these guys performed. The effort was relentless.”
