DENVER – Paul Goldschmidt, Miguel Montero and Chris Owings homered, as the Arizona Diamondbacks reached double-digits against the Colorado Rockies again, completing a sweep with a 12-7 win Thursday night.
Arizona took all three games at Coors Field for the first time since April 2008.
Bronson Arroyo (5-4) pitched effectively most of the evening before running out of steam. The 37-year-old allowed four runs and six hits in 6 1/3 innings.
A night after the Diamondbacks put up 16 runs, they pounded Rockies starter Juan Nicasio (5-4).
The right-hander struggled with his command, allowing a season-high seven runs in 5 1/3 innings, as the Rockies dropped their seventh consecutive game. It’s their longest skid since losing nine in a row late in the 2012 season.
The top five hitters in the Diamondbacks lineup – Gerardo Parra, Owings, Goldschmidt, Montero and Martin Prado – feasted on Rockies pitching, going a combined 13-for-24 with nine runs batted in.
Owings had a two-run homer in the eighth that gave Arizona a 9-6 lead. The cushion was valuable at the time, as Rockies pinch hitter Brandon Barnes hit an inside-the-park homer in the bottom of the inning, when the ball sailed over the head of center fielder Ender Inciarte, hit off the base of the wall and caromed away.
It was the 14th inside-the-park homer in Rockies history and first since Eric Young Jr. had one on Aug. 8, 2012, in Los Angeles.
Barnes was so pumped after the homer that he did pushups in the dugout.
Arizona added to its lead in the ninth with three more runs. Inciarte ended the game by making a leaping catch at the wall on Wilin Rosario’s deep drive.
This series was quite an offensive display by the Diamondbacks, as they scored 32 runs and collected 48 hits over the three games.
Arroyo had a 7-3 lead heading into the seventh inning, when he ran into trouble. A usually reliable bullpen struggled, too. The Rockies scored three times on RBI singles from Michael Cuddyer, Corey Dickerson and Drew Stubbs.
With the bases loaded and two outs, Oliver Perez was brought in to face pinch hitter Justin Morneau, who grounded out to third to end the rally.
Arroyo bottled up the Rockies early on by mixing a fastball hovering around 86 mph with a nasty sinker. Arroyo surrendered a leadoff homer to Charlie Blackmon and then retired 10 straight, before Troy Tulowitzki’s double in the fourth. Tulowitzki also hit a solo shot off Arroyo.
Nicasio didn’t have his best stuff as he allowed 11 hits, including a solo homer by Montero in the third and another by Goldschmidt in the fifth.
Rockies manager Walt Weiss called a team meeting before the game, just so he could check in with his team during this horrendous stretch. He said there are “no magic words in this game or magic words for success.”
Rockies rumpus
The Diamondbacks open a three-game home series against Atlanta on Friday, with RHP Brandon McCarthy taking the mound. ... Colorado held a moment of silence for Don Zimmer, who died Wednesday at 83. Zimmer spent three seasons as a coach with the Rockies. ... Colorado RHP Eddie Butler makes his debut against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday. ... The Rockies placed RHP Jordan Lyles (fractured left hand) and LHP Boone Logan (elbow inflammation) on the 15-day disabled list. ... Colorado selected LHP Kyle Freeland with the No. 8 pick. Freeland grew up in Denver.
