|
 Stubbs led off the ninth inning with his first home run of the
season, then tracked down a fly ball to deep center field for the
final out with the tying and winning runs on base, sealing the
Rockies' 5-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday at
Chase Field.
"I'm not used to it, and I don't think anybody ever gets fully used
to it," Stubbs said of seeing part-time duty after averaging 508
at-bats for the Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Indians from
2010-2013. "Two contributions to an all-around good effort and a
win."
Stubbs, who entered the game as a defensive replacement in center
field as part of a double switch in the bottom of the eighth inning,
hit a 2-2 pitch from right-hander Addison Reed (0-2) the opposite
way into the right field seats. He has 43 at-bats in 28 games.
"Coming in and facing one of their best guys in the back end of the
bullpen, you just hope he makes a mistake or get a good pitch to
hit," Stubbs said. "He kind of left a slider middle out of over the
plate, and I was kind of looking to go the other way at that point."
Colorado manager Walt Weiss said, "We all know about Drew's talent.
He's in a tough spot with guys playing good in front of him. He got
an opportunity tonight and won a ballgame for us. He had the shot
late and ran that ball down in center, which he does so well.
Big-time performance."
Arizona center fielder A.J. Pollock hit a solo home run off the left
field foul pole to tie the game at 4 with two outs in the eighth
inning off Boone Logan (1-0).
Rockies right-hander LaTroy Hawkins pitched around one-out singles
by first baseman Paul Goldschmidt and catcher Miguel Montero in the
ninth inning for his ninth save in as many chances.
Colorado shortstop Troy Tulowitzki had two hits, including his
seventh home run of the season that gave the Rockies a 4-3 lead in
the sixth inning. Tulowitzki has five homers in his last seven games
and 17 hits in his past 38 at-bats (.447).
First baseman Justin Morneau had two hits, including an RBI triple,
and extended his hitting streak to 13 games, helping the Rockies
(16-12) earn their fourth win in five games. With victories in the
first two games of the three-game set, Colorado won its fourth
consecutive series.
"Every night it is someone different, and I think that is the sign
of a good team," Tulowitzki said.
"I think right now, you see signs of a group who comes together and
knows how important it is to win. You see young guys buying in to
doing things right to win a game. That's what we've been trying to
accomplish here the last few years. This group has a firm grip on
that, and that's important to me."
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Third baseman Eric Chavez and shortstop Chris Owings each had two
hits and an RBI for Arizona (8-22), which lost its fourth in a row
and fell for the 14th time in 18 games.
The Diamondbacks had runners on first and second with two outs in
the eighth inning and again with one out in the ninth but failed to
pad their run total. They also left the bases loaded with no outs in
the sixth after Tulowitzki's homer gave Colorado a lead in the top
of the inning.
"Yeah, we got nothing out of it, Arizona manager Kirk Gibson said.
"That was a tough situation."
Arizona left 11 runners on base and went 1-for-9 with runners in
scoring position.
NOTES: An MRI on Colorado C Wilin Rosario's left hand showed no
structural damage, manager Walt Weiss said, and Rosario is listed as
day-to-day. Rosario has not taken batting practice since suffering
the injury, but he is available to play, Weiss said. ... RHP Archie
Bradley, one of Arizona's top prospect, was placed on the disabled
list at Triple-A Reno due to a flexor strain. "The key thing is,
structurally he is fine," Diamondbacks GM Kevin Towers said. "The
UCL was intact. There was no fraying. It looked very, very strong."
Bradley will be shut down for two weeks before beginning a throwing
program. ... Colorado RHP Jhoulys Chacin (shoulder soreness) gave up
one run and four hits in six innings during a rehab start for
Triple-A Colorado Springs on Tuesday. Chacin was delayed out spring
training, and he could be close to joining the Rockies' rotation. He
was 14-10 with a 3.47 ERA in 13 starts for Colorado last season.
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