Phoenix – Rockies starting pitcher Jamey Wright was way off. Diamondbacks second baseman Craig Counsell was off and running.
Those were the essential elements of Arizona’s 9-4 victory Sunday over the Rockies at Bank One Ballpark.
The loss ruined what would have been the Rockies’ first series sweep of the season. The last time they accomplished that was more than a year ago in Arizona on July 23-25. Still, the Rockies returned home Sunday night after a satisfying 4-2 road trip, their best of the season.
Counsell, the speedy leadoff man, opened the Diamondbacks’ first inning with a single. He promptly stole second and scored on a double by Luis Gonzalez.
Counsell – who played Road Runner to the Rockies’ Wile E. Coyote – was just getting started. He tied his career high and matched a club record with five hits, all singles. He also stole a career-high three bases and has 17 this season, tying his career best.
Those steals, and another by Shawn Green, came against Rockies catcher JD Closser. There have been 43 stolen-base attempts against Closser this season. He’s thrown out just two baserunners.
“I couldn’t get Counsell out,” said Wright, who fell to 6-12. “When you can’t get the leadoff guy out, it makes for a long day. I just couldn’t get my location.”
Added Rockies manager Clint Hurdle: “The only time we get Counsell out with any regularity is spring training, and it doesn’t count.”
Counsell wasn’t Wright’s only problem on a day when he was tagged for nine hits, including two home runs, and gave up six runs in six innings.
“I talked to Jamey after the game,” Hurdle said. “Jamey wants to become the leader of this starting rotation, and he’s got the most experience. We talked about his want-to getting in the way of his how-to.”
Translation: Wright is rushing and trying to dominate games when he should be sticking to his basic, good stuff and getting batters out. Wright threw a lot of breaking balls Sunday instead of throwing a hard cut-slider and his effective sinker. Wright had eight strikeouts Sunday and that wasn’t a good sign.
“Jamey’s a sinkerball pitcher,” Hurdle said. “He had eight punchouts today and five groundball outs. That’s not going to play out the right way very often.”
While Wright struggled, Arizona starter Claudio Vargas sailed. At one point, Vargas retired 18 consecutive Rockies. He pitched seven innings and gave up just three runs on three hits. His only big mistake was dishing up a three-run homer to Jorge Piedra in the seventh. It was Piedra’s second homer of the season.
Sunday’s loss tarnished Colorado’s road trip a bit, but it didn’t ruin it. The Rockies are 4-14 on the road against National League West opponents. All four victories came on this road trip.
“We played good baseball and we battled,” Hurdle said. “We have done a lot of positive things. The fact that we were talking about a sweep shows some improvement. That word is not thrown around a lot when we are out on the road.”
Rockies recap
Rockies starter Jamey Wright swore he wasn’t throwing at Diamondbacks right fielder Chad Tracy in the sixth inning Sunday. He said the pitch that sailed over Tracy’s head had nothing to do with Tracy’s fifth-inning homer or the three stolen bases by Craig Counsell, the last of which came in the sixth with Arizona ahead 6-0. The Diamondbacks felt much differently. “They clearly threw at him,” Counsell said, adding Arizona believed Colorado’s bench instructed Wright to throw at Tracy. Wright, who struggled from his opening pitch and fell to 6-12, begged to differ. “I was definitely trying to go in there, but obviously I wasn’t trying to throw at him, that’s not me.”
ROAD WARRIOR: The Rockies went 4-2 on their road trip, thanks to some hot bats. Luis Gonzalez was 2-for-4 Sunday and finished the road trip hitting .429 (9-for-21).
Patrick Saunders can be reached at 303-820-5459 or at psaunders@denverpost.com.
