PHOENIX — In the hottest place on earth, summer has become a time for dreams to melt away. There was a chill at Chase Field, the Arizona Diamondbacks frozen in place, owners of an double-digit losing streak that has all but knocked them out of playoff contention and put heads on the chopping block.
Which is why they were a tough team to face Friday. They had to win sometime. Or at the very least score. They did both before a stunned crowd. The Diamondbacks’ offense finally awoke, ending nearly two weeks of sleepless nights with a 7-6 victory over the Rockies.
Manuel Corpas became the unlikely victim, his string of five-consecutive saves ending when Gerardo Parra and Ryan Roberts produced back-to-back run scoring singles in the ninth inning.
The Rockies played well enough to win, and appeared to have the game in their grips after the eighth. Reliever Rafael Betancourt pulled off his best white-knuckle performance since last September 16 in San Francisco. With bases loaded and one out in the eighth, the right-hander fanned Justin Upton and Stephen Drew on chest-high fastballs. He has regained his setup role after striking out six of the last seven batters he’s faced.
But Corpas couldn’t protect the one-run lead, showing little command of his sinker.
While the Diamondbacks have reached a forked tongue in the road – they are mulling major roster changes – Colorado appeared to be gaining traction.
They were finding ways to win, even if sometimes it seems like they are doing it with duct tape and chicken wire. They took the last series in San Francisco despite scoring only seven runs.
“Given the pitching in the division, I don’t think that’s the last time you will see that happen,” manager Jim Tracy said.
Perhaps, but it will be a shock if it occurs in Phoenix. It’s quietly become one of the best hitters’ parks in the big leagues.
So this game was more about bats and big pitches by both teams.
All of the Rockies’ runs came on home runs, but the most productive swing featured familiarity and elevation. With the score tied at 3 in the sixth, Ian Stewart stepped into the box against Ian Kennedy. Nothing unusual here except for the fact the two were high school teammates at La Quinta High School in Garden Grove, Calif. If anyone could predict what Kennedy might throw it was Stewart.
He certainly acted like he knew what was coming, turning a first-pitch, 89-mph fastball into a moonball that landed in the right-field stands.
Stewart’s three-run blast extended a strange statistical oddity for the third baseman. All seven of his home runs this season have come on the road. Kennedy, undermined by Kelly Johnson’s fielding error, reacted with disgust befitting a club that has tied the second-longest losing streak in franchise history (Arizona suffered a 14-game skid in 2004).
When Kennedy returned to the dugout, he fired his glove into ground. Arizona had lost four straight games on walkoffs, the first team since the 1989 Tigers to suffer that indignity. So karma was on their side in the ninth when Roberts’ groundball squirted into center field.
Rockies’ starter Aaron Cook gear-grinded through five innings but couldn’t secure his first road win since July 16. Justin Upton homered in the first, ending the Diamondbacks’ 31-inning scoreless streak, sending a hint of what was to come.
Troy E. Renck: 303-954-1301 or trenck@denverpost.com.
