PHOENIX — Baseball really isn’t a team game. It’s a series of solo performances. And no one commands the stage like the starting pitcher. If he’s good, those singing off-key or strumming with broken strings are easily ignored or dismissed with a smirk.
Had this been “American Idol,” it’s safe to say that Rockies pitcher Alex White wouldn’t be going to Hollywood. Fighting command issues, the rookie worked six clumsy innings Monday night, hit hard in the Rockies’ 5-1 loss to the division-leading Arizona Diamondbacks.
Looking for his first win as a Rockie, White walked a career-high six batters and allowed five runs as his sinker betrayed him.
“It was a frustrating outing,” White said. “I felt I had great stuff. That’s the hardest part.”
Only a chippy ninth inning prevented a shutout. Three Rockies hitters were plunked — Troy Tulowitzki, Kevin Kouzmanoff and Chris Iannetta — three innings after White drilled Arizona star Justin Upton in the back. Iannetta forced in the lone run.
“When you get hit, it takes the wind out of you,” Upton said. “But we got a win. The hitters were patient. We did a good job.”
The Rockies’ bases-loaded rally expired on back-to-back outs by Jason Giambi and Dexter Fowler.
The idea that the Diamondbacks would be in first place at any time this season seemed preposterous after their dreadful spring training. They couldn’t catch and struggled to hit, and the rotation was a question mark. Truth is, most of the players who created that perception aren’t on the team anymore.
But more than anything, the Diamondbacks’ current status is a reflection of their pitching.
Arizona opened a five-game lead in the National League West with its seventh consecutive victory. Most impressive during the streak: the rotation. The starters are 7-0 with a 0.56 ERA (three earned runs in 48 innings).
Daniel Hudson, acquired last year from the White Sox in the Edwin Jackson trade, muzzled the Rockies for seven innings. Hudson struck out eight, allowed three hits, his only issue an increasingly high pitch count (117, 72 strikes). Hudson won his 14th game. Staff ace Ian Kennedy, a Cy Young Award candidate, claimed his 17th victory Sunday. They are a combined 31-13.
The Rockies’ current rotation has 21 wins. White, part of the Ubaldo Jimenez trade, missed nearly three months with a strained flexor tendon in his right middle finger. It won’t regain full strength until February. Drew Pomeranz, the centerpiece of the Jimenez trade, remains a longshot to pitch in the rotation this season. However, after undergoing an appendectomy 11 days ago, Pomeranz threw a bullpen session for Double-A Tulsa on Monday and is tentatively scheduled to throw in a minor-league game next Monday. If it goes well, he will get a shot onstage.
That’s what the Rockies’ season has become at this point: a series of auditions.
Troy E. Renck: 303-954-1301 or trenck@denverpost.com
Looking ahead
TUESDAY: Rockies at Diamondbacks, 7:40 p.m., Root
Aaron Cook (3-7, 5.47 ERA) never thought this would be his last season in the major leagues. Not when he smashed his finger in a door at spring training. And not when the Rockies won once in his first seven starts. Cook has shown flashes of his old sinker. He has impressed teammates by shutting down innings after errors. But the veteran right-hander knows he must finish strong to secure his next contract, whether that’s in Denver or elsewhere. Justin Upton and Chris Young have combined for 12 hits off Cook. The Diamondbacks’ Wade Miley (1-1, 4.50) is a 24-year-old lefty who will be making his first home start.
Troy E. Renck, The Denver Post
Upcoming pitching matchups
Wednesday: Rockies’ Esmil Rogers (6-3, 5.93 ERA) vs. Diamondbacks’ Josh Collmenter (8-8, 3.19), 7:40 p.m., Root
Thursday: Off
Friday: Rockies’ Kevin Millwood (1-1, 4.26) vs. Padres’ Aaron Harang (12-4, 3.92), 8:05 p.m., Root
Saturday: Rockies’ Jhoulys Chacin (11-10, 3.60) vs. Padres’ Cory Luebke (5-7, 3.01), 6:35 p.m., Root
