PHOENIX — This is not how the Rockies want to head into their summer vacation.
They lost 4-2 to the Diamondbacks at Chase Field Saturday night, managing just five hits and getting an uneven start from Jon Gray, who called his performance “terrible, every way,” even though he held Arizona to one run through five innings.
The loss was the Rockies’ fifth straight and 10th in their last 14 games as they sunk back to .500 (44-44) with one game remaining before the all-star break.
Both of Colorado’s runs came via solo home runs, one by Daniel Murphy in the second off left-hander Robbie Ray, and the other a leadoff blast by Trevor Story in the eighth off Yoan Lopez.
Ray handcuffed the Rockies for six innings, giving up one run on two hits and striking out eight. He did walk five (one intentional), but the Rockies never made him pay for the free passes.
“That was the frustrating part of tonight’s game,” manager Bud Black said. “It was a tough night for the group on offense. We just didn’t get a lot of hits and didn’t swing the bats great.”
Gray was attempting to become the first Rockies pitcher since Jorge De La Rosa in 2014 to reach 10 wins by the all-star break. But he played with fire all night and his only clean inning was the one-two-three fifth. To Gray’s credit, he threw some excellent pitches, enabling him to snuff out multiple D-backs’ scoring chances. In fact, Arizona was 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position entering the sixth inning.
“I thought Jon was doing a really good job of mixing and getting out of innings,” catcher Tony Wolters said. “He made some really crucial pitches and did a really good job.
“Jon’s hard on himself, but that’s what makes him the athlete he is. He’s hard on a himself because he expects himself to be at the top.”
The game turned when Adam Jones led off with the sixth with single and Jake Lamb hit a two-run, opposite-field home run to left to give the Diamondbacks a 3-1 lead. Lamb’s home run barely crawled over the wall, where David Dahl had a chance to make a leaping catch, but could not as the ball bounced off the top of the wall and into the crowd.
Gray wasn’t as unhappy about the pitch location to Lamb as he was about the pitch selection.
“That’s on me, again,” he said. “I have to go with a different pitch. I showed him six fastballs in a row. So he’s probably going to get a bat on it.”
Arizona immediately padded its lead to 4-2 against reliever Jairo Diaz on a single and stolen base by Nick Ahmed, followed by an RBI single by catcher Carson Kelly.
The home run was a long time coming for Lamb, who has missed significant time over the last two seasons because of injuries. It was Lamb’s first home run since June 25, 2018 at Miami and his first at Chase Field since June 14, 2018 vs. the Mets.
Black did not think Gray pitched poorly.
“He got out of some jams, which was outstanding,” Black said. “They stressed Jon but he got out of it. That’s part of Jon’s growth this year.”
But in the aftermath of the Rockies’ latest loss, Gray was clearly unhappy with is performance.
“Terrible, every way,” he said. “I don’t care about (making) big pitches. That didn’t really end up mattering in the end.”
Arizona tied the game 1-1 in the the fourth, finally turning all of the traffic into a run. Jones led off with a first-pitch double to right before Gray retired Lamb and Nick Ahmed. Gray intentionally walked Kelly to pitch to Ray. It was the smart move, because Ray was hitting .032 (1-for-16) when he came to the plate. But Ray put a half swing on Gray’s 97.6 MPH fastball, sending it to left field for an RBI single.
Gray was miffed at himself for the pitch selection.
“Who thinks it’s a good idea to throw fastball away to a pitcher, giving him a chance?” he said. “A lot of mistakes, so I’m not happy about it.”
Murphy’s home run was his seventh of the season and his first in 47 at-bats. All of his home runs this season have come on the road.
Colorado will attempt to avoid a three-game sweep on Sunday afternoon when it play the D-backs in the final game before the break.
