Christian Walker on Wednesday hit a pair of two-run homers, the second in the eighth inning lifting the Arizona Diamondbacks past the Colorado Rockies in a 9-7 victory.
The Diamondbacks moved back over .500 at 61-60, winning two straight to capture their second straight series after a stretch in which they lost 10 of 12 games to fall 3.5 games out of a National League wild-card berth. They have 31 come-from-behind victories.
“This is a gut check,” Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. “After losing the first day here, we came out and won two really tough ball games. We didn’t shut down. There is a certain degree of not shutting down that creates an environment that we have been used to here.”
Photo: Reuters
Tommy Pham singled off Tyler Kinley (0-1) to open the eighth inning and Walker followed with a homer to right-center for an 8-7 lead.
Walker, who has 28 homers, also homered in the first two games of the series. He has 22 career homers against Colorado, 13 at Coors Field.
Walker had three hits and four RBIs, Nick Ahmed had a three-run triple and Taiwanese-American outfielder Corbin Carroll had two hits and his 37th stolen base after replacing Lourdes Gurriel in the fifth inning. Gurriel left because of a strained hip. He is considered day-to-day.
“Knowing that I don’t have to hit a ball 112 miles an hour for it to get out of the park, as far as like cheap homers or whatever, for me it’s nice to feel rewarded for taking a clean swing and putting the barrel on the ball,” Walker said.
Kyle Nelson (7-3) pitched the seventh for the victory. He was the fifth of seven Arizona pitchers.
Paul Sewald pitched around Charlie Blackmon’s single to open the ninth inning for his 25th save in 29 chances, his fourth save in five days. He has four saves in five chances for Arizona since being acquired from Seattle.
“That’s a real test, especially here in Colorado, to bounce back like that,” Sewald said. “Every win is important if you are in a playoff race, and we absolutely are.”
Walker’s two-run homer in the first inning opened the scoring in a game that had a Blake Street Bombers vibe, stretching to 3 hours, 16 minutes with both teams scoring four runs in the sixth inning as the lead seesawed.
Walker drew one of three walks off Colorado starter Austin Gomber in the sixth inning and Buddy Kennedy drew a bases-loaded walk to tie it at 3-3.
Ahmed greeted reliever Jake Bird with a triple high off the fence in right-center field for a 6-3 lead.
“They had some really disciplined at-bats,” Colorado manager Bud Black said.
The lead did not last the inning. Nolan Jones hit a two-run homer to cap the Rockies’ four-run sixth for a 7-6 lead. Brendan Rodgers had a two-out, two-run double off Miguel Castro to pull Colorado within 5-4, before Jones followed with his 12th homer, a liner over the right-field fence.
Ryan McMahon had three hits, including his 20th home run, Ezequiel Tovar had three hits and scored twice, and Rodgers had a pair of doubles.
Pham had a sacrifice fly in the ninth inning.
Elsewhere, the Cubs edged the White Sox 4-3, the Angels blanked the Rangers 2-0, the Dodgers battered the Brewers 7-1, the Mets sank the Pirates 8-3, the Tigers tamed the Twins 8-7, the Rays routed the Giants 6-1 and the Nationals romped past the Red Sox 6-2.
The Braves blanked the Yankees 2-0, the Mariners mastered the Royals 6-5, the Astros thrashed the Marlins 12-5, the Athletics crushed the Cardinals 8-0, the Reds routed the Guardians 7-2, the Phillies battered the Blue Jays 9-4 and the Padres overcame the Orioles 5-2.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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