Epic five run rally in the eighth helps Colorado avoid the sweep

DENVER – Poised to break out against Arizona ace Zack Greinke, it wouldn’t be until the eighth inning when the Rockies would do their most damage, scoring 5 runs against the DBacks bullpen – including a Raimel Tapia bases loaded triple – to pull ahead 8-7.

Trevor Story would lead the charge in the bottom of the eighth with a leadoff single off new reliever Archie Bradley. A spot of luck went the Rockies way when an errant throw from third baseman Eduardo Escobar allowed Story to arrive safely at second base with Daniel Murphy aboard at first.

Nolan Arenado followed that up with a single to the left side that loaded the bases for David Dahl as the winning the run.

Though Dahl would walk, scoring Story, the based would stay packed for Tapia; in their last matchup against one another, Tapia hit a grand slam against Bradley last year in Arizona.

Tapia drove the 96 mph fastball to left center 404 ft to triple that cleared the bases, tying the game at 7-7. Those of the remaining 40,262 in attendance more than made up with their excitement for the fans who departed when the DBacks took a four-run lead during the top of the frame.

Not to be satisfied with a tie ballgame, the Rockies would add one more with a Ryan McMahon RBI single to shortstop that was aided via Arizona’s shift on the young lefty.

Before any of this, Rockies’ starting pitcher German Márquez seemed poised to go deep into the ballgame and allow few baserunners, let alone a few runs against an opposing lineup that benched four of their regulars.

Other than a 1-2-3 to start the game, Márquez would give up a hit in each of his six innings of work and allow runs in three.

Colorado would take the first bite of the apple against Arizona ace Zack Greinke courtesy of Charlie Blackmon’s leadoff double in the first. He’d come around to score after tagging up on consecutive fly balls by Story and Murphy, the latter a sacrifice fly to right field warning track.

Staked to a 1-0 lead, Márquez would quickly surrender a solo homer to Arizona’s cleanup hitter Eduardo Escobar to start the second inning.

The DBacks would add two more runs an inning later off a Jarrod Dyson single, Ketel Marte walk, David Peralta double, and sacrifice fly from Escobar.

Greinke entered the game needing five strikeouts to tie Hall of Famer Don Drysdale for 37th all-time in the category. Though he’d fall short with just 3 K’s, he would retire nine straight at one point and limit the Rockies to moderate-to-weak contact for much of the game.

In the fifth, Colorado would bounce back with McMahon’s single to start the inning. Tony Wolters immediately followed up with a double to place two runners in scoring position with nobody out.

Márquez quite literally helped himself by singling back up the middle to score both baserunners, knotting the score a three apiece.

Again, the DBacks quickly responded against the 24-year-old from Venezuela.

Christian Walker singled and with one out in the sixth, Blake Swihart hit an 87 mph changeup 404 ft to right center field for a 2-run home run to put the out-of-towners ahead 5-3.

Carlos Estévez pitched a scoreless seventh, but Scott Oberg gave up two runs to lengthen Arizona’s lead in the eight, 7-3.

Then, six straight Rockies hitters avoided the out to score five runs in the bottom of the eighth marking just the second time in team history they’d come-from-behind when trailing by four or more runs during the final two frames. (August 17, 2014 against Cincinnati was the only other time.)

Closer Wade Davis came on to secure the game in the ninth for his fifth save of the season and avoid a three-game sweep at the hands of the rival Diamondbacks.

What’s Next

After Monday’s off day, Colorado welcomes San Francisco for a three-game set at Coors Field. Expected matchups:

Tuesday (6:40 pm) – Madison Bumgarner vs. Antonio Senzatela

Wednesday (6:40 pm) – Derek Holland vs. Jon Gray

Thursday (1:10 pm)- Dereck Rodriguez vs Kyle Freeland