DENVER -- Since dropping back-to-back home series against the Rangers and Marlins, the Diamondbacks do not hold their postseason fate in their own hands. Even if they win the rest of their games, it won’t matter unless the teams ahead of them lose.
Manager Torey Lovullo urged his team to control only what they could control -- winning games.
The Diamondbacks held up their end of the bargain Tuesday night as they beat the Rockies, 7-2, at Coors Field.
The Phillies also won, while the Cubs and Padres lost, which means the Diamondbacks trail all three of those teams by four games with five to play in the race for a National League Wild Card spot.
"All we can take care of is our business here in Colorado," Lovullo said. "I think when we left this clubhouse [before the game] that [Phillies] score was tied at three, and then I thought the guys did a good job of focusing. Then at some point, about the third or fourth, I looked up and saw the final score was 6-4. I know the rest of the guys were looking at it. We just have to take care of our business today. That's all we can do. Unfortunately, things are out of our hands, but we've got life. We've got a heartbeat. We don't have an 'E' next to our name, and I just tell these guys to go out and play focused baseball and see where it takes us."
Michael Soroka continued his outstanding season for the Diamondbacks, tossing seven innings and allowing just a pair of hits and one earned run.
Pitching in the elevation of Coors Field can be a challenge for pitchers, but in two starts here this year, Soroka has allowed three earned runs in 12 2/3 innings. His ability to pitch at altitude, he said, likely is a result of growing up in Calgary, which, while not as high as Denver, is still up there.
"I think the feel is pretty normal for me," Soroka said. "[Catcher Gabriel Moreno] called a great game today. Him and I had a great conversation in the dugout after each inning as to what was kind of holding up, what was sinking, what was working. That's kind of what you have to do here sometimes, especially when the wind's blowing like it was -- just take what you're getting, and well, we did that very well."
Soroka was one player who didn't look over at the out-of-town scoreboard.
"I wasn't," Soroka said. "The only thing that mattered for me tonight was what we were doing. While I'm out there the only thing that mattered was us."
Soroka was signed as a free agent during last year's Winter Meetings, and at the time it received scant attention, but it has proven to be one of the big reasons the Diamondbacks are still in the postseason hunt.
"He's been very consistent," Lovullo said. "He's been very dependable. We know that he's battled a couple of injuries, and I would say it's a very hardworking mentality. Once he takes the mound and starts to attack, he's got really good stuff that's going to allow him to go into different quadrants of the strike zone with different types of pitches, and that's a credit to his arsenal and the hard work he puts in."
Meanwhile, the Diamondbacks offense jumped on Kyle Freeland for three runs in the first and continued to tack on as the game went along. Former Colorado third baseman Nolan Arenado had a big night in his return to Denver, going 3-for-5 while finishing a triple shy of the cycle.
Arenado admitted to checking out the scoreboard, but was able to still focus on the task at hand.
"It's easy," he said. "We got a job to do. We know that, but you know it's kind of fun looking over there [at the scoreboard]. You know it's not fun when we see the teams that are winning that shouldn't be. But you know besides that, we're human. We're trying to compete, and like I said, it's easy to focus on our job and take care of business."