Bats limited as Rockies drop series finale vs. D-backs

PHOENIX -- The Rockies' anemic road offense cost them again on Saturday.

After scoring two runs in each of their first two games against the D-backs, they again tallied only two in the rubber game of their three-game series against Arizona, falling, 6-2, and dropping their third straight series to the D-backs.

For the second straight day, the early and middle innings played host to a pitchers' duel. But unlike on Saturday, the Rockies were on the wrong side of it.

D-backs starter Chase Anderson (8-6) recovered from a pair of bad outings and held the Rockies to only one run over six innings while matching a career high with eight strikeouts.

"Today, he was throwing that fastball just a little bit at the top of the zone," catcher Jackson Williams said. "It was kind of popping out of his hand, riding a little bit. He was sneaking it past guys.

"But he's got that good fastball-changeup mix … and he did a good job keeping us off-balance."

Anderson said he had a little extra velocity on his pitches due to extra rest, which helped him move to 3-0 against the Rockies in his short Major League career.

"My pitches play good for those guys," he said. "I'm able to kind of pound the strike zone, get outs early in the count and I've just had good success against those guys."

But the Rockies' starter, Jorge De La Rosa (13-10), kept his team in the game for nearly the entire time he was pitching.

De La Rosa gave up two runs through the first six innings as his offense narrowed the deficit to one thanks to the second Charlie Blackmon home run in as many days.

"Jorge did a good job," manager Walt Weiss said. "I was hoping to get through … the first two guys of the inning without scoring."

But De La Rosa couldn't deliver.

He started the [seventh] inning with a walk to Didi Gregorius before surrendering a two-run homer to the newest D-back, pinch-hitter Nolan Reimold.

"You get late in the game and it's a close game, your guy hits a two-run homer to put some distance between you and them, it's tougher," Weiss said.

And unlike the Rockies, the D-backs put a rally together, scoring two more runs in the inning on an RBI double by Aaron Hill, who advanced to third on an error, and a run-scoring single by Mark Trumbo.

The Rockies did show some late life, but it was far too little and far too late.

Against rookie reliever Matt Stites in the ninth, Brandon Barnes doubled after a Corey Dickerson walk, and Charlie Culberson drove him in on a sacrifice fly that could have been extra bases if not for an Ender Inciarte diving catch.

The late attempt at a rally forced the D-backs to get their closer, Addison Reed, up in the bullpen, but Stites settled down to get a game-ending groundout.

"Obviously, it's a big blow with the four-run inning that they put up," Williams said. It's easy for you to just roll over and say, 'There's another loss in the L column.' But we did a great job coming back."