Peralta, Greinke carry D-backs past Rox

July 2nd, 2017

PHOENIX -- Coming off a three-game losing streak in which big hits seemed to elude them, the D-backs bounced back with a 6-2 win over the Rockies at Chase Field on Saturday night. Backed by a cluster of D-backs' extra-base hits, Zack Greinke struck out eight and held Colorado to three hits over seven innings.
led the way with two RBIs and two doubles as Arizona racked up seven extra-base hits. The D-backs are 28-10 this season in games in which they scored first and 39-3 in games in which they led after six innings.

"I thought we had a really nice approach," Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. "When you slug the ball that way, I feel like we're waiting for our pitch and not missing it. That's one of the characteristics of this team. There were a number of well-hit balls, but there were also some hustle doubles and hustle extra-base hits and that's what this team does every single night."
Colorado's lone big hit came on a seventh-inning, two-run homer from that floated over the left-field fence. Statcast™ predicted the hit probability of the homer at just 16 percent. It was the fourth homer Story has hit off Greinke in 19 career at-bats.
Greinke improves to 8-0 at Chase Field
"That was as good as I've seen him until the base hit by Nolan [Arenado] -- Nolan sort of ambushed him on the first pitch, then Trevor got to 3-2," Rockies manager Bud Black said. "Trevor kept his hands back, and he got the bat head out."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Greinke escapes, then cruises: The Rockies threatened to throw a run on the board early when reached on an infield single in the third, and then advanced on a wild pitch. But Greinke retired the Rockies in order from that point on and didn't allow another batter to reach base until the seventh inning.
"They would make a good pitch on us and get us out or we wouldn't make a good pitch on them or we wouldn't get that hit when we needed it," said Rockies leadoff hitter Charlie Blackmon, whose grounder ended the third.
Mathis ignites big inning: After Story cut Arizona's lead to 3-2 with a two-run homer in the sixth, the D-backs bounced back immediately to make sure Greinke's quality start didn't go to waste. After the first of two Rockies errors in the inning, Jeff Mathis lined a triple to center to score Rey Fuentes and put the D-backs back up by two. Tauchman later dropped a fly ball in left field that allowed another run to score. More >>
"I was just trying to be ready to hit," Mathis said. "I know with Chatwood, everything was hard. He got me with the slider the at-bat before, so I had that in the back of my mind and got one that I could drive."

GETTING IT BACK TOGETHER
Descalso's first-inning leadoff triple was among the hardest-hit balls of the evening against Chatwood, who struck out six against three walks. It was a bounce-back from the eight-walk, 3 1/3-inning mess in a loss to the Dodgers in his last start. The Goldschmidt triple eluded right fielder along the wall. Blackmon leaped for Mathis' triple, only to see the ball bounce at the base of the center-field wall.
"I felt like I threw the ball good," said Chatwood, charged with six runs (four earned). "I don't feel like my line reflected how I pitched, but that's going to happen sometimes."

WHAT'S NEXT
Rockies:
What has been a difficult National League West road trip will end Sunday at 2:10 p.m. MT, with righty (5-4, 4.38 ERA) starting the finale of three against the D-backs at Chase Field.
D-backs: Arizona will close out its 10-game homestand with , who gave up three earned runs in a no-decision last time out against St. Louis on June 27, on the mound on Sunday. Arizona is 15-10 in series finales this season.
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