Three-homer 3rd inning powers D-backs to win

Goldschmidt goes deep twice, drives in three to continue recent hot streak

June 9th, 2018

DENVER -- As much as he tried not to get too down when he started the season in a rare two-month slump, D-backs first baseman is not about to claim that his hitting woes are behind him.
Even if the evidence suggests otherwise.
Goldschmidt smacked two home runs and the D-backs hit four overall -- including three in one inning -- as they rolled past the Rockies, 9-4, on Friday night at Coors Field.
"He's extremely hot," D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said of Goldschmidt. "It's just a product of a lot of hard work and fighting through those tough times knowing that he's going to come out the other end. He's right in the middle of a great run. It's good to see him back to what we know."
Goldschmidt, who was hitting .198 as recently as May 22, went 3-for-5 and had a double to go with three RBIs, raising his average to .241.

Over his last three games, he is 10-for-14 with five doubles and two homers.
"It feels good," Goldschmidt said. "It's nice to be able to contribute. For a lot of these games, I wasn't really doing much to help us win, so it's nice to be able to be part of the team now and hopefully just can keep it going."
Despite Goldschmidt's struggles, the D-backs got off to a 24-11 start before hitting a stretch in May in which they went 2-15. It was at that point when the slump really wore on Goldschmidt.
"Luckily, for the most part, we were playing well," he said. "But those three weeks where we were losing a lot was definitely tough. I think you also understand that it's part of the game. So just try to show up and do the same thing. Now [trying not to] get too excited because I get three hits, just like not getting too down on myself if I have three strikeouts. Just show up and prepare and work hard and try and go out there and perform."
Goldschmidt's first homer of the game was a two-run shot to get the third-inning barrage started.

followed with a homer just fair down the right-field line to push the Arizona lead to 4-1.
After Rockies starter  struck out for the first out of the inning, capped the scoring with a solo homer to right-center.

Marquez became the first Rockies pitcher to give up three homers in an inning since April 19, 2015 when the Dodgers did it against at Coors Field.
"It made me think that we're getting locked back in," Lovullo said of the three-homer inning. "It's been a long time coming where things were a little lean offensively, but we've had some guys step up, the offensive catalysts in our lineup stepped up today and they did a great job."
MOMENT THAT MATTERED
Stays in the yard: With the D-backs leading 5-1, the Rockies scored three runs in the fifth and had a runner on first with two outs when lifted a fly ball to right. backed all the way up to the warning track before hauling it in. Instead of it being a two-run homer and a Colorado lead, the rally was over and the Rockies didn't score again the rest of the night. Meanwhile, the D-backs were able to add four more runs.
"The ball takes off the home plate area and you watch him run out of the box, you watch the right fielder run to the baseball and you kind of hold your breath," Lovullo said. "I think we all took a collective big sigh of relief and got through the moment and added on [after], which was a big moment for us."
GREINKE WAS GOOD
D-backs starter Zack Greinke allowed four runs (three earned) on eight hits in lasting 5 2/3 innings, but Lovullo said the numbers don't tell the whole story on a night when the ball carried at Coors Field.

"It looked like he had really good stuff," Lovullo said. "He had a great game plan, he just ran his pitch count up in a couple of situations."
SOUND SMART
's double in the sixth inning was his ninth straight hit for extra bases. That is one shy of the club record, which has been done four times, the last by Chris Iannetta last year.
UP NEXT
Matt Koch gets the start for the D-backs on Saturday in the second game of the three-game set with the Rockies at Coors Field. Koch had one of his finest outings of the season in his last start, when he shut the Marlins out for seven innings. Koch has been especially good on the road this year, compiling a 2.38 ERA in a pair of starts away from Chase Field. He'll face , with first pitch scheduled for 4:15 p.m. MST.