D-backs' quest for .500 remains elusive
DENVER -- The D-backs came tantalizingly close to reaching the elusive .500 mark Thursday before watching the Rockies rally for five runs in the eighth inning and deal them a 6-4 loss at Coors Field.
The D-backs last had a break-even record (8-8) on April 24 and since then they have been one game under .500 11 times and each time they lost their next game.
"We get back to that spot and we've let a couple slip away that we probably should have won and today is no exception," said right-hander Daniel Hudson, who was tagged with the loss. "It's one of those things where we're going to have to try to get the monkey off our back eventually and just go out there and win a game."
It seemed like they were going to do that this time as they built a 2-1 lead behind the pitching of starter Rubby De La Rosa, who departed after the seventh having thrown 92 pitches.
"I think he did a great job," D-backs manager Chip Hale said of De La Rosa. "He did a wonderful job. He was only at about 90 pitches, he just had a lot of stressful innings and in the altitude and the heat today it just felt like we had the game where we wanted it."
Even after the Rockies scored five runs in the eighth to take a 6-2 lead it still looked like the D-backs had a chance to get the win as they managed to bring the tying run to the plate in the ninth against closer John Axford.
"We had we some pretty good at-bats and we were able to push a couple [runs] across," D-backs first baseman Paul Goldschmidt said. "But Axford is a really good pitcher, a really good closer and he's been doing it for a while. He was able to make enough pitches to get out of there."
And as for theinability to get to the .500 mark again?
"Our goal isn't to be .500," Goldschmidt said. "So we may get there, but that's not where we want to be, we want to be above it and making a push for the playoffs. So it's not like we're [saying] gosh we've got to get to .500. I don't think anyone inside this clubhouse is thinking about it whatsoever."