Trumbo homers in fourth straight to back Miley's gem

DENVER -- The wounds were still fresh from the D-backs' seventh loss in eight games on Saturday night when Wade Miley told his teammates not to worry.

"I've got this," he said. "We'll win tomorrow."

Miley was a man of his word Sunday as he gave the bullpen a much-needed rest and his teammates a sorely needed boost with eight strong innings in a 5-3 win over the Rockies on a chilly afternoon at Coors Field.

"That's my mentality," Miley said. "I'm going to say that every time before I go out there. You have to think that way."

The win was just the second of the season for the D-backs, who have been desperate for not just a win, but for a starter to provide relief for the bullpen.

Miley (2-1) delivered on both accounts, allowing a pair of runs while also picking up a career-best three hits. The left-hander is now responsible for both of the team's wins.

"He takes the ball, and he's ready to go," second baseman Aaron Hill said. "He's a bulldog out there, he's got great stuff and he believes in it."

While the eight innings were more than any starter had thrown in a game this year, Miley was not content with that and wanted to go out for the ninth as well.

D-backs manager Kirk Gibson, however, decided he didn't want to push Miley this early in the season and instead went with closer Addison Reed.

"I tried to get back out there, but he's the manager," Miley said. "He makes the calls. Reed wanted to pitch, too."

While Miley was shutting down the Colorado offense, his teammates were capitalizing on their scoring opportunities.

In the third, A.J. Pollock and Hill singled to lead off the inning, and both came around to score when third baseman Nolan Arenado committed an error on Paul Goldschmidt's chopper down the line.

Miley helped himself in the fourth when his single to right scored Chris Owings, who had led off the inning with a double, to give Arizona a 3-0 lead.

"I'm just trying to help the team where I can," Miley said. "I just don't want to be an out up there. I was looking for something I could put in play, and a couple of them got through."

In the fifth, left fielder Mark Trumbo continued his torrid start to the season with a two-run homer down the left-field line to put the D-backs up, 5-0.

Trumbo, acquired from the Angels to provide power in the lineup, has done just that, hitting five home runs and driving in 13 runs through the first nine games of the season.

"He's played well for us," Gibson said. "He's a very formidable bat and a smart hitter."

It marked the fourth straight game that Trumbo had homered, tying a club record that had been accomplished four times previously. He now has 100 homers in his career.

The double-play ball was Miley's best friend as he got the Rockies to roll into four of them.

"He did a good job getting the double-play ball," Colorado manager Walt Weiss said. "He threw the ball well. Stayed out of trouble by throwing ground balls. He's got a good slider that he's throwing into the bottom of the zone. He's got a good angle on his fastball. That's how he gets the ground balls."

The ability to keep the ball down is crucial at Coors Field, where the ball flies in the thin mountain air.

It's a ballpark that can get in the minds of pitchers, but Miley is not one of them. He is now 7-0 in his career against the Rockies and 3-0 at Coors.

"I don't know," Miley said when asked why he's had so much success here. "My mentality is the same against these guys as it is against anyone else. I was just trying to keep the ball down. You know down is good against this team. They're an aggressive team. That's a really, really good lineup over there. You don't want to make mistakes to those guys. Fortunately, today they were hitting them on the ground, and our guys were there."

With eight innings from Miley and a day off Monday, the D-backs pitching staff should be well rested come Tuesday's series opener against the Giants in San Francisco.

"We know we're going to score runs, so we've just got to manage games," Miley said, referring to his fellow starters. "I think it will be better from here on out.