DENVER -- Ian Desmond is finally hearing cheers at Coors Field, even before he induces them.
Desmond’s 11th-inning one-out double off the top of the right-field wall set up Raimel Tapia's game-winning RBI single in the Rockies' 4-3 victory over the D-backs on Monday, their third walk-off win in four days.
On Sunday, Desmond’s nine-pitch walk plated the tying run and set up Tony Wolters’ ninth-inning sacrifice fly in an 8-7 victory over the Orioles. And on Monday, even though Desmond struck out as a pinch-hitter in the ninth and couldn’t handle a 10th-inning fly ball that was ruled a leadoff triple for Jarrod Dyson, he felt the warmth of the fans as he came to the plate against Matt Andriese in the 11th.
It was a different sound than the one Desmond has heard too often. Since signing a five-year deal with the Rockies prior to the start of the 2017 season, offensive struggles and injuries have made him a target of fan frustration. But folks are catching on to the fact that Desmond’s quality of contact is better than his .232 average, and that his savvy within the clubhouse, and at times late in games, make a difference.
“It’s great,” Desmond said. “It’s fun to have the fans behind me. [Sunday] was the first time since I’ve been here where I really felt like, ‘Man, they believe.’”
The Rockies (25-27) have won five of their last seven games. While they still have a way to go to become true contenders in the National League West, there is time. And there is confidence. Desmond, who has been to the playoffs six of the past 10 seasons, believes this season -- despite a 3-12 start -- is building toward something special.
“We talked about this at the beginning of the year,” Desmond said. “This team has a lot of grit. We’re grinding. We were grinding at the beginning of the year and we talked about how that was going to benefit us down the stretch, and it’s benefiting us these last few games.”
There are obvious guys the Rockies are happy to see come up in key situations.
There’s Trevor Story, whose two-run homer in the ninth inning Friday night defeated the Orioles, 8-6. There’s, of course, Nolan Arenado, who tied Monday’s game with a two-run single in the seventh and almost won it with an opposite-way fly ball that reached the warning track to end the ninth. The team signed playoff-tested Daniel Murphy during the offseason. And don’t forget Charlie Blackmon, who has helped the recent offensive surge but is on the 10-day injured list with a right calf strain.
Manager Bud Black also considers Desmond as one of the difference-makers at important times.
“There’s an experience factor that goes into having poise and composure in big spots,” Black said. “We saw it [Sunday] in the at-bat with ‘Desi.’ We saw it with Nolan, the base hit to tie the game -- even the fly ball to right, that was a good at-bat.
“With ‘Desi,’ he’s under control. He’s composed. He had a good swing on the ball up out away from him against Andriese. With veteran players, you don’t have to worry about being rattled or being overtaken by the moment.”
Moment that mattered
After Desmond couldn’t haul in Dyson’s triple, right-hander Bryan Shaw induced three groundouts, working around a two-out walk to Eduardo Escobar to keep the game tied at 3. Shaw finished by forcing a weak grounder from the D-backs’ Christian Walker, who had stung the ball throughout a hitless day.
“Bryan had to make some pitches against that fellow,” Black said. “He kept his poise, kept his composure and made pitches.”
Three takeaways
The way he believes it should be: Not long ago, righty Jon Gray facing D-backs ace Zack Greinke would have been top headline material. But Gray’s 2018 struggles pushed him down a level in many minds. However, Gray, making his 100th career start, held the D-backs to two runs on five hits in 5 1/3 innings before being removed with a “hot spot” on his right middle finger.
“That’s the game I want to be in right there,” Gray said. “I thought we did pretty well, kept the team in the ballgame and sure enough, they pulled it out for us in the end.”
Gray owns a 4.52 ERA but for the most part, he has given the Rockies innings. Colorado has won six of his last eight starts.
Dahl over the wall: Through the first five games of the recent seven-game road trip, David Dahl was 1-for-19 with 11 strikeouts. But since then, he is 9-for-22, and his fourth-inning solo homer to center -- which snapped a career-long 66-at-bat stretch without a long ball -- was the Rockies’ only run in six innings against Greinke.
The approach is strong, even if the numbers aren’t: With Blackmon out of the lineup, Tapia is 4-for-19 as leadoff man. But the solid approach he showed on his walk-off single is what’s important.
“We see his at-bats, we see his swings, we hear our conversations with him,” Black said of Tapia, who also saved runs by ending the sixth with a diving catch on a Blake Swihart fly ball to left. “Our conversations prior to the game, during the game, after the game are all indicators of how he’s doing. And he’s doing fine.
“Even though the last couple of days he hasn’t had a lot of hits, there’s still an approach and there’s still a technique to his hitting that we’re fine with.”