PHOENIX — Corbin Carroll made Arizona Diamondbacks history Wednesday afternoon at Chase Field, but the milestone wasn't enough to deliver a series victory.

Carroll blasted the 100th home run of his Major League career in the eighth inning as the Diamondbacks attempted to erase an early deficit, but the Colorado Rockies held on for a 6-4 victory in the rubber match of their three-game series.
Arizona finished with 11 hits and consistently put runners on base, but the Diamondbacks stranded 15 runners in a game filled with missed opportunities. Colorado, meanwhile, did its biggest damage early, scoring four runs in the second inning and another two in the fourth.

The loss dropped Arizona to 64-58 while Colorado improved to 48-73.

Ryan Feltner earned the victory for Colorado to improve to 5-6, while Merrill Kelly fell to 8-10. Jordan Romano worked the ninth inning for his 12th save.

The game lasted three hours and one minute in front of 17,168 fans at Chase Field.

Diamondbacks Strike First Behind Carroll and Marte

Arizona couldn't have asked for a much better start.

After Geraldo Perdomo grounded out to open the bottom of the first inning, Carroll drove a ball into right field for a triple, immediately putting the Diamondbacks in scoring position.

Gabriel Moreno followed with an infield single before Ketel Marte delivered an RBI single to right, bringing Carroll home and giving Arizona a 1-0 lead.

The inning ended when Lars Nootbaar grounded into a double play, preventing the Diamondbacks from adding to the early advantage.

That missed opportunity became more significant almost immediately.

Rockies Erupt for Four Runs in Second

Colorado flipped the game in the top of the second.

Hunter Goodman drew a leadoff walk and Mickey Moniak singled to right before Willi Castro drove Goodman home with an RBI single to center, tying the game at 1-1.

Kelly appeared close to escaping further damage after Zac Veen flied out and Connor Norby lined out, but Brett Sullivan changed the complexion of the afternoon with two outs.

Sullivan drove a ball off the right-field foul pole for a three-run home run, his fifth homer of the season.

Suddenly, Arizona's 1-0 advantage had turned into a 4-1 Colorado lead.

It was the beginning of a difficult afternoon for Kelly, who entered the game with an extensive track record of success against the Rockies. Pregame reports noted Kelly had posted a 3.08 ERA over his previous 18 starts against Colorado.
This time, the Rockies found a way to get to him.

Zac Veen Goes Swimming at Chase Field

Colorado added another major blow in the fourth.

Castro drew a leadoff walk before Veen stepped to the plate and launched his first home run of the season into the swimming pool beyond the right-center-field wall.

The two-run blast stretched Colorado's advantage to 6-1 and put Arizona in a five-run hole.

The Diamondbacks had spent much of the afternoon generating baserunners but struggled to convert those opportunities into runs.

That theme continued throughout the game.

Gabriel Moreno Starts Arizona's Comeback Attempt

Arizona finally chipped away at the deficit in the fifth.

Perdomo collected his second single of the afternoon before Carroll fouled out to third. Perdomo alertly tagged and advanced to second on the play.

Moreno then ripped his 23rd double of the season down the left-field line, scoring Perdomo and cutting Colorado's lead to 6-2.

Marte walked and Nootbaar followed with another walk, loading the bases for Nolan Arenado.

It represented one of Arizona's best opportunities to completely change the game.

Arenado, however, grounded softly to shortstop, ending the inning with the bases loaded.

It wouldn't be the last time Arizona left the bases full.

Diamondbacks Leave Bases Loaded Again

Arizona created another golden opportunity in the sixth.

Max Kepler opened the inning with a single. After Tim Tawa grounded into a force play, Ryan Waldschmidt walked.

Perdomo flied out before Carroll drew another walk, loading the bases for Moreno.

Colorado responded by bringing Juan Mejia out of the bullpen.

Mejia won the matchup, striking Moreno out looking and leaving three more Diamondbacks stranded.

Arizona had traffic everywhere.

The breakthrough hit simply wasn't coming.

Arizona Pushes Another Run Across in Seventh

The Diamondbacks continued applying pressure in the seventh.

Marte walked and advanced to second on a passed ball before Nootbaar also drew a walk.

Colorado turned to Jimmy Herget, but Arenado worked another walk to load the bases with nobody out.

It was another opportunity for Arizona to potentially erase the deficit in one swing.

Kepler popped out to left for the first out.

Ildemaro Vargas then pinch-hit for Tawa and drew a bases-loaded walk, forcing Marte home and trimming Colorado's advantage to 6-3.

But once again, the Diamondbacks couldn't capitalize further.

Waldschmidt grounded into an inning-ending double play, allowing Colorado to escape with its three-run advantage intact.

For Arizona, it was becoming a game defined as much by the runners left standing on base as the runs crossing home plate.

Then Carroll stepped to the plate in the eighth.

Corbin Carroll Launches Career Home Run No. 100

With one out in the bottom of the eighth, Carroll delivered the biggest moment of the afternoon.

Facing Colorado left-hander Brennan Bernardino, Carroll drove the ball over the left-field wall for his 18th home run of the season.

More importantly, it was home run No. 100 of Carroll's Major League career.

The blast pulled Arizona within 6-4 and added another remarkable achievement to Carroll's growing résumé.

According to the milestone announced during the game, Carroll became the third-fastest player in MLB history to reach at least 100 career home runs and 50 career triples.

Carroll had already homered in Tuesday night's game, giving him home runs on consecutive days against Colorado.

Tuesday's shot was his 17th of the season.

Wednesday's homer was much bigger historically.

The Diamondbacks weren't finished.

Marte followed with a single to center before Tyler Locklear, pinch-hitting for Nootbaar, added another single and moved Marte to second.

Once again, Arizona had the tying run aboard.

Once again, the Rockies escaped.

Arenado grounded out to third, ending the inning and leaving Arizona trailing 6-4.

Arizona Bullpen Keeps the Game Within Reach

Although Colorado's offense did enough damage against Kelly to build a 6-1 advantage, Arizona's bullpen gave the offense every opportunity to come back.

Gerardo Carrillo entered in the sixth and worked out of a bases-loaded situation without allowing a run.

Colorado managed a double from Ezequiel Tovar in the eighth but again failed to score.

Brandyn Garcia then worked a clean ninth inning, retiring Jake McCarthy and Cole Carrigg on ground balls before striking out TJ Rumfield.

The Diamondbacks bullpen kept Colorado scoreless over the final five innings.

Arizona simply couldn't finish the comeback.

Jordan Romano Closes the Door

Colorado handed the baseball to Romano in the bottom of the ninth with a two-run lead.

Kepler grounded out to second, followed by another groundout from Vargas.

Waldschmidt kept Arizona alive by drawing a two-out walk and advanced to second on defensive indifference.

That brought Perdomo to the plate representing the tying run.

Perdomo made solid contact, but his line drive went directly to first base for the final out.

Colorado had survived.

Rockies 6, Diamondbacks 4.

Fifteen Runners Left on Base Haunt Arizona

The final box score tells much of the story.

Colorado scored six runs on eight hits while leaving six runners aboard.

Arizona had four runs despite collecting 11 hits.

The difference was what happened when runners reached base.

The Diamondbacks stranded 15 runners, repeatedly creating opportunities to climb back into the game without producing the decisive hit.

Arizona loaded the bases in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings but managed only one run from those situations.

Even in the eighth, after Carroll's historic homer cut the deficit to two, Arizona put two more runners aboard before Colorado escaped again.

The Diamondbacks had opportunities.

Lots of them.

Colorado simply capitalized on its biggest opportunities more effectively.

Sullivan's three-run homer in the second and Veen's two-run shot in the fourth accounted for five of the Rockies' six runs.

Arizona's 11 hits produced only four.

That ultimately decided the rubber match.

Rockies Take the Series at Chase Field

The loss was especially frustrating considering how the series began.

Arizona opened the three-game set with a dominant 9-0 victory Monday behind an offense that struck quickly,

including a first-inning grand slam from Arenado.

Colorado responded Tuesday with a 3-2 victory to even the series. Carroll and Marte provided Arizona's offense with first-inning solo home runs, but the Rockies rallied later in the game to force Wednesday's rubber match.

Arizona again scored first Wednesday.

This time, Colorado responded with six unanswered runs and never surrendered the lead.

The Rockies leave Phoenix having taken two of three from the Diamondbacks.

Diamondbacks Hit the Road

Arizona now turns its attention toward a six-game, two-city road trip.

The Diamondbacks will play three games in Atlanta before heading north for three games against the Boston Red Sox.

They return to Chase Field on August 21 to begin a series against Cincinnati.

For Arizona, the road trip arrives after a frustrating afternoon in which the offense generated plenty of traffic but couldn't turn enough of it into runs.

Still, Wednesday will be remembered for one of the biggest milestones of Carroll's career.

One hundred home runs.

Fifty-plus triples.

And another place in Major League Baseball history.

The Diamondbacks just wish it had come with a victory.

Sports Media X Final Take

Arizona didn't lose this game because it couldn't create offense.

The Diamondbacks lost because they couldn't finish opportunities.

Eleven hits and 15 runners left on base tell the story. Arizona loaded the bases three consecutive innings and consistently put Colorado's bullpen under pressure, yet the Rockies continued finding ways out of trouble.

Colorado's offense followed a very different formula.

When the Rockies had their chances, they delivered two devastating swings. Sullivan's three-run shot changed the game in the second, and Veen's two-run pool shot created the separation Colorado ultimately needed.

For the Diamondbacks, Carroll's 100th career home run provides a historic highlight from an otherwise disappointing afternoon.

Arizona now has to quickly turn the page.

​Atlanta and Boston are waiting.

Past Diamondbacks Articles:
Carroll, Marte Homer but Diamondbacks Fall 3-2 to Rockies  
Nolan Arenado’s Grand Slam Powers D-backs to 9-0 Win 

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