DENVER -- The thing about playing a road series at Coors Field is, it can be tricky.
Given the altitude and the enormous outfield, a four-game set in Colorado can perhaps even be considered a “trap” series for teams in contention or, like the D-backs, teams trying to get back into contention.
Even with the Rockies being more than 50 games below .500, anything can -- and often does -- happen at Coors.
And it did on Saturday night, when the D-backs absorbed a brutal 10-7 loss against Colorado. With Arizona leading by five runs in the seventh inning, the Rockies rallied for two in the seventh and six in the eighth, dealing the D-backs a major blow in their pursuit of the postseason.
It was Arizona’s second consecutive loss to the team with the worst record in the Majors after the D-backs won nine of their previous 12 to climb within 4 1/2 games of the final National League Wild Card spot. They missed a golden opportunity to cut that deficit to 3 1/2 games by losing on Friday, and then dropped to 5 1/2 games back with Saturday’s defeat.
There’s a lot of baseball left to be played in 2025. But these two losses hurt for a club that caught fire after selling at the Trade Deadline.
You have to move on. But it’s got to be tough to put these two nights behind you, doesn’t it?
“A little bit, a little bit,” said manager Torey Lovullo. “We’re not gonna climb back into this race in one series at Coors Field. We know that. But I want us to play good baseball, and when we’re playing good baseball, we’re gonna win games and close teams out like we should have here.”
For the second straight night, Arizona got a solid outing from its starter. While it was the lineup that couldn’t support Brandon Pfaadt’s six innings on Friday, that wasn’t an issue on Saturday -- catcher Adrian Del Castillo delivered an RBI double and a two-run homer and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. singled twice with three RBIs.
This time, it was the bullpen that couldn’t hold the lead for Ryne Nelson.
Nelson went 6 1/3 innings and was charged with four runs on eight hits. He didn’t walk a batter and he struck out four. With one out in the seventh, he gave way to a D-backs relief corps that had been much better of late after a rough first half.
Kyle Backhus was summoned from the bullpen and finished the seventh after giving up an RBI triple to Ryan Ritter and an RBI groundout by Tyler Freeman. But in the eighth, Andrew Hoffmann -- acquired in the deal that sent Randal Grichuk to the Royals -- relinquished what was then a 7-4 advantage.
Brenton Doyle drove a two-run double off the wall in right field, and that was followed by a Kyle Farmer single that brought in two more to put the Rockies ahead.
Then came the exclamation point -- a two-run homer to left by Freeman that traveled a projected 434 feet.
“Hoffmann has been throwing the ball really good for us,” Lovullo said. “I thought when we talked about it pregame with [bench coach Jeff Banister] and the pitching coaches, that was his stack of hitters right there. We felt very comfortable [with him] facing that group of right-handed hitters.
“He just ended up walking some batters. I think that’s ultimately what hurt him.”
The D-backs now look to salvage a series split on Sunday. It will be a test of their ability to wipe a pair of forgettable games from their minds.
At this time two years ago, the D-backs came to Colorado 3 1/2 games back of a Wild Card spot. They ended up winning the pennant.
They’ve climbed a similar mountain before. But as they leave the Rocky Mountains after Sunday’s finale, getting to the pinnacle will be tougher this time.
“Yeah, this one stinks,” Lovullo said. “But we’ve taken on these types of losses before, and the only thing we can do is regroup and win a baseball game tomorrow. That’s all I’m going to focus on. We’re going to make sure that the messages are sent with the coaches:
“‘Digest it, edit your day, go to sleep and be ready to play some baseball tomorrow.’”