Two innings snowball against Ray, bullpen
D-backs unable to slow Rockies' charge in 5th, 8th
DENVER -- Twice on Friday night things got rolling in the wrong direction for the D-backs, and both times they were unable to put a stop to it before the Rockies inflicted serious damage.
A six-run fifth inning and a seven-run eighth were the difference as the D-backs fell, 14-7, at Coors Field.
In the fifth, the Rockies were able to break through against Robbie Ray when the first five batters singled. Three of the hits were right back up the middle.
"I made some good pitches and they hit them," Ray said. "That hit that [Nick] Hundley had, I should have had it. It went right under my glove, and the same thing with [Cristhian] Adames, I was right there to make the play and I could have turned two there. It was just timely hitting on their part."
As the inning unfolded, D-backs manager Chip Hale watched from the dugout believing that Ray, who had pitched well to that point, was going to find a way out of it.
"That's one thing in this ballpark that we preach -- if you get guys on base you just have to worry about the hitter, get that out," Hale said. "He just couldn't put pitches together. He had two-strike counts, a couple of 0-2 counts and gave up some pretty well-hit balls. There were a couple of bloopers. I felt very confident that he could get out of that inning. I thought he could get through it and right the ship, but it just didn't happen tonight."
It was more of the same in the eighth, when reliever Enrique Burgos came on with the game tied 7-7 and immediately retired the first two batters.
Burgos (1-2) then hit Charlie Blackmon with a pitch, and the wheels seemed to come off as he allowed a walk, single, and back-to-back walks before being removed with two runs in and the bases loaded.
"Burgos couldn't put pitches together," Hale said. "It spun out of control and obviously got out of hand."
Silvino Bracho relieved Burgos and allowed a grand slam to Hundley and a solo homer to Daniel Descalso before finally ending the inning.
"Stuff happens," catcher Welington Castillo said. "[Burgos] can get anybody out, because his stuff is good."