DENVER -- Elias Díaz had been the Rockies’ forgotten catcher until he turned in a memorable Saturday night at Coors Field.

Díaz had not played since last Saturday. In the last five games he did play, he went 0-for-14 with one walk, so drawing a walk in his first plate appearance against the Phillies’ Aaron Nola and delivering a single in his second were enough to send him home at least a little happy. But Díaz’s three impact throws -- despite the 7-5 loss that ended the Rockies’ season-best win streak at three games -- may have earned him further good graces.

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“He’s going to hit better than what it shows statistically, and I thought he had a good game behind the plate,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “He made some really good plays.”

With two on and no outs in the sixth against rusty reliever Jhoulys Chacín (pitching for the first time in 11 days), Díaz pounced on Nola’s bunt and threw out lead runner Nick Maton at third. Then he erased one of baseball’s fastest runners, Roman Quinn, on a steal attempt at third.

Díaz finished his impactful defensive night, and ended the Phillies eighth, with a pickoff throw to first to retire Rhys Hoskins, who had homered twice.

But Díaz could do nothing about what happened in between. Chacín served up Hoskins’ three-run homer, which broke a tie in the sixth and put the Phillies ahead for good.

Still, the Rockies need to have a productive Díaz, a right-handed hitter who pairs with left-handed-hitting rookie Dom Nuñez, who struck out against Héctor Neris in the ninth after Garrett Hampson’s one-out double. For both, it’s their first opportunity for extended Major League playing time.

The team has struggled for offensive production at the position in recent years, but both have tools to be good hitters. Neither have hit for average. Díaz is at .100 in his limited playing time, and Nuñez is at .205, although he has four home runs.

But defense is a place for impact.

Díaz signed with the Rockies before last season, but didn’t break in for regular playing time until September. His home runs were the only two from the position during the shortened 2020. While not appearing in games, Díaz worked with bench coach/catching instructor Mike Redmond to shorten his throwing motion. The more efficient stroke and above-average arm strength came into play when he nabbed Quinn.

Of course Quinn -- and, by proxy, onetime Rockies catcher Joe Girardi, the Phillies’ manager -- would test Díaz.

"I have a percentage in my mind where I feel it’s worth the risk, right?” Girardi said. “I’m going to take my chances with Roman. He’s been thrown out twice this year. One time he came off the bag, but [it was a] perfectly executed throw by the catcher. If it’s not perfect, I think he’s safe.”

Third baseman Ryan McMahon, who knocked his team-leading seventh homer and made a diving defensive play, said he and Díaz anticipated Quinn’s move and it paid off. McMahon caught the ball close to the bag and essentially blocked Quinn’s right hand from the base with his glove.

“When a guy like that is out there, you’re always expecting him to go,” McMahon said. “That’s his game and that’s what he’s going to do when he’s the lead runner. We were both ready for it.”

Díaz also made a strong throw to prevent Quinn from stealing a hit with a fourth-inning bunt.