PHOENIX -- Jon Gray wanted the weight of the struggling Rockies on his shoulders. Yes, he buckled, but he hardly crumbled in the 4-2 loss to the D-backs at Chase Field on Saturday night.

Gray faced traffic every inning but escaped with big pitches. He was in a 1-1 tie until Jake Lamb’s fly to left field bounced off the top of the wall and over for the two-run, sixth-inning homer that ended his night.

But the defeat sent the Rockies to their fifth straight loss, plunged them to .500 (44-44) and shoved them into a tie with the also-.500 D-backs (45-45) in the National League West with one game left before the All-Star break. After beginning the season 3-12, they reached a season-high six over .500 on June 24.

Gray (9-6) has been a bright spot of late in a starting rotation that struggled during the team’s last homestand, but he wasn’t interested in perspective. Gray gave up three runs in five innings -- not enough length and quality for him to honor some mitigating factors.

“Terrible, every way,” Gray said, angrily. “I don’t care about the big pitches. That didn’t really end up mattering in the end.

“I just don’t think I went with the right calls and I just don’t think I had good command today. I was battling myself. But I still think we gotta win that game. That can’t get lost.”

Maybe Gray could have been saved had leaping outfielder David Dahl snagged Lamb’s fly ball. The ball went just over his glove before striking the yellow line at the top of the wall and spinning over.

• Story adds to Oreo stash with 18th HR

Maybe he could have used more offensive help. The Rockies managed just five hits -- two of them bases-empty homers from Daniel Murphy and Trevor Story -- and struck out 12 times, eight in six innings against starter Robbie Ray. In their last 13 road games, the Rockies have batted .203 and struck out 147 times in 476 plate appearances (almost 31 percent of the time).

Maybe he could have taken heart in escaping having a runner at third with one out twice -- by forcing Ray into a double-play grounder in the third, and striking out Eduardo Escobar and Christian Walker in the fourth.

“He got out of some jams, which is outstanding,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “They put baserunners on every inning, stressed Jon and he wiggled out of it. That’s part of Jon’s growth this year -- keeping his poise, making some pitches. He made some big, big pitches to keep it a slow-scoring game through five innings.”

While Gray was still fuming in his hooded sweatshirt by his locker, catcher Tony Wolters was praising the effort and high standards.

“He’s hard on himself because he expects himself to be at the top,” Wolters said. “He’s a perfectionist, but one thing: Tomorrow he’s going to be out on the field, working, and he’s going to constantly keep trying to get better. That’s the most important thing for a pitcher.”

Two pitches galled him:

• With Gray one strike from ending the third inning with two on base, D-backs pitcher Ray -- 1-for-31 previously -- tapped a 97.8 mph Gray fastball down the left-field line for an RBI single to tie the game.

“Who thinks it’s a good idea to throw fastballs away to a pitcher, giving him a chance?” Gray said. “That’s the only pitch and the only place he has a chance to hit.”

• Lamb’s homer came with a full count and Gray pumping fastballs. Wolters noted that Lamb -- who dealt with injuries for a year, and homered for the first time since June 25, 2018 -- was “late on everything.” Gray said he should have changed the plan.

“That’s on me, again,” Gray said. “I’ve got to go with a different pitch. I showed him six fastballs in a row. So he’s probably going to get a bat on it.”

Gray entered with 111 strikeouts in 103 innings pitched, but managed just four against eight hits and two walks (one intentional) on Saturday. When the anger wears off, he’ll work toward improvement.

"They put a lot of good balls in play tonight in the right spots," he said. "Besides that, I’m going to shake it off and get back to doing what I do.”