Corbin Carroll homers twice off Austin Gomber as Rockies lose series finale 9-4 to Diamondbacks

DENVER — Before the Rockies’ relievers could even settle into their seats beyond the right-field wall, Corbin Carroll jolted them awake.

Carroll’s 438-foot blast on Austin Gomber’s seventh pitch Wednesday ricocheted off the second-deck facade and landed in the home bullpen, setting the tone for Gomber’s disappointing start, the bullpen’s long afternoon and the Rockies’ 9-4 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

“Threw a lot of stuff in the middle of the plate,” Gomber said. “The scouting report is most definitely not: ‘Throw stuff in the middle of the plate.’ I’ve done a really good job of that for I feel like the better part of two months now, and today that wasn’t the case.”

Arizona (84-68) avoided what would have been a devastating sweep in the heat of the National League wild-card race, but the Rockies (59-94) will still fly to Los Angeles with three series wins in their last four against formidable competition. They’re off Thursday before starting a weekend set at Dodger Stadium — their last road series of the season.

That means a necessary breather for a bullpen that was asked to carry Colorado across the finish line for 21 outs in a sleepy Coors Field matinee. Through two innings, Carroll had two home runs and the Rockies had zero baserunners. Gomber’s streak of six consecutive starts pitching six or more innings was over. He allowed six runs (five earned), six hits and three homers in the losing decision.

“Too many pitches up, and just from my eye, his stuff was just not crisp,” manager Bud Black said.

But his supporting cast answered the early call with impressive, if meaningless, fortitude. Jeff Criswell, Victor Vodnik and Anthony Molina strung together six scoreless frames, before Tyler Kinley gave up three in garbage time. By then, the week-day crowd was emitting more decibels for out-of-play pop-ups than for anything happening on the diamond.

Five innings had passed since the snoozefest’s only thrilling moment: Rockies left fielder Sam Hilliard unleashing a pinpoint throw — no margin for error, no hops — to nab Pavin Smith at the plate on an Arizona single. Catcher Hunter Goodman didn’t even need to move his glove to apply the tag.

“Sam has reemerged and really put together a pretty nice year,” Black said. “Good throw today. Some big swings with the bat for us the last few weeks. … Every player wants to, when they get an opportunity, to still prove to the baseball world that they’re a player, and that’s where Sam is right now. So it’s really good to see.”

Out-lasting Gomber on the mound was Eduardo Rodriguez, who delivered his longest start of the season. He pitched into the seventh and struck out 11, also a season-high for the lefty.

“All the young guys (in the bullpen) are doing a fantastic job,” Gomber said, “so it’s just frustrating to not give us a chance early.”

Shortstop Ezequiel Tovar drove in two runs with a third-inning single, bringing him to 72 RBIs on the season. But an inning that gave off strong hints of a dramatic comeback soon amounted to nothing. Michael Toglia struck out swinging to strand men at second and third, and the Rockies couldn’t move another runner into scoring position until the ninth.

As an overall successful home stand wraps up, they’re four wins away from avoiding consecutive 100-loss seasons with nine games to go. Six of those, however, are against the Dodgers, a team that might still have something to play for when they visit Coors for the final weekend.

“I think with the exception of the start today, the pitching’s been pretty solid (recently),” Black said. “Especially out of the bullpen. … I think our defense has been solid. We’ve gotten some timely hitting. We still have to hit a little bit more. Our offense is not where it needs to be moving forward, but collectively I think the pitching staff has sorta hung in there, and we’ve had some guys still swinging the bat.”

Brenton Doyle knee injury

Rockies center fielder Brenton Doyle didn’t appear in the on-deck circle for a would-be plate appearance in the ninth inning after aggravating his left knee on a sliding catch.

“The knee was a little sore after that catch, so we’ll evaluate it right now, and then we’ll get to Los Angeles and see about Friday night,” Black said. “But he’s been battling that knee all year. There’s been a couple times when I haven’t put him in the lineup because of the knee. So we’ll see how it is.”

Doyle has put together an encouraging second season in the majors, batting .262 with 22 homers and 29 stolen bases.

“He plays hard, and he’s a little bit banged up, but that’s part of playing 162 and being an everyday player,” Black said. “Hopefully just some treatment here after the game, and then the day off tomorrow and then more treatment Friday afternoon.”

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