The National League West Division could be the one that goes down to the wire, as it remains to be a three-team race for the top spot. All three teams were in action on Saturday night, but it was the Colorado Rockies who came away with the most upside on this night. They pulled away for a 9-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals at home, as Matt Holliday hit his first home run since returning to the Rockies. The 448-foot blast took place in the seventh inning, which gave the Rockies a 1-0 lead at the time. Harrison Bader's RBI double in the top of the eighth tied the game at one-apiece.
The Rockies would then go on to score eight times in the eighth to break a 1-1 tie, as Carlos Gonzalez had the official go-ahead hit to help the Rockies snap the Cardinals' nine-game road winning streak. The "Red-birds" had also won four in a row and eight of 10 overall. Adam Ottavino did earn his sixth win after stranding two runners and striking out one.
The big inning for Colorado featured six straight hits against two different pitchers, as 14 batters came to the plate against four relievers in that frame. Nolan Arenado had two hits in that inning alone, as they moved five games over .500 on their home field this season.
What added to the Rockies' great night was the Arizona Diamondbacks falling in extra innings against the Seattle Mariners, 4-3. Denard Span hit the game-winning home run in to the pool in right-center field in the 10th inning, as the D-backs dropped in to a tie for first place with the Rockies.
Edwin Diaz had to work out of a jam in the bottom of the 10th inning to earn his 50th save of the season, becoming the 17th player in baseball history to reach that many saves in a year. Mitch Haniger went deep for a third straight game, while Kyle Seager forced extra innings in the ninth with a two-run double to score Andrew Romine and Jean Segura.
Jake Diekman suffered his first loss for the D-backs, who had a 3-1 lead heading in the final inning. A.J. Pollock's two-run single had been the difference before the M's late-inning heroics. Pollock reached again in the ninth, but was stranded by Mariners reliever Alex Colome, who earned his fifth win of the season.
Eduardo Escobar went deep in the loss for Arizona, who finished just 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position. The Diamondbacks are just three games over .500 at Chase Field this season, as they struggled to get Robbie Ray going in this start. Ray allowed a run over five hits in five innings, but he was forced to pitch in and out of jams. Wade LeBlanc struck out six over six innings in the start for Seattle.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are also well within the race in the NL West, and kept pace with the Rockies in gaining a game on Arizona. Justin Turner doubled home a run in the 12th inning to give Los Angeles a 5-4 walk-off win over the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium. The win helps them overcome the struggles of closer Kenley Jansen, as L.A. pulls to just 2.5 games out of first place.
Jansen continued to struggle since returning from the disabled list, giving up a game-tying home run to Austin Hedges in the ninth inning. That gave him his second blown save since returning from an irregular heartbeat issue. It was Robert Stock who gave up the game-winner to Turner after a 20-minute power outage during the frame. Stock suffered his first loss for San Diego, as they remain in the basement of the division.
Both Manny Machado and Max Muncy connected for their 30th home run of the season for the Dodgers, who are just a game over .500 at home. Machado's blast was a three-run shot in the first, while Muncy added a solo bomb in the seventh. Rookie Caleb Ferguson improved to 4-2 after throwing two innings of scoreless relief.
All three teams in the NL West race will be finishing up their weekend series with matinees on Sunday.
The Rockies would then go on to score eight times in the eighth to break a 1-1 tie, as Carlos Gonzalez had the official go-ahead hit to help the Rockies snap the Cardinals' nine-game road winning streak. The "Red-birds" had also won four in a row and eight of 10 overall. Adam Ottavino did earn his sixth win after stranding two runners and striking out one.
The big inning for Colorado featured six straight hits against two different pitchers, as 14 batters came to the plate against four relievers in that frame. Nolan Arenado had two hits in that inning alone, as they moved five games over .500 on their home field this season.
What added to the Rockies' great night was the Arizona Diamondbacks falling in extra innings against the Seattle Mariners, 4-3. Denard Span hit the game-winning home run in to the pool in right-center field in the 10th inning, as the D-backs dropped in to a tie for first place with the Rockies.
Edwin Diaz had to work out of a jam in the bottom of the 10th inning to earn his 50th save of the season, becoming the 17th player in baseball history to reach that many saves in a year. Mitch Haniger went deep for a third straight game, while Kyle Seager forced extra innings in the ninth with a two-run double to score Andrew Romine and Jean Segura.
Jake Diekman suffered his first loss for the D-backs, who had a 3-1 lead heading in the final inning. A.J. Pollock's two-run single had been the difference before the M's late-inning heroics. Pollock reached again in the ninth, but was stranded by Mariners reliever Alex Colome, who earned his fifth win of the season.
Eduardo Escobar went deep in the loss for Arizona, who finished just 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position. The Diamondbacks are just three games over .500 at Chase Field this season, as they struggled to get Robbie Ray going in this start. Ray allowed a run over five hits in five innings, but he was forced to pitch in and out of jams. Wade LeBlanc struck out six over six innings in the start for Seattle.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are also well within the race in the NL West, and kept pace with the Rockies in gaining a game on Arizona. Justin Turner doubled home a run in the 12th inning to give Los Angeles a 5-4 walk-off win over the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium. The win helps them overcome the struggles of closer Kenley Jansen, as L.A. pulls to just 2.5 games out of first place.
Jansen continued to struggle since returning from the disabled list, giving up a game-tying home run to Austin Hedges in the ninth inning. That gave him his second blown save since returning from an irregular heartbeat issue. It was Robert Stock who gave up the game-winner to Turner after a 20-minute power outage during the frame. Stock suffered his first loss for San Diego, as they remain in the basement of the division.
Both Manny Machado and Max Muncy connected for their 30th home run of the season for the Dodgers, who are just a game over .500 at home. Machado's blast was a three-run shot in the first, while Muncy added a solo bomb in the seventh. Rookie Caleb Ferguson improved to 4-2 after throwing two innings of scoreless relief.
All three teams in the NL West race will be finishing up their weekend series with matinees on Sunday.
