Michael Soroka did not need a perfect line to control Coors Field. He needed seven innings that refused to leak after the third, and the Arizona Diamondbacks left Denver with a 7-2 win that kept their wild-card math breathing.
ESPN's box score credited Soroka with seven innings, two hits, two runs (one earned), one walk and nine strikeouts on 93 pitches (61 strikes). He improved to 9-5 with a 3.31 ERA. Mickey Moniak's third-inning home run and a sacrifice fly accounted for Colorado's only damage. Soroka retired traffic with strikeouts and soft contact the rest of the night.
Nine strikeouts, one earned run
The Associated Press, via CBS Sports, noted that Soroka has allowed just four earned runs in 23 innings across four starts against the Rockies this season, with 23 strikeouts and six walks. Tuesday fit that pattern: early contact, then a long stretch of empty Colorado at-bats.
Juan Morillo worked a scoreless eighth with two strikeouts. Kevin Ginkel finished the ninth. Arizona's staff totaled 11 strikeouts and held Colorado to three hits.
Kyle Freeland absorbed the loss after three innings, nine hits and five earned runs. The Rockies fell to 57-100 - their fourth straight 100-loss season, the first franchise to do that since the 1962-65 Mets, according to the AP report. Attendance at Coors Field was listed at 19,324.
Offense stacks early, Arenado adds the stamp
Arizona scored three times in the first. Gabriel Moreno doubled home a run and finished with two RBIs. Geraldo Perdomo collected three hits and an RBI.
Tim Tawa drove in two with a ground-rule double and a sacrifice fly. Nolan Arenado went 3-for-5 with a double, his team-leading 28th home run and two runs scored, extending an on-base streak the AP put at 16 games. During that stretch, Arenado is batting .379 with seven homers and 14 RBIs, the AP reported.
