Diamondbacks 6 - 4 Rockies
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Sep 1, 2015 - 6:29 AM While star Paul Goldschmidt attracts most of the attention, A.J. Pollock has blossomed into one of the NL's top offensive forces for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Pollock will try to stay hot away from home as Arizona looks to bounce back from a humbling series-opening defeat in Tuesday's doubleheader against the Colorado Rockies.

Goldschmidt leads the NL in RBIs (96) and ranks among the league leaders in average (.325) and home runs (26). With Pollock right behind him at a career-best .320, the Diamondbacks are the only club with two players in the league's top four in batting.

Pollock is hitting .422 with 10 RBIs in his last 15 road games and he's 11 for 25 with two home runs and three doubles in his last six at Coors Field. His two-run homer Monday put Arizona ahead in the third inning before closer Brad Ziegler failed to preserve a three-run lead in a 5-4 defeat.

''It was a win we felt like we should've had,'' Pollock said.

Since getting within five games of the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers on Aug. 23, the Diamondbacks (63-68) have dropped seven of eight to fall out of contention.

Patrick Corbin (3-3, 3.78 ERA) will pitch the opener Tuesday, when the teams will also play a makeup game from a May postponement. Aside from two starts in which he didn't make it past the second inning, the left-hander has posted a 2.70 ERA in his other eight outings.

Corbin has gone 4-0 with a 2.48 ERA in his last six starts against Colorado. In his season debut July 4, he gave up two runs over five innings in a 7-3 home win over the Rockies.

NL West-worst Colorado (53-76) seeks its first three-game winning streak since a four-game run July 9-12. Charlie Blackmon and DJ LeMahieu had three hits apiece Monday.

Ben Paulsen hit a walk-off, two-run single off Matt Reynolds to cap Colorado's four-run ninth.

''We've done that all year,'' Paulsen said. ''It almost seems like when the closers come in we kind of step our game up and everybody hones in. Our lineup is dangerous.''

Blackmon is batting .421 over a 10-game hitting streak at Coors, and he's hitting .442 with three home runs in 23 career home meetings against the Diamondbacks.

Yohan Flande (3-1, 4.09) is 2-0 with a 4.13 ERA in six starts since joining Colorado's rotation in late July. In his only start against the Diamondbacks, the left-hander gave up two runs over five innings in a 7-6 walk-off win last September.

Goldschmidt is still one walk away from setting a single-season franchise record with 101. David Peralta, 5 for 8 in his last two games, is batting .372 against the Rockies this season.

Colorado's Game 2 starter, Kyle Kendrick, is 2-5 with a 7.27 ERA in 10 outings at Coors. He had an 8.02 mark in a five-start stretch overall before missing August with right shoulder inflammation.

Kendrick (4-12, 6.43) hasn't fared much better against Arizona, posting a 6.37 ERA in 11 starts.

The Diamondbacks counter with Rubby De La Rosa. He had been 5-0 with a 2.54 ERA over a seven-start stretch before giving up five runs over five innings in Thursday's 5-3 loss to St. Louis.

The right-hander yielded one run over seven innings June 25 but did not factor in the decision of a 6-4 loss at Coors. He then surrendered six runs over five in a 6-4 home loss to the Rockies on July 5.

Carlos Gonzalez and Nolan Arenado have taken De La Rosa (11-6, 4.46) deep this season.






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