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Diamondbacks win eighth straight, top Rockies

Aug 31, 2011 - 5:53 AM Phoenix, AZ (Sports Network) - Justin Upton and Miguel Montero each homered and drove in three runs, powering the Arizona Diamondbacks to their season- high eighth straight win, a 9-4 decision over the Colorado Rockies.

Gerardo Parra had four hits, scored three runs and drove in two, while Aaron Hill went 3-for-4 with an RBI for NL West-leading Arizona, which has won 11 in a row at home to tie a franchise record. The second-place Giants lost to the Cubs on Tuesday, giving the D-Backs a six-game lead in the division.

"We have to stay [in first]. Something tells me we'll be tested. ... Hopefully we'll be prepared for that," Arizona manager Kirk Gibson said.

Wade Miley (2-1), in his third career start, scattered nine hits and two runs over six innings to earn the victory.

Aaron Cook (3-8) was tagged for six runs on seven hits in 4 1/3 innings for the Rockies, losers in four of their last five, including the first two in this three-game series.

Colorado got a solo home run from Dexter Fowler and three hits apiece from Carlos Gonzalez, Todd Helton, Kevin Kouzmanoff and Chris Iannetta.

"This isn't the first time when we've had a night were we scored four runs but had 13 base hits. We had a lot of opportunities but we stranded a lot of runners," Colorado manager Jim Tracy said.

Helton hit an RBI single in the first inning, but Arizona took the lead for good in the third when Parra tripled past Fowler in center to drive in two, then scored on an Upton groundout.

Iannetta brought Colorado within 3-2 on a run-scoring base hit in the fourth.

That was as close as the visitors got. With runners on the corners in the fifth, Montero found the seats in right for his 13th home run of the year.

Hill and Kouzmanoff traded RBI singles in the sixth and eighth innings, respectively, and Upton made it 9-3 in the latter frame with a two-run blast, his 26th longball of the year.

Fowler's first round-tripper of the season in the ninth accounted for the final margin.

Game Notes

Arizona's starting pitchers have allowed just five earned runs in 54 innings (0.83 earned run average) during the winning streak...Montero's homer was his 44th extra-base hit this season, setting an Arizona record for catchers...Arizona also won 11 straight at home from May 5-27, 2000 and June 7-July 9, 2003.