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Hill's homer in 9th gives D'Backs win over Rockies

Oct 3, 2012 - 5:55 AM Phoenix, AZ (Sports Network) - Aaron Hill smacked a three-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Arizona Diamondbacks a dramatic 5-3 victory over the Colorado Rockies in the second test of a season- ending three-game series Tuesday at Chase Field.

Hill finished 3-for-5 and John McDonald had a pair of hits, including a two-run homer, to help Arizona halt a two-game slide and ensure the Diamondbacks (81-80) a second consecutive non-losing season heading into Wednesday's finale.

Brad Ziegler (6-1) picked up the win by pitching a scoreless top of the ninth in relief of David Hernandez, who surrendered a two-run double to Jordan Pacheco that had given the Rockies a 3-2 advantage entering Arizona's final at-bat.

Hill's blast came off Rafael Betancourt (1-4), with the Colorado closer blowing his seventh save of the season after allowing three hits in the ninth.

Pacheco finished 2-for-4 and Jhoulys Chacin yielded just three hits over five shutout innings for the Rockies, who had dropped three straight prior to a 7-5, 13-inning triumph in Monday's opener.

Patrick Corbin permitted only one run on six hits and struck out six in a sharp seven-inning stint for Arizona.

Betancourt came on to protect a one-run lead and retired two of the first three Diamondbacks' hitters, with McDonald reaching base via a single. However, Gerardo Parra delivered a base hit to set the stage for Hill, who launched the first pitch he saw into the left-field seats for his second career walk-off homer.

"It's a great feeling," said Hill. "Any time you can produce to help your team win, but especially in a situation like that. That's what you think about when you're a little kid when you're playing on the street."

The Rockies had held a 1-0 edge until McDonald hooked Guillermo Moscoso's offering just inside the foul pole in left in the seventh. The shortstop's sixth homer of the season brought home Jason Kubel, who led off Arizona's half of the inning with a double.

"I was just trying to put a good swing on it and he threw a strike," McDonald said. "I was trying to stay up the middle. I'm not a home run hitter, so fortunately I got that ball to carry a little bit for me."

The lead would be short-lived, however. Hernandez was greeted in the eighth by a Josh Rutledge single and Tyler Colvin doubled before Pacheco plated both runners by driving the first pitch he saw into the left-field corner to put Colorado up by a 3-2 count.

Corbin was touched for a run in the second, when singles by Andrew Brown and D.J. LeMahieu were followed by Charlie Blackmon's double-play grounder that gave Colorado a 1-0 lead, but the rookie permitted just two hits and an intentional walk over his final four innings of work.

Game Notes

Arizona's Paul Golschmidt had an 11-game hitting streak snapped after going 0- for-4 ... Colvin doubled twice in four at-bats to extend his career-high hitting streak to 10 games, in which he's batting .375 (14-for-40) ... Arizona has now won 10 of its last 13 meetings with the Rockies held at Chase Field.