• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Upton, Tracy power Diamondbacks over Rockies

Sep 27, 2008 - 6:13 AM PHOENIX (Ticker) -- Pinch hitter Chad Tracy lined a two-run double in the eighth inning to lead the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 6-4 triumph over the Colorado Rockies on Friday.

Arizona fell behind, 3-0, after Dan Haren allowed three runs in a rocky first inning. But a big effort by Justin Upton got the Diamondbacks back in the game.

Upton belted a solo home run in the fourth and added a two-run triple in the fifth to put Arizona in front, 4-3.

After Colorado tied the game at 4-4 in the seventh, Tracy stroked a two-out double into the left field corner off Jason Grilli (3-2) to put the Diamondbacks ahead for good.

"To be able to come in and seal the deal is great no matter where you are in the season," Tracy said. "He came back with a slider, which he left over the plate. In that situation you just try to get the bat on the ball and put it in play. For me it was a good night."

Haren allowed run-scoring doubles by Troy Tulowitzki and Brad Hawpe during a three-run first that staked Jason Hirsh to an early lead. But the righthander settled down, surrendering four runs, eight hits and a walk while striking out nine in seven innings.

"Overall I really felt good coming out of the bullpen," Haren said. "My stuff felt great but it was kind of a fluky first inning. I had a mental breakdown and one hard hit ball and three runs. Overall, I am happy the way I battled back and gave our team a chance to win."

After Upton got Arizona on the board in the fourth, Stephen Drew added a solo homer a frame later to cut the deficit to 3-2. David Eckstein followed with a double to chase Hirsh.

"Taking everything in consideration, the time in between starts, just a couple outings out of the bullpen I thought he battled and saw some improvement," Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said. "There are some things to work on. The volume of pitches isn't what you want, but I told him that he worked all year for this opportunity and we wanted to give him a chance to go out there."

Hirsh, who spent the season with Class AAA Colorado Springs, had not pitched since a start for the Sky Sox on August 29.

Conor Jackson singled off Matt Herges and, after Adam Dunn struck out, Upton plated two with his sixth triple of the season.

Hirsh lasted 4 1/3 innings, allowing three runs, five hits and two walks.

"I fell behind in a lot of counts threw a lot of pitches early and that is not a very efficient way to pitch," Hirsh said. "My arm felt fine I just fell behind early on a lot of guys. I got a little tired in the fifth. That is the most pitches I have thrown since Triple-A."

Haren was unable to hold the lead, however, giving up a one-out double by Clint Barmes in the seventh before pinch hitter Joe Koshansky's two-base hit knotted the game at 4-4.

"He had an exceptional year, especially in the beginning when he was kind of the hard luck guy. He could easily have a couple of more wins," Diamondbacks manager Bob Melvin said of Haren. "He comes as advertised, exactly what we thought we would get out of him if not a little more. Great clubhouse presence, on top of it he has had a good year for us."

Juan Cruz (4-0) pitched a scoreless eighth to notch the win and Chad Qualls retired the side in order in the ninth for his eighth save.