Diamondbacks 7, Rockies 2
DENVER _ Matt Davidson made his major league debut Aug. 15 and on Saturday night played his 25th game for the Arizona Diamondbacks. He is 22 and one of the club's better prospects, largely because of his power bat.
Davidson was taken out of the game in the seventh for defensive purposes, as Arizona manager Kirk Gibson sought to protect a four-run lead, mostly due to Davidson.
He hit a three-run home run that helped the Diamondbacks beat the Colorado Rockies 7-2. It was Davidson's second career homer, the other also coming against the Rockies on Sept. 15.
Davidson's home run came off starter Collin McHugh and highlighted a four-run third when the Diamondbacks extended their lead to 6-0.
Trevor Cahill (8-10) pitched 5 2/3 innings for the Diamondbacks, allowing seven hits and two runs, one earned, and departing after throwing 103 pitches. He left after Jonathan Herrera grounded a run-scoring single to left, cutting the Rockies' lead to 6-2. The hit put runners on first and second for Josh Collmenter, who struck out pinch hitter Ryan Wheeler.
Since coming off the disabled list Aug. 17, after being sidelined a month and a half with a right hip contusion, Cahill has gone 5-0 with a 2.64 ERA (13 earned runs, 44 1/3 innings) in eight games, seven starts.
McHugh (0-3) made his second straight start for the Rockies in place of injured Jorge De La Rosa (left thumb) and fared nowhere near as well as he did Monday when he limited the St. Louis Cardinals to one run in five innings. McHugh again worked five innings but gave up 11 hits and six runs.
The Diamondbacks scored their final run in the ninth off Rob Scahill. Adam Eaton led off with a single, stole second and moved to third on a fly out. Paul Goldschmidt hit a ball about 30 feet that Scahill fielded but not in time to get Goldschmidt, who leads the National League with 122 runs batted in.
Matt Davidson hit a three-run homer off Collin McHugh in the third inning, when the Diamondbacks scored four runs to go ahead 6-0. Gerardo Parra and Chris Owings followed the homer with back-to-back doubles for the fourth run of the inning.
Martin Prado doubled home a run with two out in the first, and Tuffy Gosewisch singled home a run in the second.
McHugh lasted five innings, allowing 11 hits and six runs.
The Rockies broke through for an unearned run off Cahill in the fourth. Jordan Pacheco's sacrifice fly scored Todd Helton, who led off with a single and went to third when catcher Gosewisch picked up the ball Charley Culberson tapped in front of the plate and threw it into center field.
Cahill gave up a leadoff double in the first to Charlie Blackmon, giving him a franchise-record six consecutive games with a double. DJ LeMahieu then lined a single off Cahill's upper right leg. But Cahill stranded runners at corners by sandwiching strikeouts of Corey Dickerson and Culberson around Helton's line-out to shortstop.
NOTES: Rockies RF Michael Cuddyer took swings off a tee for the first time since he strained his left wrist making a diving catch Wednesday. He hopes to play Sunday. Cuddyer is hitting .331, one point behind Atlanta's Chris Johnson, who raised his average one point to .332 by going 2-for-4 on Saturday. ... Rockies 3B Nolan Arenado wasn't in the lineup. His bruised right thumb flared up when he played Friday after missing three games. ... According to Elias Sports Bureau, Jhoulys Chacin became the first Rockies pitcher to hit a home run and earn a win at Coors Field since Darren Oliver on July 10, 2003.
