Daniel Bard loads the bases in the ninth, loses game on hit batter

The Rockies had never lost a game in their 29-season history due to a hit batter until reliever Daniel Bard hit Arizona’s David Peralta with the bases loaded in the ninth inning on Tuesday.

After starter Jon Gray surrendered four consecutive doubles in the first inning, leading to all three of the Diamondbacks’ runs off of the Colorado pitcher, he settled down and fanned eight over six innings. Relievers Jhoulys Chacin and Carlos Estevez held down the seventh and eighth innings, respectively, before Bard entered the game trying to send the game to extra innings.

Bard immediately gave up a single to catcher Stephen Vogt, who was immediately subbed out for pinch-runner Stuart Fairchild. Fairchild, who was making his major-league debut, moved to second when Bard walked Daulton Varsho. Pinch-hitter Nick Ahmed lined out to center, and defensive replacement Garrett Hampson’s quick throw kept Fairchild from advancing to third. Bard did that himself instead, walking leadoff hitter Josh Rojas, bringing up the veteran Peralta with the bases loaded and only one out.

Bard’s 0-1 slider tailed into Peralta’s thigh, walking home the winning run to finish off a disastrous outing and dropping the Rockies’ abysmal road record to 6-32.

All four of the Diamondbacks batters that reached base against Bard were left-handers; lefties are now hitting .341 on the season with 10 walks against the Rockies’ closer.

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NEXT UP: Rockies (37-49, 4th in NL West) at Diamondbacks (24-63, 5th in NL West) | Wednesday, Jul. 7 at 7:40 p.m. | COL: Antonio Senzatela (2-7, 4.58 ERA) vs. ARZ: Humberto Castellanos (0-1, 3.09 ERA)

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NOTES

• The Diamondbacks had lost 50 of their last 58 games (.138) prior to Tuesday’s win over the Rockies. The last series the Diamondbacks won was from Apr. 29 to May 2, when they took three of four games from the Rockies at Coors Field.

• Brendan Rodgers went 2-for-4 to raise his batting average to .274. The 24-year-old top prospect has become a regular starter and is likely the Rockies’ near-term answer at shortstop after Trevor Story is traded by the July 30 deadline.

• Ben Bowden was optioned to triple-A Albuquerque. Bowden, 1-2 with a 7.94 ERA, hadn’t pitched for the Rockies since June 26.

• Mychal Givens was activated from the injured list on Tuesday. Givens, who was placed on the injured list on Jun. 17 with a lower-back injury, will immediately regain his spot as a late-inning reliever, and could be a potential replacement at closer if manager Bud Black decided to make a change.

• Manager Bud Black will join Dodgers manager Dave Roberts’ coaching staff, representing the NL in the All-Star Game in Denver. “I’m excited. So grateful again to be asked by Dave — we go way back,” he said. “We’ve done this before in 2018. But I’m more excited because it’s in Denver; in front of our home fans and in our own ballpark. And Denver’s ready to really represent Colorado, the city itself, our fans. It’s going to be fun. It’s going to be a blast.” Roberts was part of Black’s coaching staff when he was manager of the Padres prior to joining the Rockies.

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THE FINAL WORD

“(It) feels good. Walk-off win. Just hit my quad. Couldn’t get out of the way.” — Diamondbacks outfielder David Peralta, who drove in the winning run Tuesday when he was hit by a Daniel Bard pitch with the bases loaded

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STARTING LINEUP

LF Raimel Tapia
CF Yonathan Daza
SS Trevor Story
RF Charlie Blackmon
2B Brendan Rodgers
3B Ryan McMahon
1B C.J. Cron
C Elias Diaz
SP Jon Gray

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INJURY WATCH

• Austin Gomber (left forearm tightness) was placed on the 10-day IL after leaving his Jun. 19 start. He played catch on Jun. 28 in an effort to build toward throwing bullpen sessions, meaning that he likely won’t return until mid-July.
• Robert Stephenson (strained upper back) was placed on the 10-day IL on Jun. 28.
• Matt Adams (right elbow soreness) was injured during the Jun. 8 game and was placed on the 10-day IL on Jun. 9. He started taking batting practice on Jun. 26 and may be sent on a minor-league rehab assignment soon.
• Jordan Sheffield (torn right lat) was injured on Jun. 3 and was placed on the 10-day IL. He is expected to miss at least two months.
• Scott Oberg (blood clots) had surgery prior to the end of Spring Training. He was placed on the 60-day IL on Mar. 27 and his season is in doubt.

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Shawn Drotar is the host of “The Fan Late Night with Shawn Drotar;” weeknights from 10:00 p.m. to midnight — only on 104.3 The Fan

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