PHOENIX -- Tyler Matzek was rolling along, preventing the opposing team from scoring much, just as he almost always seems to do.
But as he let loose his first pitch of the sixth inning, the Colorado right-hander's left hamstring tightened up, sending him out of the game.
He'll be fine -- it's nothing more than a cramp -- but having to leave when he was pitching so well was tough to take.
"I felt very comfortable and that's the disappointing thing," Matzek said after the Rockies held off the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-4 Monday night. "I felt like I could go deep in the game and help our bullpen out and something stupid like this preventing me is disappointing."
The Rockies got off to a great start, going up three runs before Matzek even took the mound on Justin Morneau's three-run homer off Chase Anderson (0-1).
Matzek (2-0) pitched well, holding the Diamondbacks to two runs on five hits in five innings.
Colorado hit throughout the game, too, finishing with 11 -- three by Corey Dickerson, who also drove in a run.
But the finish was not easy.
Matzek left in the sixth inning after his leg cramped up. Arizona whittled away at the lead, scoring two runs in the fifth inning, one each in the sixth and eighth to cut the lead to one.
John Axford, getting the call after closer Adam Ottavino went on the disabled list earlier in the day, had to scrape his way through the ninth after giving up a pair of hits.
Axford managed to get through it, though, stranding the tying run at third for his third save and the Rockies' seventh win in 10 games.
"We made a little tough on ourselves, but wins in this league are gold and wins on the road are even more gold," Rockies manager Walt Weiss said.
Matzek was scheduled to start Sunday against San Francisco, but had it pushed back a day after the game was rained out.
The right-hander got into a little trouble in the fifth inning after walking the leadoff batter and giving up a single to Nick Ahmed. Ender Inciarte followed with an RBI groundout to end Arizona's 20-inning scoreless streak and A.J. Pollock cut Colorado's lead to 4-2 with a run-scoring infield single.
Matzek came out for the next inning, but signaled to the bench after throwing one pitch and left with what the team said was a hamstring cramp.
"I just didn't to push it," said Matzek, who's expected to make his next start.
Tuffy Gosewich had a run-scoring groundout off Brooks Brown after Matzek left, but Morneau saved a run with a diving stop on a hard-hit ball by pinch-hitter David Peralta.
Arizona pulled within 5-4 in the eighth on a fielding error by shortstop Troy Tulowitzki at shortstop on a groundball by Gosewich, but couldn't come through in the ninth after getting runners on the corners.
"We have not been able to swing the bats well, period -- especially with men in scoring position," said Diamondbacks manager Chip Hale, whose team has lost four straight. "."
Anderson had set a team record by lasting at least five innings in his first 14 home starts.
The streak appeared to be in jeopardy early.
Anderson gave up a single to Corey Dickerson, then Tulowitzki fouled off several pitches during a 13-pitch at-bat to work a walk. Two pitches later, Morneau hit a three-run homer just over the wall in right, his second of the season.
Dickerson a run-scoring single in the second inning and Nolan Arenado chased Anderson with a sacrifice fly in the sixth that put the Rockies up 5-2.
Anderson allowed five runs on eight hits in 5 1/3 innings.
"You want to get off to a good start and give your team a chance to win," Anderson said. "I didn't feel that I did that today."
NUMBERS
Colorado has won five straight and seven of nine against Arizona. ... Paul Goldschmidt had three hits to extend his hitting streak to 12 games against the Rockies. ... Tulowitzki has reached base safely in 16 straight games against Arizona. ... Arizona's Brad Ziegler has nine straight scoreless appearances -- spanning 8 1/3 innings -- to start the season.
UP NEXT
Rockies: RHP Kyle Kendrick, who will start against Arizona on Tuesday, is 1-2 with a 5.36 ERA in nine career appearances against the Diamondbacks.
Diamondbacks: Rookie RHP Archie Bradley will make his fourth start of the season against Colorado after facing opening day starters his first three outings: the Dodgers Clayton Kershaw, San Francisco's Madison Bumgarner and Texas' Yovani Gallardo.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Rockies: Weiss said he will start off with Axford as closer after Ottavino went on the 15-day DL with an inflamed right triceps, but also could use Rafael Betancourt in save situations.
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But as he let loose his first pitch of the sixth inning, the Colorado right-hander's left hamstring tightened up, sending him out of the game.
He'll be fine -- it's nothing more than a cramp -- but having to leave when he was pitching so well was tough to take.
"I felt very comfortable and that's the disappointing thing," Matzek said after the Rockies held off the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-4 Monday night. "I felt like I could go deep in the game and help our bullpen out and something stupid like this preventing me is disappointing."
The Rockies got off to a great start, going up three runs before Matzek even took the mound on Justin Morneau's three-run homer off Chase Anderson (0-1).
Matzek (2-0) pitched well, holding the Diamondbacks to two runs on five hits in five innings.
Colorado hit throughout the game, too, finishing with 11 -- three by Corey Dickerson, who also drove in a run.
But the finish was not easy.
Matzek left in the sixth inning after his leg cramped up. Arizona whittled away at the lead, scoring two runs in the fifth inning, one each in the sixth and eighth to cut the lead to one.
John Axford, getting the call after closer Adam Ottavino went on the disabled list earlier in the day, had to scrape his way through the ninth after giving up a pair of hits.
Axford managed to get through it, though, stranding the tying run at third for his third save and the Rockies' seventh win in 10 games.
"We made a little tough on ourselves, but wins in this league are gold and wins on the road are even more gold," Rockies manager Walt Weiss said.
Matzek was scheduled to start Sunday against San Francisco, but had it pushed back a day after the game was rained out.
The right-hander got into a little trouble in the fifth inning after walking the leadoff batter and giving up a single to Nick Ahmed. Ender Inciarte followed with an RBI groundout to end Arizona's 20-inning scoreless streak and A.J. Pollock cut Colorado's lead to 4-2 with a run-scoring infield single.
Matzek came out for the next inning, but signaled to the bench after throwing one pitch and left with what the team said was a hamstring cramp.
"I just didn't to push it," said Matzek, who's expected to make his next start.
Tuffy Gosewich had a run-scoring groundout off Brooks Brown after Matzek left, but Morneau saved a run with a diving stop on a hard-hit ball by pinch-hitter David Peralta.
Arizona pulled within 5-4 in the eighth on a fielding error by shortstop Troy Tulowitzki at shortstop on a groundball by Gosewich, but couldn't come through in the ninth after getting runners on the corners.
"We have not been able to swing the bats well, period -- especially with men in scoring position," said Diamondbacks manager Chip Hale, whose team has lost four straight. "."
Anderson had set a team record by lasting at least five innings in his first 14 home starts.
The streak appeared to be in jeopardy early.
Anderson gave up a single to Corey Dickerson, then Tulowitzki fouled off several pitches during a 13-pitch at-bat to work a walk. Two pitches later, Morneau hit a three-run homer just over the wall in right, his second of the season.
Dickerson a run-scoring single in the second inning and Nolan Arenado chased Anderson with a sacrifice fly in the sixth that put the Rockies up 5-2.
Anderson allowed five runs on eight hits in 5 1/3 innings.
"You want to get off to a good start and give your team a chance to win," Anderson said. "I didn't feel that I did that today."
NUMBERS
Colorado has won five straight and seven of nine against Arizona. ... Paul Goldschmidt had three hits to extend his hitting streak to 12 games against the Rockies. ... Tulowitzki has reached base safely in 16 straight games against Arizona. ... Arizona's Brad Ziegler has nine straight scoreless appearances -- spanning 8 1/3 innings -- to start the season.
UP NEXT
Rockies: RHP Kyle Kendrick, who will start against Arizona on Tuesday, is 1-2 with a 5.36 ERA in nine career appearances against the Diamondbacks.
Diamondbacks: Rookie RHP Archie Bradley will make his fourth start of the season against Colorado after facing opening day starters his first three outings: the Dodgers Clayton Kershaw, San Francisco's Madison Bumgarner and Texas' Yovani Gallardo.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Rockies: Weiss said he will start off with Axford as closer after Ottavino went on the 15-day DL with an inflamed right triceps, but also could use Rafael Betancourt in save situations.
| View: Play-By-Play | Pitch-By-Pitch | Inning: All | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| Colorado - Top of 1st | SCORE | |
|---|---|---|
| Chase Anderson pitching for Arizona | COL | ARI |
| Blackmon struck out swinging. | 0 | 0 |
| Dickerson singled to center. | 0 | 0 |
| Tulowitzki walked, Dickerson to second. | 0 | 0 |
| Morneau homered to right center (382 feet), Dickerson and Tulowitzki scored. | 3 | 0 |
| Arenado grounded out to second. | 3 | 0 |
| González struck out swinging. | 3 | 0 |
| 3 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Arizona - Bottom of 1st | SCORE | |
| Tyler Matzek pitching for Colorado | COL | ARI |
| Inciarte grounded out to shortstop. | 3 | 0 |
| Pollock flied out to center. | 3 | 0 |
| Goldschmidt singled to left. | 3 | 0 |
| Goldschmidt stole second. | 3 | 0 |
| Trumbo walked. | 3 | 0 |
| Tomás lined out to center. | 3 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Colorado - Top of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Chase Anderson pitching for Arizona | COL | ARI |
| McKenry fouled out to left. | 3 | 0 |
| LeMahieu singled to right. | 3 | 0 |
| LeMahieu caught stealing second, catcher to shortstop. | 3 | 0 |
| Matzek singled to center. | 3 | 0 |
| Blackmon singled to center, Matzek to second. | 3 | 0 |
| Dickerson singled to center, Matzek scored, Blackmon to third, Dickerson thrown out at second attempting to advance on play. | 4 | 0 |
| 1 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Arizona - Bottom of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Tyler Matzek pitching for Colorado | COL | ARI |
| Owings fouled out to first. | 4 | 0 |
| Gosewisch struck out swinging. | 4 | 0 |
| Ahmed struck out looking. | 4 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Colorado - Top of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Chase Anderson pitching for Arizona | COL | ARI |
| Tulowitzki flied out to center. | 4 | 0 |
| Morneau grounded out to shortstop. | 4 | 0 |
| Arenado lined out to center. | 4 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Arizona - Bottom of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Tyler Matzek pitching for Colorado | COL | ARI |
| Anderson walked. | 4 | 0 |
| Inciarte grounded into double play, second to shortstop to first, Anderson out at second. | 4 | 0 |
| Pollock struck out swinging. | 4 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Colorado - Top of 4th | SCORE | |
| Chase Anderson pitching for Arizona | COL | ARI |
| González walked. | 4 | 0 |
| McKenry grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, González out at second. | 4 | 0 |
| LeMahieu grounded into double play, second to shortstop to first, McKenry out at second. | 4 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Arizona - Bottom of 4th | SCORE | |
| Tyler Matzek pitching for Colorado | COL | ARI |
| Goldschmidt grounded out to third. | 4 | 0 |
| Trumbo doubled to left. | 4 | 0 |
| Tomás grounded out to third. | 4 | 0 |
| Owings flied out to right. | 4 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Colorado - Top of 5th | SCORE | |
| Chase Anderson pitching for Arizona | COL | ARI |
| Matzek grounded out to shortstop. | 4 | 0 |
| Blackmon struck out looking. | 4 | 0 |
| Dickerson struck out swinging. | 4 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Arizona - Bottom of 5th | SCORE | |
| Tyler Matzek pitching for Colorado | COL | ARI |
| Gosewisch walked. | 4 | 0 |
| Ahmed singled to center, Gosewisch to second. | 4 | 0 |
| Anderson sacrificed to pitcher, Gosewisch to third, Ahmed to second. | 4 | 0 |
| Inciarte grounded out to shortstop, Gosewisch scored, Ahmed to third. | 4 | 1 |
| Pollock reached on infield single to second, Ahmed scored. | 4 | 2 |
| Goldschmidt singled to left, Pollock to second. | 4 | 2 |
| Trumbo lined out to right. | 4 | 2 |
| 2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Colorado - Top of 6th | SCORE | |
| Chase Anderson pitching for Arizona | COL | ARI |
| Tulowitzki doubled to right. | 4 | 2 |
| Morneau singled to center, Tulowitzki to third. | 4 | 2 |
| Arenado hit sacrifice fly to center, Tulowitzki scored. | 5 | 2 |
| Pérez relieved Anderson. | 5 | 2 |
| González walked, Morneau to second. | 5 | 2 |
| Delgado relieved Pérez. | 5 | 2 |
| McKenry flied out to center. | 5 | 2 |
| LeMahieu walked, Morneau to third, González to second. | 5 | 2 |
| Matzek grounded out to second. | 5 | 2 |
| 1 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Arizona - Bottom of 6th | SCORE | |
| Tyler Matzek pitching for Colorado | COL | ARI |
| Brown relieved Matzek. | 5 | 2 |
| Tomás walked. | 5 | 2 |
| Owings singled to left center, Tomás to second. | 5 | 2 |
| Tomás to third, Owings to second on wild pitch by Brown. | 5 | 2 |
| Gosewisch grounded out to third, Tomás scored. | 5 | 3 |
| Ahmed popped out to second. | 5 | 3 |
| Peralta hit for Delgado. | 5 | 3 |
| Peralta grounded out to first. | 5 | 3 |
| 1 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Colorado - Top of 7th | SCORE | |
| Evan Marshall pitching for Arizona | COL | ARI |
| Marshall relieved Delgado. | 5 | 3 |
| Blackmon singled to right. | 5 | 3 |
| Dickerson singled to center, Blackmon to second. | 5 | 3 |
| Tulowitzki grounded into double play, third to first, Blackmon out at third, Dickerson to second. | 5 | 3 |
| Morneau intentionally walked. | 5 | 3 |
| Arenado struck out swinging. | 5 | 3 |
| 0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Arizona - Bottom of 7th | SCORE | |
| Brooks Brown pitching for Colorado | COL | ARI |
| Inciarte popped out to third. | 5 | 3 |
| Pollock grounded out to third. | 5 | 3 |
| Goldschmidt struck out looking. | 5 | 3 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Colorado - Top of 8th | SCORE | |
| Evan Marshall pitching for Arizona | COL | ARI |
| González singled to left. | 5 | 3 |
| McKenry grounded into double play, third to second to first, González out at second. | 5 | 3 |
| LeMahieu grounded out to second. | 5 | 3 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Arizona - Bottom of 8th | SCORE | |
| Rafael Betancourt pitching for Colorado | COL | ARI |
| Betancourt relieved Brown. | 5 | 3 |
| Trumbo doubled to deep center. | 5 | 3 |
| Tomás grounded out to first, Trumbo to third. | 5 | 3 |
| Owings flied out to center. | 5 | 3 |
| Gosewisch safe at first on error by shortstop Tulowitzki, Trumbo scored. | 5 | 4 |
| Ahmed struck out swinging. | 5 | 4 |
| 1 Runs, 1 Hits, 1 Errors | ||
| Colorado - Top of 9th | SCORE | |
| Brad Ziegler pitching for Arizona | COL | ARI |
| Ziegler relieved Marshall. | 5 | 4 |
| Pennington at shortstop. | 5 | 4 |
| Descalso hit for Betancourt. | 5 | 4 |
| Descalso grounded out to second. | 5 | 4 |
| Blackmon grounded out to first. | 5 | 4 |
| Dickerson grounded out to second. | 5 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Arizona - Bottom of 9th | SCORE | |
| John Axford pitching for Colorado | COL | ARI |
| Axford relieved Betancourt. | 5 | 4 |
| Blackmon in left field. | 5 | 4 |
| Stubbs in center field. | 5 | 4 |
| Pennington struck out swinging. | 5 | 4 |
| Inciarte singled to right. | 5 | 4 |
| Pollock grounded into fielder's choice to second, Inciarte out at second. | 5 | 4 |
| Goldschmidt singled to right, Pollock to third. | 5 | 4 |
| Trumbo grounded out to third. | 5 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Colorado Rockies | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hitters | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | #P | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| Blackmon CF-LF | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 18 | .286 | .349 | .468 |
| Dickerson LF | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 18 | .338 | .384 | .632 |
Stubbs CF
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .050 | .000 |
| Tulowitzki SS | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 27 | .304 | .319 | .536 |
| Morneau 1B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 9 | .297 | .338 | .438 |
| Arenado 3B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 14 | .303 | .347 | .561 |
| González RF | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 16 | .206 | .257 | .368 |
| McKenry C | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | .227 | .261 | .273 |
| LeMahieu 2B | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 19 | .415 | .457 | .538 |
| Matzek P | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | .429 | .429 | .571 |
Brown P
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | |
a-Descalso PH
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .136 | .240 | .136 |
Axford P
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Totals | 32 | 5 | 11 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 149 | |||
| a-grounded to second for R Betancourt in the 9th | ||||||||||
| BATTING 2B: Tulowitzki (10, Anderson) HR: Morneau (2, 1st inning off Anderson 2 on, 1 Out) RBI: Morneau 3 (6), Dickerson (15), Arenado (12) SF: Arenado 2-out RBI: Dickerson GIDP: LeMahieu, Tulowitzki, McKenry Rockies RISP: 3-7 (Arenado 0-1, Matzek 0-1, McKenry 0-1, Tulowitzki 0-1, Morneau 2-2, Dickerson 1-1) Team LOB: 6 | ||||||||||
| BASERUNNING CS: LeMahieu (2, 2nd base by Anderson/Gosewisch) | ||||||||||
| FIELDING E: Tulowitzki (2, ground ball) DP: 1 (LeMahieu-Tulowitzki-Morneau). | ||||||||||
Game Notes
| P MATZEK (LEFT HAMSTRING CRAMP) LEFT GAME BOT 6TH |
Game Information
| Stadium | Chase Field, Phoenix, AZ |
| Attendance | 17,444 (35.9% full) - % is based on regular season capacity |
| Game Time | 3:29 |
| Weather | 85 degrees, clear |
| Wind | 5 mph |
| Umpires | Home Plate - Mike Winters, First Base - Mark Wegner, Second Base - Marty Foster, Third Base - Mike Muchlinski |
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