Pavin Smith belted a three-run homer to cap a five-run second inning and help the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 7-5 win against the Colorado Rockies in the opener of their four-game series on Monday afternoon in Phoenix.
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. also homered, Emmanuel Rivera had two hits and two runs and Jake McCarthy added two hits and two RBIs for Arizona, which has won six of its past nine.
Diamondbacks starter Ryne Nelson (2-2) allowed five runs and eight hits in five innings. He struck out one and walked three.
Drey Jameson followed with 3 2/3 innings of scoreless relief before Andrew Chafin got the final out with a runner aboard for his eighth save of the season.
Ryan McMahon tied his career high with four hits for Colorado. He homered, tripled, singled twice and drove in three runs, and Ezequiel Tovar contributed two hits and two RBIs for the Rockies, who had won five of seven.
Colorado starter Karl Kauffmann (0-3) allowed seven runs and nine hits over four innings in his third MLB start. He struck out one and walked two.
McMahon homered for the fourth straight game with two outs in the first for a 1-0 lead.
The Rockies had back-to-back singles with one out in the second before Tovar doubled into the left-center field gap to score both runners and make it 3-0. McMahon drove in Tovar with a two-out single for a 4-0 lead.
Arizona loaded the bases with no outs in their half of the second on two singles and a walk before McCarthy’s two-run single to left cut the lead to 4-2.
Following a double steal, Smith lifted a three-run homer to right-center field with two outs for a 5-4 lead.
Rivera led off the third with a double into the left-center field gap, moved to third on a groundout and scored on a deep sacrifice fly by Gabriel Moreno to extend the lead to 6-4.
Gurriel took Kauffmann deep in the fourth to make it 7-4.
McMahon made it 7-5 when he tripled home a run with no outs in the fifth, but he was stranded at third.
–Field Level Media
