A.J. Pollock, Offense Explode to Get Series Split

The Arizona Diamondbacks split a series against the Colorado Rockies in what could be a National League Wildcard preview.

Game Results
Colorado wins 5-4
Colorado wins 4-2
Arizona wins 8-2
Arizona wins 7-0

Here are some takeaways from the four-game sereis:

Late Innings Blowups

The Colorado Rockies were able to jump on the Diamondbacks bullpen to get the first two win s of the series. Nolan Arenado hit a three-run home run in the eighth inning of Monday’s game off Jake Barrett. The following night, it was Carlos Gonzalez who did the damage, driving in the go-ahead runs with a two-run home run, squandering impressive starts from Zack Greinke and Taijuan Walker.

Starters

Speaking of starters, the Diamondbacks couldn’t ask for much better starts out of Greinke, Walker, Patrick Corbin and Zack Godley. Here are the starting lines for each pitcher:

Zack Greinke
7 IP 5 H 2 ER 0 BB 6 K 92 pitches (ND)

Taijuan Walker
6 IP 4 H 2 ER 5 BB 6 K 95 pitches (ND)

Pat Corbin
6.2 IP 4 H 1 ER 2 BB 7 K 105 pitches (W)

Zack Godley
8 IP 5 H 0 ER 0 BB 7 K 103 pitches  (W)

These four, as well as Robbie Ray, have been impressive in this most recent stretch with the club.

Offensive Explosion

The Diamondbacks bats struggled in the first two games but made up for it (and then some) in the final two games of the series. In the third game of the series, the D-backs had 10 players notch hits, including Paul Goldschmidt’s 1,000th career hit. In the final game of the series, the Snakes scored five runs in the first inning to quiet the Rockies on getaway day. 

A.J. Pollock and J.D. Martinez

Two key cogs driving the Diamondbacks offensive machine recently has been J.D. Martinez and A.J. Pollock. Martinez hit a staggering 8/15 with seven runs scored two home runs and four RBIs in the last four games.

Since joining the Diamondbacks, Martinez has hit .287 with 22 home runs and 48 RBIs.

Pollock has had an inconsistent 2017 both in terms of health and performance. He was moved down to the seventh spot in the lineup and seems to have responded with back-to-back four-RBI games.

This series, he hit 7/16 with two runs scored a home run and eight runs batted in.

What’s Next

The Diamondbacks go on the road to San Francisco with Robbie Ray, Zack Greinke and Taijuan Walker toeing the rubber.

Their magic number is currently eight.