MICHAEL KELLY
Associated Press
DENVER (AP) — Coors Field has been a place of missed opportunities this season for the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The struggling Diamondbacks couldn’t find a key hit against rookie starter Eddie Butler and four relievers, and the Colorado Rockies beat them 5-1 on Saturday
Jake Lamb homered for the reeling Diamondbacks. Arizona has dropped five in a row and 12 of 15 to fall into last place in the NL West, two games behind Colorado.
Getting a hit with runners in scoring position would help the Diamondbacks get out of this slide.
“We were 0 for 11 today, so that’s 1 for 20 the last two days with runners in scoring position,” Arizona manager Kirk Gibson said. “We’re really struggling in that respect.”
They made life easier on Butler, who earned his first major league win in his second start.
Corey Dickerson and Josh Rutledge homered for the Rockies, who have won five straight for the first time since June 11-15.
Trevor Cahill (3-12) allowed five runs and 10 hits in five innings. He hasn’t won since beating Miami on Aug. 15.
“I felt a lot better. Obviously, the results weren’t there,” Cahill said. “It’s really frustrating, giving up five runs in five innings and you feel like you have better control of the game.”
Dickerson gave Colorado a 1-0 lead with an RBI triple in the second. The Rockies extended the lead to 4-0 in the third on Rutledge’s two-run homer and Ben Paulsen’s RBI single.
“I was trying to steal a strike,” Cahill said of Rutledge’s home run. “I didn’t think it was that bad of a pitch. He put a good swing on it.”
Lamb homered on a line drive to right in the fifth to make it 4-1, but Dickerson answered with a leadoff homer in the bottom of the inning. It was his 24th of the season.
“Actually, I thought it was one of Trevor’s better games,” Gibson said. “He was repeating his delivery. He threw 89 pitches, 65 of them were strikes. That’s very good for him.”
Reliever Oliver Perez recorded four strikeouts in the seventh inning after Justin Morneau reached on a wild pitch to start the inning. He is the first pitcher in Diamondbacks history to strike out four in one inning.
Butler (1-1) made his debut against the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 6 and went on the disabled list with right shoulder inflammation the next day. He made nine minor league rehab starts before getting the ball Saturday.
He made the most of it, allowing one run and five hits and giving the Rockies a glimpse into the future. Butler was Colorado’s first-round pick in 2012 and has quickly moved through the organization.
He allowed six runs and 10 hits in 5 1-3 innings against L.A., but held Arizona in check before leaving for a pinch hitter.
“He mixed it up,” Gibson said of Butler. “I don’t think we made some adjustments we needed to make.”
Diamondbacks LF Ender Inciarte, who singled to start the game, has led off eight of the past nine games with a hit — five singles and three doubles.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Diamondbacks: RF David Peralta was back in the lineup for the first time since Sept. 5. He had been sidelined with a lower back strain and pinch hit Friday night.
UP NEXT
Diamondbacks: LHP Wade Miley (8-11) will try to reach 200 innings when he starts Sunday. He is eight innings shy of reaching the total for the second straight season. He also needs 11 strikeouts to reach 500 for his career.
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