Diamondbacks Sweep Rockies Behind Eugenio Suarez's Big Day

The Diamondbacks collected their 4th series sweep of the season today, with Eugenio Suarez at the helm of a huge offensive outburst.

Aug 14, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks third base Eugenio Suarez (28) celebrates with first baseman Josh Bell (36) and designated hitter Joc Pederson (3) after hitting a grand slam against the Colorado Rockies in the sixth inning at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports / Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

A crack of the bat echoed throughout Chase Field as there was little doubt where the ball would end up. Eugenio Suarez smashed a massive home run, finally putting the Rockies out of reach in what would become a series sweep for the Arizona Diamondbacks. While the final score paints a picture of a blowout win, much of this game was tighter than the box score.

The Diamondbacks came out early with some chaos ball. Corbin Carroll took a leadoff walk, a rare occurrence for Rockies starter Tanner Gordon. Gordon entered today's ballgame with a 1.03 BB/9 in 5 starts, but things fell off the wagon for him against the D-backs. The walk was followed by a Jake McCarthy single in his first plate appearance since his walk-off hit last night.

With two men on and still nobody out, Joc Pederson shot a ball through the right side for a double, or at least that is what it would have been had the Rockies not thrown the ball around the field, leading to an inside the park home run for Pederson, scoring 3 runs.

Gordon wasn't close to out of the woods yet, with Josh Bell reaching on catcher's interference and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. singling. It was the 6th batter of the ballgame that finally made an out. Eugenio Suarez was promptly hit by a pitch, loading the bases for Geraldo Perdomo. The D-backs shortstop worked a very disciplined at-bat, walking in a run to raise the score to 4-0, ending Tanner Gordon's day, having only recorded 2 outs.

Jordan Montgomery delivered for the Diamondbacks, starting off the game hot. He set down the first 8 batters he faced to open the duel. Something noticeable began to build early for the veteran left-hander: he was collecting tons of whiffs and the most strikeouts we have seen from him in a Diamondbacks uniform.

More pressure built for the Rockies in the 2nd, on some wacky plays. Josh Bell reached on what was originally ruled a double play before a replay review deemed it a fielder's choice. This was followed by a Lourdes Gurriel Jr. bloop double. Sam Hilliard on the play threw the ball away, the Rockies' 3rd error in 2 innings, allowing another run to score.

Montgomery got into some trouble in the 4th, allowing one run to score on a fielder's choice, but held the Rockies under control. As the end of Monty's outing neared there were some signs of fatigue, missing some pitch locations, but he battled through. In the 6th the Rockies scraped across two more runs on an RBI single from Jacob Stallings, and another RBI fielder's choice.

But Montgomery left the game today with a Quality Start, his first since June 21st. He struck out a season high 8 batters, on an incredible 22 whiffs. A 6-3 ballgame when the D-backs' starter left the game, things would quickly get much less tight.

Final Starting Lines

Jordan Montgomery: 6 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 8 K, 3 BB, 106 P, 22 Whiffs

Tanner Gordon: .2 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 0 K, 2 BB, 44 P, 5 Whiffs

The 6th inning welcomed former top Rockies prospect Riley Pint to the mound. Things quickly unfolded into disaster for the young righty. 27 pitches thrown and only 12 strikes, including 2 hit by pitches of D-backs batters. The bases loaded now for Eugenio Suarez, things finally reached a tipping point. The ball was absolutely crushed off the bat from Suarez, going 427 feet, at 107 mph. The score now 10-3 for Arizona, the Rockies were finally put out of reach.

The grand slam, Suarez's first since 2018, was his 3rd hit of the day, following two doubles earlier (his 22nd and 23rd of the year). Suarez, with a 5 RBI day, raises his RBI total to 35 since July 7th. That number is most in MLB.

Eugenio Suarez 4th career grand slam, 18th HR of the year. Also has 2 doubles, 5 RBI on the day

pic.twitter.com/XkLKYLuTea

— Jack Sommers (@shoewizard59) August 14, 2024

A drama free end to the game with relatively clean innings from the Diamondbacks bullpen shut down the game. A.J. Puk shut the door as the Diamondbacks won 11-4, sweeping the Rockies. It is the Diamondbacks' 3rd series sweep in the last two weeks, and their 4th of the year.

After an off-day tomorrow, the Diamondbacks will take on a long road trip beginning in Tampa Bay. Arizona has been the league's hottest team, improving to 69-53 on the year, becoming a bigger and bigger threat to take the NL West Crown.

Make sure to keep things locked in on Diamondbacks on SI for all D-backs news as well as upcoming game coverage, as Arizona continues to climb in the standings.