Major League Baseball
Colorado 4, Arizona 2
When: 9:40 PM ET, Tuesday, September 12, 2017
Where: Chase Field, Phoenix, Arizona
Temperature: Indoors
Umpires: Home - Mark Ripperger, 1B - Rob Drake, 2B - Phil Cuzzi, 3B - Tom Hallion
Attendance: 27526

PHOENIX -- Carlos Gonzalez is Carlos Gonzalez again, and the Colorado Rockies could not be happier.

Gonzalez hit a pair of two-run homers, the second breaking a seventh-inning tie, to help Colorado take a 4-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday at Chase Field.

The Rockies have won six straight -- all on the road.

"He's worked hard all season to find his groove," Colorado manager Bud Black said of Gonzalez. "Hopefully where we are right now, arguably the most important month of the year, if he finds his swing and finds his groove, that's a great thing for the Rockies."

After homering in back-to-back games for the first time this season in a four-game sweep weekend sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Gonzalez homered twice in a span of three plate appearances Tuesday.

He has 12 home runs this season, four in the past five games.

"I know how it feels to be a great player. I know how it feels to be a bad player," Gonzalez said.

"This game will always keep you humble. Tomorrow is another day. We work every day to help our team. Our personal numbers really don't matter. At this point, there are two teams going head to head for a playoff spot. Anything that helps is good."

Gonzalez, who was hitting .214 in mid-July, is 14-for-32, .438, in September as the Rockies (80-65) have crept to within three games of Arizona (83-62) in the race for the first National League wild card after taking the first two games of the series.

"I struggled because I'm a human being," Gonzalez said. "Sometimes even the great players, they don't look good out there. The stronger ones are the ones that stay always positive and always play for each other."

Colorado right-hander Jon Gray (8-4) gave up two runs on seven hits and no walks in seven innings. He struck out 10 for the second time this season. The first time came in a 6-3 victory at Chase Field on June 30, his first game back from the disabled list.

DJ LeMahieu singled off David Hernandez (2-1) with one out in the seventh inning before Gonzalez homered over the pool in right-center field, about the same spot as his shot in the third inning landed.

J.D. Martinez homered, his 22nd in 47 games since being acquired from the Detroit Tigers on July 18. David Peralta and Martinez each had two hits for Arizona.

Martinez doubled off Scott Oberg to open the ninth inning but was stranded as Chris Rusin got the final two outs for his second save. Colorado closer Greg Holland was unavailable.

"Just a little slow offensively," Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. "Our guys are very well aware of what is at stake, and we just have to get after it."

Diamondbacks right-hander Taijuan Walker gave up two runs and four hits in six innings while dropping his ERA to 3.32. It has been lower only once this year. He struck out six and walked five (one intentionally).

Martinez led off the second inning with his 38th homer of the season, tying a career high set last year with Detroit, for a 1-0 lead.

Charlie Blackmon walked to open the third inning and scored on Gonzalez's one-out homer to make it 2-1.

Walker and Peralta singled to open the last of the third inning and Chris Iannetta was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Jake Lamb tied the game with a sacrifice fly before Paul Goldschmidt lined into a double play.

Rockies left fielder Gerardo Parra made running catches in front of the Arizona bullpen in the left field corner to take extra bases away from Goldschmidt in the first inning and Walker in the fourth. He appeared to chat with the Arizona relief corps after the first one.

"I said, 'Hey, I'm the man in here,'" Parra said. "Everybody was laughing. Everybody was fine."

Parra won a Gold Glove in left field for Arizona in 2011.

NOTES: Colorado LHP Kyle Freeland, who was forced to leave the Monday game after being struck in the left shoulder by a line drive in the fourth inning, played catch Tuesday and is expected to make his next start Saturday, manager Bud Black said. ... Colorado 3B Nolan Arenado became the first NL player with three straight 120-RBI seasons since Philadelphia 1B Ryan Howard when his four RBIs on Monday gave him 123. Howard had four straight (2006-09). ... Arizona RHP Randall Delgado had his original diagnosis of a flexor strain confirmed by Dr. James Andrews, the team said Tuesday, after films of his MRI were read. No treatment plan has been devised. Delgado already has been declared out for the season.
Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
Colorado   Arizona
Jon Gray Player Taijuan Walker
Win W/L No Decision
7.0 IP 6.0
10 Strikeouts 6
7 Hits 4
2.57 ERA 3.00
Hitting
Colorado   Arizona
Carlos Gonzalez Player J.D. Martinez
2 Hits 2
4 RBI 1
2 HR 1
8 TB 6
.500 Avg .500
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Hits HR TB Avg LOB K RBI BB SB Errors
Colorado 7 2 17 .212 14 8 4 5 0 1
Arizona 8 1 13 .242 11 10 2 0 0 0