COLLMENTER LOSES NO-HITTER IN 9TH, D-BACKS HOLD ON

Still No Shutouts in Coors Field This Year

DENVER, June 4 (AP) - Josh Collmenter took a perfect game into the seventh inning and a no-hitter into the ninth but had to settle for just the victory as the Arizona Diamondbacks defeated the Colorado Rockies 7-2 at Coors Field.  In scoring two runs in the ninth, the Rockies averted what would have been the first shutout at Coors Field this season.  Every other ballpark in the major leagues has hosted at least one shutout.

The Diamondbacks took the pressure off Collmenter early on, taking a lead they would never relinquish in the top of the third on Ender Inciarte's second home run of the season.  The solo shot gave Arizona a 1-0 advantage, which they quadrupled in the fourth inning.  With one out, Martin Prado and Miguel Montero ripped back-to-back doubles, making the score 2-0 and Aaron Hill followed with his sixth home run of the year to put the Diamondbacks on top 4-0.

In the fifth, Arizona all but put the game away.  Gerardo Parra singled with one out and Paul Goldschmidt followed with a towering home run into the trees beyond the center field fence for a 6-0 Diamondbacks lead.  Hill's RBI single in the eighth gave the Diamondbacks their seventh run.

Collmenter, meanwhile, was cruising, retiring the first 22 batters he faced before Troy Tulowitzki drew a two-out walk in the top of the seventh.  Only one big league pitcher this season--Jon Lester of the Boston Red Sox--has taken a perfect game deeper into a contest than Collmenter.  Lester's would-be perfect game, on May 16 at Fenway Park against the Detroit Tigers, came to an end with two outs in the eighth inning.  But Collmenter's no-hit bid continued, as he retired Michael Cuddyer on a fly to center.

Collmenter carried the no-hitter through the eighth, and took the mound to begin the ninth in the quest for immortality.  But he opened the frame by walking D.J. LeMahieu on four pitches and then, on the first pitch to pinch hitter Drew Stubbs, yielded a ground ball base hit to left.  Arizona manager Kirk Gibson had his bullpen working before the bottom of the ninth even began and he lifted Collmenter, who had already thrown a season-high 111 pitches, in favor of Joe Thatcher.  Thatcher retired Charlie Blackmon on a soft grounder to short, with the runners advancing to second and third, and fanned Corey Dickerson on three pitches but then yielded a two-run double to Tulowitzki, which ended the bid for a shutout.  Cuddyer singled to right, sending Tulowitzki to third, but then got Justin Morneau on a grounder to second to end the game.

6/4/2014, Ari14-Col14, Coors Field

                       1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9     R  H  E   LOB DP

2014 Diamondbacks      0  0  1  3  2  0  0  1  0     7  9  0     5  0

2014 Rockies           0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  2     2  3  0     3  2

Diamondbacks         AB  R  H BI   AVG    Rockies              AB  R  H BI   AVG

Gregorius         ss  5  0  0  0  .000    Blackmon          cf  4  0  0  0  .247

Parra,G           rf  4  1  1  0  .253    Dickerson,Co      lf  4  0  0  0  .302

Goldschmidt       1b  5  1  1  2  .329    Tulowitzki        ss  3  0  1  2  .369

Prado             3b  3  2  1  0  .261    Cuddyer           rf  4  0  1  0  .277

Montero,M         c   4  1  2  1  .239    Morneau           1b  4  0  0  0  .294

Hill,A            2b  3  1  2  3  .239    Rosario           c   3  0  0  0  .229

Peralta,D         lf  3  0  1  0  .500    Culberson         3b  3  0  0  0  .179

Inciarte          cf  3  1  1  1  .333    LeMahieu          2b  2  1  0  0  .232

Collmenter        p   4  0  0  0  .000    Lyles             p   1  0  0  0  .083

 Thatcher         p   0  0  0  0  .000     Morales,F        p   0  0  0  0  .091

                     34  7  9  7           Wheeler,R        ph  1  0  0  0  .286

                                           Brothers         p   0  0  0  0  .000

                                           Masset           p   0  0  0  0  .000

                                           Hawkins          p   0  0  0  0  .000

                                           Stubbs           ph  1  1  1  0  .272

                                                               30  2  3  2

Diamondbacks                     INN  H  R ER BB  K PCH STR   ERA

Collmenter       W 4-4           8.0  1  2  2  2  8 111  65  3.11

Thatcher                         1.0  2  0  0  0  1  18  14  1.93

                                 9.0  3  2  2  2  9 129  79

Rockies                          INN  H  R ER BB  K PCH STR   ERA

Lyles            L 4-2           4.1  7  6  6  0  4  76  47  4.01

Morales,F                        1.2  0  0  0  1  1  24  13  6.12

Brothers                         0.1  0  0  0  1  0   8   4  7.45

Masset                           1.2  2  1  1  2  0  30  16  4.97

Hawkins                          1.0  0  0  0  0  0  10   6  2.66

                                 9.0  9  7  7  4  5 148  86

Col: Wheeler,R batted for Morales,F in the 6th

     Stubbs batted for Hawkins in the 9th

2B-Prado(8), Montero,M(11), Tulowitzki(12). HR-Goldschmidt(7), Hill,A(6),

Inciarte(2). RBI-Goldschmidt 2(33), Montero,M(24), Hill,A 3(30), Inciarte(7),

Tulowitzki 2(45). K-Goldschmidt 2, Prado, Peralta,D, Collmenter,

Dickerson,Co, Tulowitzki, Rosario 2, Culberson 2, LeMahieu 2, Lyles.

BB-Parra,G, Prado, Peralta,D, Inciarte, Tulowitzki, LeMahieu. HBP-Hill,A.

HB-Lyles.

GWRBI: Inciarte

Temperature: 84, Sky: clear, Wind: left to right at 7 MPH.

Attendance: 35,486

Game Time: 2:46