Mickey Moniak hit a three-run homer and five Colorado pitchers held Arizona to two runs as the Rockies recorded their 18th win of the season and avoided a sweep against the Diamondbacks on Sunday at Coors Field.

Fantastic Fifth

After Tyler Freeman hit a leadoff single, Brandon Pfaadt silenced the Rockies through the fourth inning. Pfaadt retired 10 straight batters, starting with Moniak in the first inning and ending with Moniak in the fourth. Jordan Beck snuck in a bunt in the fourth, but despite stealing second, he was stranded. After four innings, Pfaadt had only given up two hits and had struck out six.

Then came the fifth.

Brenton Doyle and Kyle Farmer led off the frame with back-to-back singles. Braxton Fulford came up big with an RBI, broken-bat, bloop single to center field to put the Rockies on the board and cut Arizona’s lead to 2-1.

After Ryan Ritter failed to get a bunt down, connecting for one in foul territory with two strikes for a strikeout, and Freeman flied out to right field, it looked like one run might be it for the Rockies. Moniak had other plans. He sent a first-pitch changeup 385 feet to right field for a three-run blast — his 11th homer of the year — and put the Rockies up 4-2.

“I think I was just trying to be on time, get a good pitch and you know it’s funny how that works — you know how it goes,” Moniak told Ryan Spilborghs on the field after the game, “If you are on time, you see the offspeed stuff a little better. I was able to stay back and put a good swing on it.”

For Moniak, it was his sixth homer in the last 11 games. Ryan McMahon ended the fifth inning with a groundout. Even though Pfaadt got out of the inning, he didn’t come back in the sixth, ending his day with four runs on six hits with seven strikeouts and one walk in five innings.

Senza Approaches 500 Strikeouts

Antonio Senzatela pitched another solid game and it started off with a beautiful three-up, three-down first inning, which are somewhat rare for the Rockies this season. He forced two groundouts and ended the frame when he got Pavin Smith to strike out swinging on a slider. Despite giving up one run in the second and one run in the fourth, Senzatela held the Diamondbacks to two runs on four hits with one walk and five strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings. The performance was good enough for his third win of the season, tying him with Germán Márquez for a team-high number.

When he fanned Eugenio Suárez in the fourth, it was his 498th in his career.

With two more strikeouts, Senzatela will become the 11th Rockie to pass the 500-strikeout milestone.

Old Friend, Now Foe

Former Rockie Randal Grichuk was responsible for the first two runs Arizona scored, but both also came from avoidable mistakes by Senzatela. In the second inning, Senzatela issued a leadoff walk to Josh Naylor and Suárez followed with a double off the left field wall. Grichuk made Colorado pay with a sac fly that put the D-backs up 1-0. In the fourth inning, Naylor singled, extending his hitting streak to 11 games, and advanced to second on a wild pitch from Senzatela. Grichuk came up clutch with a single, scoring Naylor and putting Arizona up 2-0.

Bullpen Perfect, D Shines

Seth Halvorsen recorded his sixth save of the season when he got Naylor to ground out and Suárez to strikeout for the first two outs. Grichuk struck again with a double off the out-of-town scoreboard in right field. Then came red-hot Ketel Marte, who pitch hit and tried to keep the game going for the D-backs. Instead of another hit and another RBI, Marte flew out to Beck in left field.

With a runner on second and the heart of Arizona’s lineup coming up, Juan Mejia relieved Antonio Senzatela in the sixth and was spectacular. He got Naylor to strike out and Suárez to fly out. Despite throwing a wild pitch and issuing a walk, Tyler Kinley threw a scoreless seventh with a strikeout. In the eighth, Victor Vodnik threw a perfect eighth inning with two groundouts and a flyout. He was helped by Ryan Ritter, who went to his left and made a great play on a grounder from Ildemaro Vargas. Ritter also made an outstanding diving catch to help Senzatela in the fifth.

Up Next

The Rockies will have the day off on Monday before hosting the Los Angeles Dodgers Tuesday through Thursday at Coors Field. On Tuesday, Germán Márquez (3-8, 6.11 ERA) will get the start for Colorado, while the Dodgers have yet to name a starter.