The Diamondbacks ran through the Rockies on both sides of the ball Friday, shutting them out on the scoreboard while putting up crooked numbers of their own. Beyond the excitement of a Major League debut, there was little to be excited about in this one.

Palmquist’s debut

The big story heading into Friday’s contest was the MLB debut of Carson Palmquist, recently called up from Triple-A Albuquerque.

How did the left-hander fare? Well, about as well as one would expect, given the circumstances.

Though Palmquist exhibited solid command and showed off his wipeout slider, the Diamondbacks were all too equipped to handle his stuff. Arizona took advantage of missed locations and made the young hurler pay as they tagged him for five earned runs on six hits and a walk. While certainly not a bad start by any means, the runs allowed were more than enough to put the game out of reach.

Leavin’ em loaded

The Rockies offense found themselves unable to back up their rookie starter in any meaningful way when faced with the task of overcoming veteran Corbin Burnes. The only significant opportunity came in the top of the fourth inning when Ezequiel Tovar singled and Hunter Goodman walked, putting two on with nobody out.

After Ryan McMahon struck out and Brenton Doyle lined out, Michael Toglia walked to load the bases for Mickey Moniak. With a chance to get Colorado’s offense started, would Moniak rise to the occasion?

Sadly, no. It took Burnes just three pitches to dispatch Mickey and shut down the only real offensive chance the Rockies would see all evening.

Burnes burns Rockies bad

After Arizona scored two runs in the bottom of the second inning, the vibe of the game seemed to shift in the Diamondbacks’ direction. After that Moniak strikeout, it swung past the point of no return.

Burnes got plenty of run support, but didn’t need more than just one. The eight-year veteran utilized his various weapons to perfection, completely stifling Colorado’s offense en route to an easy victory. In total, Burnes allowed just two hits – singles from Tovar and Hunter Gooman – and struck out ten while walking three.

It’s the second straight scoreless outing for Burnes, after his seven shutout frames against the Dodgers. He has not allowed a run in 16 straight innings.

Snakebit

The Snakes struck early and often, with runs being scored in the second, third, and fourth innings before they put the game fully out of reach in the later frames. Corbin Caroll, Josh Naylor, and Randal Grichuk all collected two hits and run, while Gabriel Moreno tallied three of each.

There was little that the Rockies pitching staff could do to keep the Diamondbacks off the basepaths as they attacked each hurler with vigor. In all facets of the game, Colorado found themselves totally outmatched by Arizona, and could do naught else but simply take the loss on the chin and prepare for tomorrow.

Up Next

The Rockies will try to put up more of a fight when they face off against the Diamondbacks again on Saturday. This time, it’ll be the struggling Germán Márquez (1-6, 8.27 ERA) against the bespectacled Zac Gallen (3-5, 4.59 ERA).

That game begins at 6:10pm MST. See you then!

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