The Colorado Rockies went all of last season without a grand slam, and their most recent one belonged to Elias Diaz on Sept. 10, 2021, against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Until Friday night that is, when Diaz did it again to end the drought.
The Rockies will arrive at the ballpark Saturday looking for back-to-back victories for the first time since a three-game winning streak from June 11-13 when they host the Los Angeles Angels at Denver.
Colorado was close to seeing its losing streak reach a season-worst nine games when Diaz stepped to the plate in the bottom of the eighth inning with the bases full. He unloaded on Chris Devenski’s changeup with a thunderous blast to center field to turn a one-run deficit into an eventual 7-4 Colorado victory.
“I said to myself, ‘You have this opportunity, now do your job,'” Diaz said of his third career grand slam. “I gave it everything I got because I hit a homer.”
Diaz, Elehuris Montero and Coco Montes each had three hits as the Rockies began a nine-game homestand with a rare win over the Angels. Colorado is now 13-30 all-time against Los Angeles, including 5-14 at Coors Field.
The Angels suddenly have dropped three straight games after winning 11 of their previous 14.
Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout hit back-to-back, 434-foot homers in the fifth inning on Friday.
Ohtani had three hits, and his major-league-leading 25th homer was his 10th of the month. He is batting .377 (29-for-77) in June.
Ohtani also has an extra-base hit in 10 consecutive road games, the longest streak in the majors since Adrian Gonzalez of the San Diego Padres had a 12-game streak in 2009.
Trout’s homer was his 16th of the season but only his third of the month. He is batting just .164 (11-for-67) in June.
While one pitch by Devenski did the damage, Angels manager Phil Nevin said his team’s offense was the problem. Los Angeles left 10 runners on base and was 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position. Even Ohtani struck out with two on to end the top of the eighth.
“You can’t leave them out there in this park; that’s just the way it is and we did it a few times,” Nevin said. “… You have to add on runs here. We certainly didn’t score enough runs to win a game in this park.”
The Angels acquired veteran infielder Eduardo Escobar from the New York Mets on Friday for minor league right-handers Landon Marceaux and Coleman Crow. Los Angeles lost infielder Gio Urshela (fractured pelvis) last week, and he isn’t expected back this season.
“Our depth has been really tested in the infield,” Nevin said. “He’s a professional, he’s been around a long time. … We’re looking forward to having (Escobar) here.”
Right-hander Griffin Canning (5-2. 4.40 ERA) will start for the Angels on Saturday and is looking to win his fourth consecutive decision.
Canning, 27, received a no-decision against the Kansas City Royals last Saturday despite allowing two runs on three hits over six innings. He is 3-0 with a 2.70 ERA over his last five starts.
Canning will make his second career start against the Rockies. He gave up three runs and seven hits over 5 2/3 innings at Coors Field on Sept. 11, 2020.
Right-hander Chase Anderson (0-1, 4.12) will make his eighth start for Colorado since he was picked up on waivers in May.
Anderson was torched for seven runs and seven hits in three innings while losing to the Atlanta Braves on Sunday.
Anderson, 35, is 1-0 with a 5.14 ERA in two appearances (one start) against the Angels. The start came in 2015 when he was a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks and he gave up two runs and seven hits in six innings while recording the victory.
–Field Level Media
