DENVER — The fireworks started long before the sun set behind Coors Field on Saturday night.
Brendan Rodgers, hotter than a habanero pepper, rocketed a three-run home run in the first inning off veteran lefty Dallas Keuchel, and Connor Joe lined a bases-loaded triple to right field off Keuchel in the fourth as the Rockies lit up the Diamondbacks, 11-7, in front of a sellout crowd of 48,331.
Colorado’s pyrotechnics continued with a four-run sixth inning that buried the D-Backs. Kris Bryant, who went 3 for 5 and is beginning to swing with more authority, drove in a run with a single to left, his first RBI since April 17.
Charlie Blackmon followed with a two-run double, the 278th double of his career, moving him past former teammate Carlos Gonzalez and into sole possession of third place in franchise history. Todd Helton’s 592 doubles rank No. 1, followed by Hall of Famer Larry Walker with 297.
C.J. Cron’s single to shallow center field scored Blackmon to push Colorado’s lead to a cushy six runs. Daulton Varsho’s two-run homer off Colorado right-hander Jhoulys Chacin in the ninth accounted for the game’s final runs.
Rodgers’ homer was his eighth of the season and he now has 40 RBIs. The second baseman is hitting .354 (17 for 48) with two homers, six doubles, two triples and 14 RBIs over his last 12 games.
Rockies left-hander Austin Gomber, making his first start since June 15 after two tune-up appearances in the bullpen, got rocked a bit, but departed with two outs in the sixth holding a 7-4 lead. Gomber gave up four runs on six hits, with two walks and two homers.
Christian Walker launched a leadoff homer off Gomber in the second. A leadoff triple by Cooper Hummel and an RBI single by Ketel Marte scored a D-backs run in the fourth. In the sixth, a leadoff double by Jake Hager and an RBI single cut Colorado’s lead to 7-3. Then Marte’s solo homer to left cut Colorado’s lead to 7-4.
That was it for Gomber, who departed with a 6.53 ERA. The D-backs immediately trimmed the lead to 7-5 on Walker’s homer off the left-field foul pole on reliever Jake Bird’s 2-1 cutter.
Keuchel, 34, making his first career start at Coors Field, was roasted for seven runs (six earned) on six hits in five innings. The 2015 American League Cy Young Award winner with Houston, who signed a minor league deal with Arizona on June 7, is struggling. He has an 8.27 ERA.
The Rockies, who are three games into a stretch of 17 games in 17 days, will attempt to win the three-game series vs. D-backs on Sunday at Coors. On Monday, they begin a seven-game road trip against the Dodgers in Los Angeles.
