Diamondbacks beat the Rockies 5-3 to keep NL wild-card hopes alive

DENVER -- — Corbin Carroll had a two-run triple to cap a four-run first inning and the Arizona Diamondbacks kept their playoff hopes alive with a 5-3 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday night. Gabriel Moreno drove in the first run and finished with three hits to help Arizona (84-74) close within three games of the Phillies and Cubs for an NL wild card. Moreno, with a .310 batting average, trails the Phillies' Luis Arraez at .312 for the NL batting title with four games remaining. Merrill Kelly (10-14) allowed two runs over 5 1/3 innings to improve to 6-0 in nine starts at Coors Field since 2022. Jonathan Loáisiga earned his second save when he retired Ezequiel Tovar on a foul pop that first baseman Ildemaro Vargas caught at the railing with runners on second and third. Ketel Marte reached second when Zac Veen misplayed his one-out liner to left field in the first and Moreno singled off rookie Mason Adams (0-2) two pitches later for the lead. Nolan Arenado added an RBI single before Carroll hit his 17th triple — the most in the majors this season. The Rockies have allowed an MLB-high 131 first-inning runs. Adams retired 13 straight following Carroll’s triple until Moreno singled leading off the sixth. All four runs off the right-hander were unearned. He allowed five hits and struck out eight in six innings for the first time in his six starts. Adael Amador had an RBI double in the second and Hunter Goodman added a sacrifice fly in the third for the Rockies (57-101). Tim Tawa hit his 11th homer off Mark Manfredi for a 5-2 lead in the eighth. Tovar answered with his 12th home run of the season off Brandyn Garcia in the bottom of the inning. Up next Diamondbacks LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (15-7, 2.89 ERA) starts Thursday opposite Rockies RHP Tanner Gordon (1-5, 6.01). ------ See AP’s full MLB coverage here