(Best E Casino) - The Diamondbacks held at least a share of first place in the National League West for nearly five months. However, poor play down the stretch will have them sitting at home in October.
Arizona, which was eliminated from playoff contention on Thursday, begins a season-ending three-game series with the Colorado Rockies tonight at Chase Field.
This isn't how Arizona envisioned its final home series of the season. The club was tied for first place in the standings on April 6 and took over sole possession of the top spot the following day. There were all alone in that spot until dropping into a tie on July 9, but always shared at least a tie for first place until September 6, when a setback to the Dodgers dropped them a half-game off the pace.
Arizona never recovered and losses in 12 of its last 20 games sealed the club's fate, as its 12-3 loss to the Cardinals on Thursday clinched the NL West title for Los Angeles.
Adam Dunn, Arizona's big mid-season pickup to help bolster its playoff chances, homered in yesterday's loss, his seventh in 41 games with the Diamondbacks. Dunn also has 39 total homers on the season, leaving him one shy of his fifth straight 40-homer season.
Mark Reynolds added a two-run single, but also set the major-league record for strikeouts in a single season when he fanned for the 200th time in the second inning. He also struck out in the seventh inning, giving him two more than Philadelphia's Ryan Howard (199) had when he set the record last year.
Dan Haren will make his final start of the season for Arizona tonight. Haren was acquired in the offseason from Oakland to give the Diamondbacks a solid 1-2 punch in the rotation with Brandon Webb, and Haren has delivered for the most part.
Haren set a career-high in wins last time out, as his victory over Colorado improved him to 16-8 with a 3.27 earned run average. One start after posting his first-career shutout in a win over the Giants on September 16, the right- hander limited the Rockies to three runs over six innings on Sunday to win his second straight start.
The 28-year-old Haren is 11-4 with a 3.23 ERA in 16 home starts this year and 3-2 with a 3.60 ERA in five career starts versus Colorado.
Colorado also won't be going to the postseason, as the defending NL champions fell into an early-season hole and never got going. The Rockies ended last season with wins in 14 of their last 15 regular-season games -- including a one-game playoff with San Diego to determine the wild card -- and are ending this campaign strong as well.
Colorado has won six of its last eight games, and completed a three-game sweep of the Giants with yesterday's 3-1 victory. Jorge De La Rosa tossed seven shutout innings and Clint Barmes slugged a solo homer in the win.
De La Rosa also helped his own cause with an RBI single and retired the final 11 batters he faced. Brian Fuentes tossed a scoreless ninth to pick up his 30th save of the year. Matt Holliday also drove in a run for the Rockies.
With Aaron Cook being skipped over due to a fatigued right arm, 26-year-old Jason Hirsh will make his first start since August 7 of last season.
Hirsh went 5-7 with a 4.81 ERA in 19 starts a year ago, but suffered a broken fibula versus the Brewers that ended his season early. He then suffered a rotator cuff sprain in Spring Training and spent most of the year with Triple- A Colorado Springs.
He has made three relief outings since joining the Rockies, allowing seven runs (5 earned) over 4 1/3 total innings. He faced Arizona last Sunday and was tagged for five runs (3 earned) on five hits in just an inning of work. allowing a three-run triple to Chris Young.
Hirsh will try to help the Rockies halt a three-game losing streak in Arizona, as Colorado is only 1-5 at Chase Field this year. The Diamondbacks won seven of their nine meetings at Colorado, making them 12-3 versus the club this season.
