DENVER (Interstat) — Merrill Kelly pitched into the sixth inning and the Arizona Diamondbacks used a four-run first inning to beat the Colorado Rockies 5-3 on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026, at Coors Field. Arizona improved to 84-74. Colorado fell to 57-101. The decisive sequence came early against Colorado left fielder Zac Veen. After Lars Nootbaar struck out swinging, Ketel Marte reached on a fielding error by Veen and advanced to second. Gabriel Moreno followed with a single to left that scored Marte. Geraldo Perdomo struck out for the second out, but Pavin Smith singled and Nolan Arenado singled home Moreno. Corbin Carroll then tripled to right field, bringing home Smith and Arenado. All four runs were unearned, and they gave Arizona a lead it did not relinquish.

Colorado answered in the second. Kyle Karros walked with one out, and Adael Amador doubled to right field to score Karros. The Rockies trimmed the deficit to 4-2 in the third. Ezequiel Tovar singled, Jake McCarthy singled to send Tovar to third, and Hunter Goodman lifted a sacrifice fly to left field that scored Tovar. Cole Carrigg struck out swinging before Goodman’s fly ball, and TJ Rumfield flied out to end the inning.

Mason Adams kept Colorado close after the first. The Rockies right-hander worked six innings, allowed five hits and no earned runs, and struck out eight. He took the loss because of the unearned first-inning damage. Adams retired the Diamondbacks in order in the second, third, fourth and fifth. Moreno singled in the sixth, but Perdomo struck out and Moreno was caught stealing to end the inning. Mark Manfredi replaced Adams and worked a scoreless seventh before Arizona added to its lead in the eighth.

Arizona’s Merrill Kelly was the Diamondbacks’ top star, earning the win with 5 1/3 innings of four-hit, two-run ball. Kelly walked one and struck out two. He improved to 10-14 on the season. After Colorado’s third-inning run, Kelly retired the side in order in the fourth and fifth. He got the first out of the sixth before Hunter Goodman singled to right. Justin Martinez replaced Kelly and retired TJ Rumfield and Kyle Karros to keep the score at 4-2. Arizona’s bullpen then held Colorado scoreless in the seventh, setting up Tim Tawa’s eighth-inning homer.

Tawa homered to left field in the eighth. Ketel Marte then singled, and Gabriel Moreno singled to right, but Geraldo Perdomo grounded into a double play to end the threat. Colorado answered in the bottom of the eighth when Tovar homered to right field. That cut Arizona’s lead to 5-3. Brandyn Garcia remained in the game to get the final two outs of the inning, and Jonathan Loáisiga handled the ninth.

In the ninth, Kyle Karros singled to left. Adael Amador grounded into a force out that erased Karros at second. Troy Johnston walked, and Jordan Beck grounded out to shortstop Geraldo Perdomo, moving the runners to second and third. Tovar then popped out to first baseman Ildemaro Vargas in foul territory to end the game. Loáisiga allowed one hit and one walk in his inning of work and recorded his second save.

Carroll finished 1 for 4 with two RBIs. Tovar went 2 for 4 with a home run and one RBI. Tawa’s homer provided the final Arizona run. Manfredi allowed one earned run over two innings for Colorado and struck out one. Jaden Hill pitched a scoreless inning with one strikeout. For Arizona, Martinez, Garcia, Juan Morillo and Loáisiga combined to finish the game after Kelly departed. The Rockies’ Adams delivered the most notable pitching line in defeat, allowing five hits and no earned runs over six innings with eight strikeouts. Kelly’s line was 5 1/3 innings, four hits, two earned runs, one walk and two strikeouts. Loáisiga’s save line was one inning, one hit, no earned runs and one walk.

Arizona pitchers combined for 13 strikes, 30 balls and 13 balls in play. Colorado pitchers combined for eight strikes, 40 balls and eight balls in play. The game drew 21,041 to Coors Field and took 2 hours, 22 minutes. Arizona finished with eight hits. Colorado finished with seven hits. The Diamondbacks’ win kept them alive in the National League wild-card chase as they prepare to close the regular season with a series in San Diego. The Rockies continued a difficult season at home.

The win also pulled Arizona within striking distance of the third wild-card spot after losses by Philadelphia and Chicago earlier in the day. The Diamondbacks still face a narrow path, but the result prevented them from being eliminated Wednesday. Arizona will finish its series in Colorado on Thursday before moving to San Diego for three games. Colorado will also wrap up its series with Arizona before traveling to Chicago for three games against the White Sox.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Arizona Diamondbacks 7, Colorado Rockies 4. Interstat’s ELO system gave Arizona a 64.8 percent probability to win. Arizona had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5. The over/under line was 11. The combined score of 8 did not reach that line.