Arizona beat Colorado 2-1 on a walk-off single Tuesday night in the series opener in the desert, finishing off a game that stayed tight from the first pitch to the last. The Diamondbacks got just enough late offense after Eduardo Rodriguez and Zach Agnos traded strong starts in a low-scoring night that belonged to the pitchers.
Adrian Del Castillo drew a one-out walk to become Arizona's first baserunner, but Agnos kept the Diamondbacks quiet for most of the night. The right-hander, making his first start since high school, worked five innings and allowed one run on one hit, striking out four and walking one while throwing 71 pitches, 49 for strikes. He became the third Rockie all-time to post that stat line in his first career start. Ketel Marte delivered the lone hit off Agnos, a soft line drive with two outs in the inning.
Colorado's offense did not reach base until the fourth inning and did not record a hit until the fifth, when Ezequiel Tovar opened the frame with a double to right field. Braxton Fulford later tried a squeeze bunt, but Rodriguez got Tovar at the plate to keep the game scoreless. That escape mattered because Arizona finally broke through in the sixth, when Corbin Carroll drove in a run on a force out to give the Diamondbacks a 1-0 lead. Rodriguez, who threw seven innings, allowed four hits and struck out four while getting 63 of 99 pitches over for strikes.
The Rockies had hoped before the game to get at least four innings from Agnos, and he gave them more than that. But Colorado again came up short in a game that tilted on a single mistake, the kind of night that has been familiar in a season when the club has asked a lot of young arms. The report from the desert also followed Blas Castaño's impressive Rockies debut against Arizona last Sunday, another reminder that Colorado keeps finding a little more from its pitching than its record can cash in.
Arizona's edge showed up where it usually does: in pitching and defense, with the home team limiting Colorado's chances and waiting for the opening that finally came late. The same formula has driven the Diamondbacks in other tight games, including the kind of matchup previewed in their pitching-first win over San Francisco, and it paid off again here. The only question left after the opener is whether Colorado can turn another crisp start into a result before the series slips away from it.
