The game turned early. Brett Sullivan turned a four-run second inning into a laugher with a three-run shot off the foul pole, and Zac Veen piled on with a homer in the fourth to push it to 6-1. Feltner worked around traffic all afternoon — Colorado walked 10 batters as a staff and still had enough cushion to hold on.
Kelly never found his rhythm, surrendering both Rockies homers and failing to complete six innings for the second straight month. Arizona clawed back behind Corbin Carroll, who tripled in the first inning — his MLB-leading 14th of the season — and later added a two-run homer during an eighth-inning rally that got the Diamondbacks within two runs before it ran out of gas.
This is where the two seasons diverge. Arizona is white-knuckling a wild-card spot and can't afford spoiler losses like this one, while Colorado has nothing to lose and is playing loose, young baseball under manager Warren Schaeffer as he tries to identify pieces for a rebuild. Torey Lovullo was upbeat afterward about getting shortstop Geraldo Perdomo back healthy, saying the team is "raising the standard" as injured players return — but a loss to a last-place club isn't the standard Arizona is chasing.
For a Diamondbacks team already thin in the rotation and outfield, dropping the finale to a rebuilding club stings more than the standings will show. For the Rockies, it's a second win in the set and a reminder that even a lost season can still ruin someone else's week.