DENVER (AP) — The ball had barely even left his bat and already C.J. Cron was staring into the Colorado dugout.
That’s how sure he was of where it would end up. That’s how clutch he’s been, too.
Cron hit a pair of three-run homers, including a go-ahead shot in the eighth, and the Rockies rallied for a 6-5 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday.
Cron’s 16th career multihomer game helped the Rockies come back from a 5-0 deficit. Cron instantly knew he got all of a breaking ball from Noé Ramirez, who entered in the eighth when reliever Ian Kennedy suffered a right calf cramp. The designated hitter did, too, as it cleared the fence in left-center as he glanced toward his teammates.
Cron also lined a three-run homer to left-center off Zac Gallen in the sixth to start the comeback.
“I was trying to do some damage,” Cron said. “I take a lot of pride in getting the job done with runners in scoring position.”
Jake Bird (1-0) pitched a perfect eighth and Daniel Bard earned his 16th save in 18 chances by getting Daulton Varsho to ground out with the bases loaded. A tight situation, indeed, after a double from Josh Rojas, an intentional walk of David Peralta and a walk of Christian Walker.
“He got it done,” said Rockies manager Bud Black, whose team wore green jerseys with white mountain peaks. “There’s a lot of ways to get saves.”
The game turned in the eighth when Kennedy got one out and had a 3-2 count on Yonathan Daza. Kennedy grabbed at his right leg, was checked by an athletic trainer and left the game for Ramirez (2-2), who was allowed to take all the warmup pitches he needed.
The right-hander surrendered a single to Daza and another to Charlie Blackmon before Cron’s deep drive. Ramirez didn’t record an out in surrendering three runs as the Rockies took two of three…