by Patrick Saunders The Denver Post , The Denver Post

They squandered an early 4-1 lead and lost 7-5 to the Diamondbacks on Friday night at Chase Field.

"The bottom line is wins and losses right now. We'll just have to come back out and play again tomorrow," said hobbling first baseman Todd Helton.

Helton, sitting in the dugout in the ninth inning, got drilled in the left shin by a foul ball off Carlos Gonzalez's bat. Helton quickly exited the dugout for the clubhouse training room.

"It hurt bad," he said. "It was just one of those freak things. I think I'm going to be OK. We'll have to see tomorrow."

Helton's shin isn't the only thing hurting. The Rockies fell to 2-5 on this all-important road trip, and their wild-card lead was reduced to 2 1/2 games over the Giants, who beat the Dodgers 8-4.

Arizona's killer blow was a two-run double by Gerardo Parra in the seventh off reliever Matt Daley. Right fielder Brad Hawpe chased down the drive to the corner, but Hawpe couldn't make the clutch catch, the ball bouncing off his glove.

Ryan Roberts' solo homer in the eighth off Matt Belisle added to the Rockies' misery.

The same problems that have plagued the Rockies since they left the friendly confines of Coors Field early this month rose up to bite them again Friday night. Their offense went into hibernation, and starter Jason Marquis, an all-star, failed to deliver.

The Rockies appeared to be in cruise control in the third when Troy Tulowitzki crushed a 3-1 changeup from Arizona starter Kevin Mulvey into the left-field seats for a two-run homer, his 28th of the season. The Rockies were up 4-1 and sitting pretty.

But that was their last hit of the night until Yorvit Torrealba singled in the ninth. Indeed, the Rockies didn't have a single baserunner in innings four through eight.

"Offensively, we started out great tonight," manager Jim Tracy said. "Unfortunately, nothing happened offensively from the fourth through the eighth inning. Right now we are getting big production from Tulowitzki and Yorvit Torrealba, but there is not a lot happening offensively in between them. That's the sticking point right now."

The Rockies staged a desperate rally in the ninth, scoring a run on Ian Stewart's single up the middle. But with two men on, Arizona closer Juan Gutierrez struck out pinch-hitters Jason Giambi and Garrett Atkins and got Gonzalez to foul out.

After a shaky start, Marquis appeared to find his rhythm, striking out five straight batters in the second and third innings.

But in the fourth, he committed the same sin that's plagued him for the last month. Namely, he left juicy meatballs over the plate. Miguel Montero whistled a double to the left-field corner and scored on Roberts' single to right, cutting Colorado's lead to 4-2. Up stepped Brandon Allen, who gobbled up a hanging 3-2 slider, airmailing it 413 feet to right field to tie the game 4-4.

"I left a ball up and it cost us the game," Marquis said.

Marquis gave up four runs on six hits in six innings. Most disconcerting of all, he gave up a season-high five walks, testament to his lack of command. Marquis has only one victory in his last six starts.

In addition to Tulowitzki, Torrealba is the only Rockies hitter who has consistently produced on the road trip. Torrealba's two-out, bases-loaded single up the gut gave the Rockies a 2-0 lead in the first.

Patrick Saunders: 303-954-1428 or psaunders@denverpost.com

----------------------------------------

Playoff chase

The Giants and Marlins each gained a game in the wild-card, while the Braves fell further back. The Dodgers lost to the Giants, but kept a 5-game NL West lead:

NL West ....W....L....GB....

Los Angeles ....88....60....-....

Colorado ....83....65....5....

WILD CARD....W....L....GB....

Colorado....83....65....-....

San Francisco....80....67....2 1/2....

Florida....79....69....4....Atlanta....78....69....4 1/2....

Copyright 2009 The Denver Post All Rights Reserved
	Terms & Conditions     Privacy Copyright © 2009 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.