DENVER — Nolan Arenado bounced back from a benching with three hits, including a home run, and the Colorado Rockies beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-1 on Saturday night.
Tyler Matzek pitched three-hit ball over seven scoreless innings. Drew Stubbs and Corey Dickerson also homered for the Rockies, who have won three straight.
Ike Davis denied Colorado its first shutout at Coors Field this season with a one-out homer in the ninth.
It was a bounce-back performance for Arenado, removed from Friday’s game when he didn’t hustle down the line on a grounder to the pitcher in the fourth inning.
Arenado met with manager Walt Weiss before Saturday’s game and said he agreed with the decision.
The 2013 Gold Glove winner took out any frustration he might have had on Pirates starter Jeff Locke. Arenado delivered RBI singles in the third and fifth and then hit a solo home run in the seventh, his eighth of the year.
Dickerson added a two-out solo homer to chase Locke (2-2).
That was more than enough for Matzek (2-4), who continued a recent string of strong starts for Colorado. The Rockies’ rotation had allowed 13 earned runs in its last 44 innings entering Saturday, and Matzek added to that with seven shutout innings to get his first win since his major league debut against Atlanta on June 11.
Stubbs made it 2-0 with a leadoff homer in the fourth, his 11th, before leaving after rolling his left ankle.
Colorado added two more in the fifth on Arenado’s second run-scoring single and Dickerson’s bases-loaded groundout.
Matzek made it hold up with the strongest start of his brief career. He pitched around a leadoff double in the fourth, and a double play got him out of a two-on, one-out jam in the seventh.
Josh Rutledge added a two-run single in the eighth — his third hit of the night — to make it 8-0.
The Pirates came into Coors Field having won six of eight, but they’ve struggled against the Rockies. They’ve managed just two runs in the first two games in Denver, while Colorado has scored 16.
Locke allowed six runs on 10 hits and struck out six in 6 2-3 innings.
NOTES: Rockies OF Carlos Gonzalez was scratched from the lineup due to a swollen right ankle. He rolled his ankle at home before arriving at Coors Field on Saturday. … Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said RHP Gerrit Cole (right lat strain), who is scheduled to make his first rehab start Monday for Triple-A Indianapolis and throw about 80 pitches, will make a second rehab start to get his pitch count up to 100. … Pittsburgh 3B Pedro Alvarez (sore left knee) was not in the starting lineup for the fourth straight game.
