Jon Gray struck out seven in a solid seven-inning outing, Nolan Arenado singled to extend his hitting streak to 12 games and Daniel Murphy drove in two runs as the Colorado Rockies beat the Toronto Blue Jays 4-2 Saturday night.
David Dahl had three hits as the Rockies won their seventh straight and improve to 8-1 on their homestand. Scott Oberg got the final out for his second save.
Gray allowed two hits in 6 2/3 innings and didn't allow a run for the second time this season. He pitched six scoreless innings in a win over Philadelphia on April 21.
Gray's scoreless outing overshadowed a strong start by Toronto's Marcus Stroman (3-7). The right-hander settled down after a rough first, giving up four runs, three earned, in seven innings.
Justin Smoak spoiled the Rockies' shutout bid with a solo homer leading off the ninth, and after a throwing error by shortstop Trevor Story, Danny Jansen hit an RBI double with two out to make it 4-2.
Gray (5-4) worked out of trouble in the second and sixth innings before leaving in the seventh. He struck out the first two batters and followed that with two walks before Jairo Diaz came on in relief and got the final out.
Colorado had a relatively quiet offensive night after getting 35 hits in its previous two games. It looked as if it would be another big night at the place in the first inning when four straight hits off Stroman made it 3-0.
Arenado followed singles by Story and Dahl with one of his own to drive in the first run, and Murphy made it 3-0 with a two-run double past center fielder Jonathan Davis.
Raimel Tapia extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a double in the fifth inning, and two Toronto errors on the play allowed him to score to make it 4-0.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Rockies: OF Charlie Blackmon (right calf strain) did some running in the outfield before Saturday's game and is on track to be activated from the 10-day injured list when Colorado starts its six-game road trip at the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday.
UP NEXT
Toronto righty Aaron Sanchez (3-5, 3.75) will make the second start of his career at Coors Field. He won his only other outing in 2016, when he allowed one run in eight innings. He will go against Rockies right-hander Antonio Senzatela (3-4, 5.81).
