It was close, but no cigar for Diamondbacks throughout loss to Rockies

When does an inch feel like a mile?

Ask the Diamondbacks, who experienced that exact feeling at least a half dozen times Saturday during their 6-5 loss to the Rockies in front of a crowd of 43,340 at Chase Field.

Arizona’s string of depth-perception issues began in the fifth inning when starting pitcher Zack Godley, in the middle of a no-hitter, watched Colorado’s Ian Desmond smoke a long fly ball to center field. No worries, of course. Gold Glove outfielder A.J. Pollock looked like he was going to track it down and make the catch like he usually always does.

Except he didn’t. Pollock got his glove on the ball, but he needed an extra inch for the out and he didn’t make it. Instead, Desmond broke up Godley’s no-no with a leadoff triple and would score during the following at-bat on Garrett Hampson’s first major-league hit, a double to left.

“From that point forward, thing weren’t as consistent as they were for Zack for the first four innings,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “But in those first four innings, he was outstanding.”

BOX SCORE:Rockies 6, Diamondbacks 5

The Rockies added another run in the fifth on Charlie Blackmon’s opposite-field double, cutting into what had been a 3-0 Diamondbacks lead thanks to a three-run fourth by Arizona. Steven Souza Jr., who finished with three hits and a walk, would pad that lead with his second RBI single in the fifth.

But then another one of those “inch” and “mile” things occurred.

This time, Godley was facing Carlos Gonzalez to open the sixth inning. Gonzalez battled off a pitch by sending a little roller back to Godley for what everyone assumed would be an easy first out. Except it wasn’t, because Godley, with plenty of time to spare, inexplicably threw the ball some six feet away from Paul Goldschmidt at first base.

And wouldn’t you know, Gonzalez would score after a pair of base hits. The Rockies then tied it at 4 when Trevor Story crossed the plate on a wild pitch from Godley.

“The whole situation in that sixth inning just didn’t go well,” Godley said, adding of his throwing error to first, “That play didn’t affect me at all, I just rushed the throw to first base and those things happen every now and then.”

The third close encounter came in the seventh inning when Pollock tried to haul in a dying fly ball hit by Gonzalez. Again, he just missed making the catch by an inch and Gerardo Parra, who reached on a walk, scored all the way from first base with ease to give the Rockies a 5-4 lead.

The Diamondbacks managed to tie it in their half of the seventh on Nick Ahmed’s bloop single to right, but the “inch factor” reared its ugly head again in the eighth inning. That’s when Arizona relief pitcher Yoshihisa Hirano threw a two-out splitter to Rockies pinch-hitter Tom Murphy. The only problem was that the pitch was an inch or two too high.

Murphy, who hadn’t hit a home run in two years, deposited it over the left-field fence and the solo shot was the go-ahead run that proved to be the difference.

“He just made a mistake to a hitter that squared up a split in the middle of the zone and Yoshi typically doesn’t make those types of mistakes,” Lovullo said. “Every once in a while he’s going to and you’ve got to give the hitter credit for being ready. Pinch-hitting is hard. It’s hard. But he did his job and once again, we lose the game on a home run and those things are hard to walk through.”

It didn’t have to end that way, of course. But this whole “close, but no cigar” thing came back to haunt the Diamondbacks two more times during the bottom of the ninth.

With Ketel Marte at first following a leadoff single, Goldschmidt was called out on strikes by home plate umpire Paul Nauert. Goldschmidt clearly thought the last pitch was a ball and he argued his case for a brief moment, but to no avail.

Then, with two outs and runners at first and second, Nauert rang up Ahmed on a called third strike that appeared to be an obvious ball inside thrown by Rockies closer Wade Davis.

“Obviously, you guys saw it. I was pretty upset. I thought it was inside. But it’s part of the game,” Ahmed said. “You never want to get called out on strikes to end a game with guys on base and a chance to win it, but that’s part of the game. It happens.”

Not in Souza’s mind, it shouldn’t.

“Kind of ridiculous. If you go back and look at the video, that ball should not be called a strike,” Souza said. “That’s a really good pitcher up there and for Nick to work that count, he doesn’t deserve that. Paul (Nauert) has got to do better than that. … It wasn’t close at all.”

Souza didn’t check video replays of Goldschmidt’s punch out, but he figures it had to be a ball just judging form Goldschmidt’s reaction.

“You can never tell with him because he doesn’t react,” Souza said, “but obviously he felt enough to say something and when he says something, that probably means you should check what you’re calling a strike.”

Lovullo was more careful in his explanation, but he basically said the same thing -- especially regarding the called third strike on Ahmed to end the game.

“It hurts. Umpiring is tough,” he said. “I know they try to get every call right. And I really firmly believe that. I haven’t had a chance to look at the play myself, but several people that I know and trust said it was a borderline pitch. … It hurts a little bit more when you might lose a game on a pitch or a play that isn’t called accurately.”

The Diamondbacks will try to snap a three-game skid on Sunday when they close out their three-game series with the Rockies at 1:10 p.m. Arizona also lost an 11-10 thriller on Friday.

“These are tough losses. They’re grinding losses,” Lovullo said. “These are ones that really test your character and your togetherness and your belief in one another. I know that group in there right now is hurting. It stings. But I know they’re going to come out and fight tomorrow like they always have.”

READ MORE:

• Torey Lovullo using power of belief to help Steven Souza Jr.
• Hailey Dawson throws first pitch with 3D-printed hand
• Lovullo mixes lineup to keep team fresh after All-Star break

Reach McManaman at bob.mcmanaman@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Twitter @azbobbymac and listen to him live every Tuesday afternoon between 3-6 on 1580-AM The Fanatic with Roc and Manuch and every Wednesday afternoon between 1-3 on Fox Sports 910-AM on The Freaks with Kenny and Crash.