Rockies overcome wildness, ride homers to beat Diamondbacks 6-4 for rare road series win

PHOENIX (AP) — Brett Sullivan hit a three-run homer in the second inning and the Colorado Rockies, despite walking 10 batters, held on to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-4 on Wednesday.

Sullivan connected on a shot down the right-field line to cap a four-run inning against Arizona starter Merrill Kelly.

Zac Veen, in his first game of the season, added a two-run homer in the fourth for the Rockies. The 2020 first-round pick was called up earlier in the week. The Rockies won consecutive road games for the first time since June 1-2 at the Los Angeles Angels. That was also Colorado’s previous road series win.

Ryan Feltner (5-6) went five innings for the win. He gave up seven hits and two runs, walking three and striking out two.

Jordan Romano pitched the ninth for his 12th save.

Kelly (8-10) gave up six hits and six earned runs in five innings.

Corbin Carroll hit his 100th career home run, and 18th of the season, an opposite-field shot to left-center off lefty Brennan Bernardino in the eighth. Earlier, the Arizona All-Star hit his 14th triple of the season, twice as many as any other player has. His 57 career triples lead all active players.

The Diamondbacks stranded 15 baserunners, including the bases loaded in the fifth and sixth. In the sixth, Gabriel Moreno struck out looking in an at-bat that saw three of plate umpire Emil Jiménez’s calls overturned — two called strikes that were well out of the strike zone, and the final pitch was changed to a strike.

Of the 10 walks, only one Diamondback scored — on a bases-loaded walk.

Rockies: Off Thursday. LHP Kyle Freeland (3-10, 6.63 ERA) was set to starts Friday in San Francisco against Giants RHP Landen Roupp (7-11, 4.22).

Diamondbacks: Off Thursday. RHP Brandon Pfaadt (6-1, 3.36) was scheduled to start opposite Braves LHP Chris Sale (12-7, 2.20) on Friday in Atlanta.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Arizona Diamondbacks' Ketel Marte (4) hits a run-scoring single as Colorado Rockies catcher Brett Sullivan reaches for the ball during the first inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Colorado Rockies' Brett Sullivan (26) celebrates his three-run home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks with Rockies' Willi Castro (3) during the second inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Colorado Rockies' Brett Sullivan, second from right, celebrates his three-run home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks with Rockies' Jake McCarthy (31), Mickey Moniak (22) and Willi Castro (3) during the second inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Arizona Diamondbacks starting pitcher Merrill Kelly (29) gets a new baseball after giving up a three-run home run to Colorado Rockies' Brett Sullivan, right, during the second inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Colorado Rockies' Brett Sullivan watches the flight of his three-run home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the second inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) — Matthew Hudson-Smith willed himself down the final straightaway on his home track to win his third European championships 400-meters gold medal on Wednesday.

The 31-year-old British star went out fast, held a big lead around the final bend and crossed the line in 44.17 seconds as France's Muhammad Abdallah Kounta (silver) and Jonas Phijffers (bronze) of the Netherlands closed in.

Hudson-Smith, who also won the 400 at the 2018 and 2022 editions, has trained at Alexander Stadium since his youth and has a section of the stands named after him.

“I’ve been here since I was 9 years old so to do it here in front of my friends and family is extra special,” Hudson-Smith said. “It’s most likely my last European champs so there’s no better place and way to go out.”

The 400-meter silver medalist at the Paris Olympics is already eyeing the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

“The Europeans is always something I target. I know there’s always a gold there for me and it’s a good stepping stone to LA,” he said. “Every race and every win is another step towards that ultimate goal of winning the Olympics.”

Emma Zapletalova became the first Slovakian woman to win a gold medal at the European championships. She won the 400-meter hurdles final in a time of 52.91 seconds.

The 26-year-old Zapletalova was considered the favorite after Dutch star Femke Broeders-Bol switched to the 800.

“I am endlessly happy that I managed it and was not affected by the pressure,” she said.

The only other Slovakian athlete to win a medal at the European championships was Libor Charfreitag, who took the men’s hammer title in 2010.

“This is a precious medal for Slovakia — gold after a long 16 years,” Zapletalova said. “I still have to digest it.”

Britain's Emily Newnham took silver, and Portugal's Fatoumata Binta Diallo was third.

Irish middle-distance runner Mark English broke a longstanding European championships record in the 800 meters when he won his semifinal heat.

English finished in 1 minute, 43.49 seconds to eclipse Olaf Beyer’s championship record of 1:43.84 set in 1978 in Prague.

“It is nice to have the record, for sure, and I felt really good doing it. But there will be a lot of really good guys in the final tomorrow, a lot of really talented runners, so I’ll need to discuss tactics now after this,” the 33-year-old English said as he looked ahead to Thursday's final.

Beyer, who represented East Germany, had upset British stars Steve Ovett and Sebastian Coe for the title 48 years ago.

“I saw the record before the race and I thought it would probably be broken by someone at these championships,” said English, a two-time bronze medalist at the European championships.

English gave a shoutout to the Irish fans at Alexander Stadium: “I heard them before the race, I heard them during the race, I heard them after it. I think close to 15 percent of tickets sold went to Irish fans so it’s amazing to (be) running in front of such a crowd.”

Britain's Ben Pattison finished second in English's heat, crossing in 1:43.72.

AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

Slovakia's Emma Zapletalova poses with her medal after winning the women's 400 meters hurdles final at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham, England, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Slovakia's Emma Zapletalova poses with her medal after winning the women's 400 meters hurdles final at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham, England, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Britain's Matthew Hudson-Smith reacts after winning the men's 400 meters final at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham, England, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Morgan Harlow)

Britain's Matthew Hudson-Smith reacts after winning the men's 400 meters final at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham, England, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Morgan Harlow)

Mark English of Ireland smiles after winning a men's 800 meters semifinal at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham, England, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Morgan Harlow)

Ireland's Mark English reacts after winning a men's 800 meters semifinal at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham, England, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)