DENVER -- Sometimes in the course of the grueling marathon of a 162-game season, a manager asks too much from one of his players due to circumstances.
That's how D-backs skipper Chip Hale described things Monday night after he sent closer Brad Ziegler out to try and slam the door in the ninth inning just one day after the right-hander had thrown 30 pitches.
The D-backs' bullpen has been taxed of late and was running on fumes when Hale made the decision to go to Ziegler.
The result was back-to-back losses charged to Ziegler, the latest a tough-to-swallow 5-4 loss to the Rockies, who rallied for four runs in the ninth, all of which were charged to Ziegler.