PHOENIX -- Randy Johnson never lost to the Cubs in 14 starts, but he had a 5.43 ERA against the Rays. Barry Bonds hit .407 against Tim Hudson but had his hands full against Mike Bielecki, batting .086. In a sport built on matchups, Wade Miley has found one that works for him. Miley ran his career record to 6-0 against the Rockies in the Diamondbacks' 9-2 victory Saturday, keeping hitters off-balance with his usual mix of a low-90s fastball, a changeup and a biting slider. Just do not look too closely for explanation. "I have no idea. It's the mentality I take to anyone else: Just go out and try to keep us in the game," Miley said. "I try not to think about that (past performances). It's when things go bad when you start thinking about stuff like that." The Rockies did not get a runner past second until scoring twice in the seventh inning, and several times along the way, Colorado batters raised their hands to ask for a little more time in the batter's box. About the only thing that seemed to disrupt Miley was his time spent on the bases -- he had two of the D-backs' 16 hits, joining a parade led by Aaron Hill, Miguel Montero and Parra, a trio that combined for eight hits and six RBIs. Miley joined Randy Johnson as the only two D-backs left-handers to have consecutive 10-win seasons, improving to 10-10 while lowering his career ERA against the Rockies to 2.56. "It's awesome being mentioned with Randy Johnson, but I'm going out to get three more, three more starts," Miley said. His next one is scheduled for Thursday against the Dodgers, so he will miss a final start against Colorado next weekend. The Rockies probably do not mind. Miley has made eight starts against the Rockies, and six have been quality. In one of the others, he did not give up a run in 4 1/3 innings but was replaced after walking seven. In the other, the D-backs got him 15 runs. "It is probably one of those lineups that can be good for him," Montero said. "He gets in a rhythm and he just goes. He's a horse."
Miley is at his best when he is working quickly -- get it and throw it, as manager Kirk Gibson said -- and that is what he did Saturday. Miley struck out six and walked one, and the tempo also helped his defense. Aaron Hill was the middle man on Miley's 21st double play in the first inning, and Hill also took singles away from Todd Helton on identical plays in the second and fifth innings, backhanding balls near the second base bag and pivoting to make the throw. "It's unbelievable. I didn't think he was going to make either one of them, and he made them both pretty easily," Miley said."Just try to keep a fast pace. Get in, get out." Colorado manager Walt Weiss, who has seen Miley three times this year, admires the way Miley goes about his work. "He is tough whenever I have seen him. A real good fastball angle, so there is some deception there. He works both sides of the plate. He is a real solid pitcher. He has performed well against us," Weiss said. Montero had his second straight three-hit game after going 3-for-3 with a home run and two walks Friday, and he had reached base safely eight straight times before striking out in the seventh inning. He had singles in the second and fourth and doubled in the sixth, scoring on Parra's doubles in the second and sixth. Montero raised his batting average to .244, the highest it has been since April 17. He has not performed as well as in the previous two seasons, or up to his expectations, but he has not lost his sense of humor.
"It wasn't that long. It was only six months," he said when asked about the rough stretch. Follow Jack Magruder on Twitter
