Owings pitches D-Backs to 4-3 win over Rockies

The offense didn't square up many balls on Wednesday night, and the bullpen had its struggles once again. But against the NL West, even a mediocre game is good enough right now.

Bordow: Should Johnson remain in rotation?

D-Backs notebook: Bruised hand won’t shut down Unit

Orlando Hudson had a two-out, two-run single in the fifth inning and Brandon Lyon had to stop Colorado's desperate attempt to rally in the ninth as the Diamondbacks held on for a 4-3 win at Chase Field.

Brad Hawpe popped out to third with runners on the corners and two outs in the top of the ninth.

"Oh, it was a no-doubter, it was in the bag," Arizona manager Bob Melvin joked. "(Todd) Helton and (Matt) Holliday and Hawpe, those guys, they've never hurt us before. Lyon made big pitches, though."

Hudson's hit gave the Diamondbacks a 4-0 lead, but the Rockies chipped away with a run in the seventh and two more in the eighth.

Lyon retired the first two batters in the ninth, but singles by Helton and Garrett Atkins made it interesting before the pop-out.

The Diamondbacks are 19-5 in division games and 7-1 against the Rockies.

Arizona continues to distance itself in what was supposed to be a competitive division, but Hudson believes it will still be a race come September.

"We've got to see them 100 more times," Hudson said. "It's going to come down to the wire."

Micah Owings threw six shutout innings, escaping a bases-loaded jam in the first and runners on first and second with one out in the sixth. He threw 100 pitches.

He is 5-1 on the year.

"It's been awhile (since his last win)," Owings said. "It's nice to get one."

Meanwhile, Eric Byrnes continues to struggle.

He went 0-for-4, his average dropping to .214. The Rockies intentionally walked Justin Upton with no outs to load the bases for Byrnes in the fourth inning, and he grounded into a double play.

The bases were loaded again in the fifth for him, and Byrnes grounded out to shortstop.

Byrnes was batting .293 on April 26, but he is 6-for-61 since then with no multi-hit games in 15 contests.

Turning point: Brandon Lyon got Brad Hawpe to pop out to end the game with the tying run at third base.
Stat of the game: The Diamondbacks are 23-1 when leading the game after eight innings.
Unsung hero: Micah Owings battled out of jams all day, throwing six scoreless innings to lower his ERA to 3.81.
Green light: Bob Melvin is trying to help Eric Byrnes out of his slump. Melvin let Byrnes swing away on a 3-0 pitch in the second inning, but Byrnes fouled it straight back into the screen. He ended up striking out and went 0-for-4 in the game.