DENVER -- All it took was a rough fourth inning to undo a Major League debut from left-hander Marco Gonzales that was almost too good to be true. But the rest of the game was spent bailing him out.
Gonzales' hometown Rockies got to him for all five of his earned runs in that one inning, but the Cardinals bounced back for a series-sealing 9-6 victory at Coors Field on Wednesday.
St. Louis rallied for a total of five runs in innings seven through nine, with Daniel Descalso and Matt Carpenter registering RBI doubles off right-hander Adam Ottavino (0-3) to take the lead in the eighth.
 
Adams homers, Cardinals rally to beat Rockies 9-6
 
Things began storybook enough for the native of Fort Collins, Colo., who struck out Drew Stubbs and Troy Tulowitzki on a combined seven pitches to end the first inning of his big league career.
But the cheers from the caravan of Gonzales' friends and family that encompassed much of Section 136 were loudest when he doubled in his first Major League at-bat. Gonzales came around to score on Matt Holliday's single, giving the Cardinals a 1-0 advantage after three innings.
The fanfare for Gonzales came to an abrupt end in the fourth inning, as he entered having allowed just one walk.
Stubbs led off the frame by depositing the first pitch Gonzales sent his way into the left-field bleachers for his second home run in as many days. With the tone set, the Rockies sent all nine batters to the plate, totaling two doubles, two singles and a walk off Gonzales before he stopped the bleeding down 5-1.
After beginning Mark Ellis' sixth-inning at-bat in the on-deck circle, Gonzales was pulled for pinch-hitter Jon Jay following Ellis' walk. Jay couldn't capitalize with two on and two outs, and Gonzales' day ended with seven hits and two walks against him over five innings pitched. He only struck out one more following his emphatic first frame.
The Cardinals got three back in the fifth, when Matt Adams tacked onto Carpenter's sac fly with his third home run of the series, a two-run shot that made it 5-4.
St. Louis countered Charlie Blackmon's sixth-inning RBI double off Seth Maness with a seventh-inning sac fly from Jhonny Peralta to keep it a one-run game.
After stealing his second base of the season in the ninth and advancing to third on a throwing error by catcher Wilin Rosario, Adams touched home on Yadier Molina's sacrifice fly. The Rockies offered up another run on an Allen Craig sacrifice fly after Nick Masset's wild pickoff attempt allowed Peralta to advance from first to third.
Right-hander Pat Neshek (2-0) combined with lefty Sam Freeman to toss 1 2/3 hitless innings before handing it over to right-hander Trevor Rosenthal for a difficult 41-pitch four-out save, his 23rd.
Cody Ulm / MLB.com
 

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