DENVER (AP) - Chad Bettis put a nice finishing touch on his best season in the majors.
Bettis pitched effectively into the seventh inning, Nolan Arenado hit his NL-Leading 41st homer and the Colorado Rockies beat the Milwaukee Brewers 4-1 on Friday night.
Bettis (14-8) allowed one run and eight hits in 6 2/3 innings while extending a career high in wins this season. He struck out five in Colorado’s first win in four games against Milwaukee this year.
“He’s been solid throughout,” Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. “A hiccup here and there but very reliable. He’s performed very well. It’s been a really good season for him. I think he took that next step as a pitcher this year.”
Bettis said he benefited all season from solid defense behind him, and his final start was no different, pointing to a sensational defensive play by Arenado on Hernan Perez’s sharply hit grounder to third in the fourth as well as a double play in the eighth.
“There were some fantastic plays behind me,” Bettis said. “It was fun to watch, fun to pitch behind.”
Chris Carter connected in the fourth inning, becoming the sixth player in Brewers history to reach 40 home runs in a season.
“It’s definitely nice, it’s a place I’ve never been,” said Carter, who has two more days to duel with Arenado for the league lead. “In (2014) I ended up with 37 and couldn’t make it to it.”
With D.J. LeMahieu aboard after a fielder’s choice, Arenado drove a 2-1 offering from Brent Suter (2-2) over the center field fence to put the Rockies up 2-0 in the first inning.
“It’s always nice to start off a game with some runs,” Arenado said.
The Rockies added to their lead with run-scoring singles by Charlie Blackmon in the second and Nick Hundley in the third.
Carter led off the fourth with a drive to center that sailed into the Brewers’ bullpen. He also had a leadoff double in the sixth, but was thrown out at the plate by left fielder David Dahl when he tried to score on Perez’s single.
The Brewers loaded the bases with two outs in the sixth, but Bettis fanned pinch hitter Josmil Pinto to end the threat.
Carlos Estevez got four outs before Adam Ottavino worked the ninth for his seventh save.
Suter allowed four runs and 10 hits in five innings.
HIT PARADE
Carter joined five others with 40-homer seasons for the Brewers. Richie Sexson and Prince Fielder each did it twice. Gorman Thomas, Ben Oglivie, and Ryan Braun also reached the milestone.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Brewers: OF Kirk Nieuwenhuis, who hasn’t played since Sept. 16, has been diagnosed with a sports hernia and is expected to undergo surgery.
Rockies: LHP Tyler Anderson has been scratched from his scheduled start Saturday because of what manager Walt Weiss described as general arm soreness. He’ll be replaced on the mound by RHP Jeff Hoffman.
UP NEXT
Brewers: RHP Wily Peralta (7-11) has gone 3-4 with a 3.23 ERA in nine starts since being recalled Aug. 9 from Triple-A Colorado Springs.
Rockies: Hoffman (0-4) returns to the rotation as the replacement for the injured Anderson. He has pitched well in a couple of relief appearances since being shifted to the bullpen after struggling in his first stint as a starter.
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