In a low scoring game on Wednesday afternoon, the Colorado Rockies used five pitchers to shut out the San Diego Padres 1-0. The five pitchers limited the Padres offense to only five hits while striking out six batters. Great job by the pithing staff!

Livan Hernandez tossed the first five innings of the game and picked up the win to improve to 2-3 on the year. He allowed three of the Padres five hits but did a good job by not allowing a run to score. Glendon Rusch, Ryan Speier, Manny Corpus, and Brian Fuentes all threw out of th bullpen for the rockies.

Joe Koshansky hit his third home run of the season when he went deep in the fourth inning off of Josh Geer. That was the only run for the Rockies even though they had eight hits in the game. As a team they struck out 10 times and left 13 runners on base. Not much production at all, and to be honest the rox were lucky to win on Wednesdsay.

Rockies will now be off on Thursday and then take on the Arizona Diamondbacks this weekend.

Rockies Blog

Jeff Francis finally one a baseball game! In a drought that lasted two months, Francis went winless but that all changed on Monday night when he and the Colorado Rockies defeated the San Francisco Giants 4-2. Great way for the Rockies to open up a three game series on the West coast.

Francis improved his record to 4-8 as he pitched seven innings. He allowed seven hits but only two runs while only walking one batter. Not walking batters really helped Jeff out in the game as he wasn’t always dealing with free base runners. Manny Corpas tossed a scoreless eighth before Brian Fuentes pitched the ninth inning to record his 26th save of the season.

At the plate, the Rockies got a two run home run from Yorvit Torrealba in the second inning. In the fourth inning, Troy Tulowitzki tripled in Omar Quintanilla that gave the Rockies a 3-2 lead. The Rockies added on an insurance run in the eighth when Jeff Baker hit a rbi sac fly to score Ian Stewart to score the Rockies fourth run.

Good win for the Rockies and they will try to make it two in a row out in San Francisco on Tuesday evening!

Rockies Blog

The Colorado Rockies picked up a nice come from behind win on Wednesday night as they beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-3. The Rockies scored the winning run in the top of the ninth inning to break a 3-3 tie thanks a steal by Matt Holliday and a rbi single by Brad Hawpe.

The Rockies offense was helped out in the game by the Dodgers commiting four errors as well. Hawpe lead the Rockies offense with three rbi as he went 2-4 with a walk. Troy Tulowitzki had the other rbi for the Rockies as he hit a solo home run in the fourth inning.

Jeff Francis allowed three runs in the first inning but then he settled down to pitch six innings. Francis gave up nine hits and three runs (one earned) as he got the no decision in the game. Taylor Buchholz ended up getting the victory and is now 6-3 while Brian Fuentes picked up his 24th save in the ninth inning.

We hope to have more regular updates here at RockiesHomePlate as things get setteled down. We hope you continue ready and leaving comments! – Rockies Blog

The Rockies need a big win and they got it last night. The bats came alive with an 8-3 win against the Dodgers in LA. 

Ubaldo Jimenez pitched a good game, and got some support from the rest of the team. He pitched five innings and gave up three runs on eight hits. He looked good and only had one little breakdown in the fourth when he gave up two runs to give the Rox only a one run lead. Jimenez has improved greatly from the beginning of the year and will hopefully keep on winning. 

After the Rockies scored two runs in the first, Brad Hawpe came up in the third and hit a bomb out to dead center to score two runs in the top of the third. Hawpe has pulled out of his slump and really come through when the team needs him. Matt Holliday had a great game going four for five and hitting a solo homerun in the eighth to put the Rockies up by two. The big man of the night was Ian Stewart who went two for three and hit a three run homerun in the eighth to put the game away for the Rox. Stewart definitely improved from his last stint with the Rockies and it showed last night with his long homerun off of Kuroda, a lefty on lefty match up. With the team putting up some runs the pitching has less stress and performs just as well.

Luis Vizciano, Manuel Corpas, Taylor Buchholz and Brian Fuentes all came in and pitched an inning and gave up no runs. Vizciano gave up one hit and Corpas gave up a pair but other than that the bullpen looked solid. The Rockies bullpen is usually pretty solid, but it is nice to see a hand full get into a game and do well.

The Rockies take on the Dodgers again tonight and will hopefully have the same outcome. Jeff Francis is on the mound for the Rox tonight and can hopefully keep the Dodgers at bay. 

ROCKSTAR of the game: IAN STEWART

After losing their last two games in Pittsburgh the Rockies knew they needed to win to prove themselves. After giving up the lead in the last two games the Rox were able to hold on to the lead and end the game with a win, 7-4. 

Aaron Cook has become a pitcher that Clint Hurdle can count on for a good game. Last night he didn’t have his best game, but he came through and kept the Pirates at Bay. He pitched seven innings and gave up four runs on nine hits. He only had one bad inning; the Pirates scored all their run in the fifth. He did get the W, which now puts his record at 14-6.

Last night’s game had some good old Rockies offense, which is key for them when they win. Willy Taveras went two for five, and he needed it. Taveras hasn’t had the best on base percentage for a leadoff hitter. But one thing he does do best is steel bases and last night he got his total up to 48. Garrett Atkins also went two for five and added one to his RBI column. Troy Tulowitzki is making a comeback. He went three for four and got an RBI. He is now above the Mendoza line hitting .241. The difference in the game had to have been Chris Iannetta’s three run homerun in the fifth. He crushed the ball to dead center and put the Rockies in the lead to win the game. 

The bullpen was outstanding. Taylor Buchholz did struggle for a little while but is now back on track. He only gave up one hit in one inning pitched. He has fit in well as the eighth inning set up man for Brian Fuentes. Last night was a save situation for Fuentes, who recorded his 18th save of the season and 103rd save of his career. He now holds the Rockies recored for most saves. Fuentes has stepped up this year and proved himself worthy of the closer position. 

ROCKSTAR of the game: CHRIS IANNETTA

(The Rockies are now looking towards Dodgers, rather than the Diamondbacks, with their new left fielder Manny Ramirez)  

Well, I was embarrassed last night. Most people who know me know that I am a diehard Rockies fan, and last night was their time to shine on national television, but they choked. I am a firm believer in ESPN’s East coast bias, and I was hoping to prove that the Rockies could hold their own; but instead they got shutout (again), losing 7-0. 

Mark Redman did not pitch his best. He only pitched three and 1/3 innings and gave up eight hits and five runs. The Rockies need to get some healthy pitchers. It was hard to watch Redman as he struggled every at bat. Ryan Speier made his way back to the big leagues but didn’t help out much; he gave up two hits and two runs in one inning pitched. Matt Herges, Luis Vizciano and Brian Fuentes all pitched an inning and shutdown the Mets but it was little too late. 

The offense was absolutely dormant last night. Although it was better than the night before last’s one hitter. The Rockies ended the night with five hits and NO RUNS. Seriously they couldn’t score in eighteen innings in New York. Brad Hawpe went two for four and Joe Koshansky got his first hit that wasn’t a homerun, but no one could bring them in. It was pretty pathetic, I stopped watching after the seventh inning. 

Last night could have been a way for the Rockies to get noticed and get some recognition, but they blew it. I am hoping that the All Star break will help get the team geared up and ready to get back in this. Right now the team could use a couple days to regroup and get ready for the four game series against the Pirates this weekend.

All the sports shows tend to forget about the Rockies, and early in the season they should have, but now they are coming back strong, and people should start to take notice. Last night’s win against the Brewers was key for getting the team back to the .500 mark. The Rockies don’t always perform their best on the road, but last night showed a team that can win anywhere; beating the Brewers 4-3 at Miller Park. 

Ubaldo Jimenez got control of the game and pitched seven shut out innings even though he struggled in the count. A lot of the batters he faced saw themselves ahead in the count, but Jimenez battled back. He gave up no runs on three hits and struck out seven guys. I think that I can take some credit for his performance, because on the 4th of July I saw him and told him what a great pitcher he was. He had fan support, which helped him with his confidence. And last night he was 100% confident in tough situations. 

The Rockies are getting more and more confidence in their bats too. Last night was not a high scoring game, unlike the fourth’s 18 run win, but they got enough to finish it off. Both Matt Holliday and Jeff Baker went two for four. One of Holliday’s hits was a line drive homerun out to centerfield which put the Rockies ahead by three. Garrett Atkins got a sacrifice fly RBI putting him at 51 tied with Holliday. The one thing the Rockies have had trouble with this year is leaving runners on base. Last night they left nine guys on, and in a close game like this one turned out to be those nine potential runs could have made a difference. 

The Rockies don’t lack defense, and they showed it off last night-at least until the eighth inning. Jimenez picked Braun and Hart off of first. And the Rox also turned the only two double plays in the game. They fell apart defensively in the eighth though. First Joe Koshansky received an error when a short hit ground ball came his way and he missed the tag. Then a miscommunication between Atkins and Chris Iannetta became a single after a high pop-up dropped right in front of the mound. The Brewers were able to score three runs in the eighth. But Brian Fuentes was on his A game and struck out two batters and then got the third out off a lazy fly to left. Since he has been able to shut down the other teams in his last two outings, I don’t know how much longer he will be a Rockie. 

It was an eventful second to last inning but the Rockies were able to hold on. The Rox face CC Sebathia, his first outing as a Brewer, in Miller Park tonight and hopefully can turn one win into two.

ROCKSTAR of the game: UBALDO JIMENEZ

Tonight I guess you could say that I jinxed the team. I decided that I was going to once and for all see if my Rockies baseball cap is truly bad luck. It is. I wore it to all four games of the World Series, then my first game back from college and, for one last time, tonight with the 15-8 loss. The Rockies lost every single game, so I have decided to burn it and hopefully get the Rockies back on track. Right now the team could use anything to get them going again.

The night started off great for the Rockies who scored three in the first off of a bases loaded double by Chris Iannetta. And then three more in the third with a Brad Hawpe bomb out to center field. The runs weren’t over for the Rockies who scored another one in the fourth and fifth. They had a five run lead going into the sixth and all was looking good. But just like the Rockies record things went downhill. 

Jorge De La Rosa pitched a pretty good game up until the sixth, he only giving up three runs. But as he threw more pitched the Padres got more hits. He gave up three in the sixth before he was taken out. It was the bullpens turn to take over. Ryan Speier came in and gave up two runs to tie the game. No lead is safe when it comes to the Rockies. After Matt Herges came in and shut down the Padres offense the Rockies had a glimpse of hope, but it was soon crushed by Brian Fuentes.

Fuentes is one of those closers that is either on or off with no in between and tonight he was as off as a closer can get. I could tell it wasn’t going to be a good outing when he gave up a lead off hit. After that first hit he gave up four more. The Padres scored FIVE runs off Fuentes, FIVE. It was not a pretty sight. After giving up those FIVE runs Clint Hurdle finally had to take him out and gave Luis Vizciano a shot at lowering his 8.00 ERA. But Vizciano ended up giving up two more runs. So after being up five runs the Rockies ended up being down seven. 

The Rockies couldn’t respond in the bottom half of the ninth going down 1, 2, 3. It was close to a sellout crowd tonight and it might be one of the Rockies last with the way they blew it tonight. As the Padres scored more and more runs the fans booed louder and louder, which is a sound rarely heard at Coors Field. Lets hope tomorrow night the Rockies can redeem themselves 

Although the Rockies did not, once again, get the sweep, they took 2 out of 3 games against the White Sox. It would be nice for them to finish a series with 3 or 4 W’s but I will take just winning out right; beggars can’t be choosers. Today’s game was not won without drama.

Aaron Cook had another great outing on the mound. He pitched 6 innings and gave up 3 runs on 10 hits, 2 of  which came off of a Dye homerun in the 5th. Cook had some offensive help today from former White Sox Scott Podsednik who drove in 2 of the Rockies 4 runs. This was a key game for Podsednik who has struggled lately. The Rockies started out hot today scoring 2 runs in the first, with Podsednik bringing Willy Taveras home on a double and on the next pitch, Matt Holliday doubled in Podsednik.

After the White Sox tied up the game in the 5th off of Dye’s homerun, Brad Hawpe, who is an internet celebrity for his sewer pipes and instructional video (on youtube search Brad Hawpe), took Contreras deep in the 6th and gave the Rockies the winning run. Chris Iannetta added an insurance run in the 9th with a bomb off of Logan.

The bullpen threw another great game. Ryan Speier, Taylor Buchholz and Brain Fuentes all came in and combined threw 3 innings -each threw 1 full inning- and only gave up 1 hit. Fuentes’s outing was a little scary for the Rockies because he loaded the bases off of a single and 2 walks with 2 outs.

And that’s not all, Rockies fans cringed as Holliday and Omar Quintanilla both were running for the last out, a popup by Crede. At the last second Quintanilla dropped off and almost ran right into Holliday who by some miracle bobbled the ball and then caught it bare handed. It was an unconventional out but it counted and the Rockies won by 2 runs.

The win today was a good Father’s Day present for my dad, who sits and watches every game with me. I know that the Rockies were winning it for him and all their dad’s back home. Tomorrow is another day and the Rockies have a one game series- a make-up after the snowed out game in April- against the Braves. Chipper was cooling off today and hopefully the Rockies can bring him below .400.

Rockies Blog

Jorge De La Rosa had an amazing start after his total bomb against the Phillies. The close games lately haven’t been going the Rockies way but today it was a different story. The Rockies finished the game with more offense than the White Sox and the pitching couldn’t be touched.

De La Rosa pitched 5 innings and only gave up 1 hit. Something just clicked tonight with De La Rosa and he looked like a true major league pitcher. It might have been less stressful for him being in the American League and not having to bat, but whatever it was he was a different player than his last start.

De La Rosa wasn’t the only pitcher for the Rockies shutting down the offense. Jason Grilli, Taylor Buchholz and Brian Fuentes all did their part to earn the team a much needed W. All together they gave up 2 hits and no earned runs. The bullpen was looking like it did last year, solid. If the bullpen can keep healthy and perform like they did today the Rockies should be getting closer to that 500 mark.

The offense wasn’t producing much tonight but thanks to the pitching that didn’t matter. Only one run was needed but the Rockies got a little insurance. The first run was scored in the top of the 7th with a ground rule double by Jeff Baker and a sac bunt by Yorvit Torrealba to move the the runner up, and with 2 outs a little blooper hit just beyond the second baseman by Willy Taveras brought Baker in for the winning run. Taveras had a great night tonight after being in a little slump. He went 2 for 4 and had 5 stolen bases, just short of the Rockies record of 6  by Eric Young. With Taveras getting back into the grove hopefully all the Rockies will follow suit and the team will break out of their losing record.

Tomorrow is Fathers Day and the final game of the series in Chicago and the Rockies will go for the win. I am banking on a Rockies win tomorrow because I haven’t gotten a present yet for my dad and a Rockies win would be perfect for my budget as a college student. So, GO ROCKIES!

Rockies Blog