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)  

After the first game I was thinking hey, the Rockies are back! But after last night I held myself back and realized they have a long way to go. Last night the Rockies lost 7-3 to the Brewers. It was one of those games that they could have easily won, but couldn’t bring in the runners. 

Mark Redman started for the second time since Jeff Francis was put on the DL. He didn’t look as bad as the score did. He pitched five innings and gave up four runs on five hits. He made one mistake to Braun who took advantage and homered scoring three runs. His pitches looked good, but he just didn’t have the run support. 

After coming off of a huge fourth of July weekend the Rockies seemed to have used up all their hits. There wasn’t a lot of offense in last night’s game for the Rockies. Garrett Atkins was the only player on the team who had two hits raising his average to .311. Matt Holliday kept his hitting streak alive with one hit last night, it was this 11th straight game with a hit. But other than that there really wasn’t much. In the early part of the season the Rockies were having trouble with scoring runs and I am hoping this was just a one night deal, and they have it out of there system.

The bullpen also needed some help. Matt Herges, who usually shuts down the other team, struggled last night. He thew for one and 2/3 innings and gave up three runs on two hits. Before Herges gave up the three, the Rockies were only down one. It should have been tied at that point, but when the bases were loaded and Yorvit Torrealba hit a ball down the right field line, Ryan Spilbourghs pulled up rounding second and stopped at third in obvious pain. It was later reported that Spilbourghs strained an oblique. 

Injuries have really been plaguing the Rockies lately. With Todd Helton, Troy Tulowitzki and Francis on the 15 day DL, Jeff Baker out for a couple games with a wrist problem and now Spilly out for awhile, the team is starting to look like the Sky Sox. I don’t know who the strength and conditioning coach is, but something isn’t working. Earlier in the year Holliday, Brad Hawpe, and Tulowitzki were all out with quad problems. The Rockies need to keep their team healthy in order to pull ahead in the NL West. 

They are going against the Brewers ace (well at least he was there ace before Sabathia) Ben Sheets tonight. It would be nice to see another win for the Rockies at Miller Park, we need all the away wins we can get. 

ROCKSTAR of the game: GARRETT ATKINS

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

After losing the first game horribly, the Rockies came back to take the series. Tonight’s game was a showcase of the Rockies bats with an 8-1 win. With a team who has shown little offense this season it is nice to see them battling back.

Ubaldo Jimenez got the start today and and pitched one for the books. He pitched six and 1/3 and only gave up one run on five hits. Jimenez is known for his blistering fast ball and he showed it off tonight; at one point, the speed gun at Coors Field showed 96 MPH. Fastball pitchers usually get strikeouts, but Jimenez worked the ground balls tonight, which, for the best defensive team in baseball history last year, is easy. The team worked together to get the outs, and, like I have said before, the team wins when they play like a team. 

The Rockies runs were a team effort too. Garrett Atkins got things started when he singled in a run with the bases  loaded in the first.  In the second, Atkins was at it again with a three run homerun. He really proved himself as a cleanup hitter. He went three for four on the night with four RBI’s. Troy Tulowitzki is slowly but surely battling back from his .150 batting average, he golfed a two run homerun in the third and ended the night at .164. In my opinion, one thing that is holding him back is his walk up song.  Brittany Spears just doesn’t seem like a .300 hitter’s walk up song; he should at least go back to R. Kelly and his .291 average. The final run in the game came in the eighth off of a Yorvit Torrealba homer out to left center. One guy who has really struggled this home stand is Brad Hawpe he struck out three times in tonight’s game and has not been seeing the ball. Hopefully it is a temporary slump, and he will come out of it by tomorrow’s game against the Marlins. 

The major league bullpen showed up tonight. Jason Grilli, Cedrick Bowers and Luis Vizciano all played their part in the win, only giving up one hit in three innings. The pitcher of the night was Bowers who made his major league debut. His journey to the majors has been a long one, but he finally made it. After being drafted in the fourth round in 1996 by Tampa Bay, he played eight years in the Tampa Bay minors- three of which were at the AAA level- then made the long trek to Japan where he pitched for four years, and then finally making his way to Colorado. At the age of thirty Bowers has made it to the show and he proved himself tonight by relieving Jimenez and getting the final two outs in the seventh. He only faced two batters and struck out one and got the other on a ground ball to third. He will hopefully add some relief in the bullpen.

Tomorrow the Rockies start a four game series with the Florida Marlins, who are a game and a half behind the Phillies in the NL East. I hope the Rockies can keep the bats going for the 4th of July weekend.

ROCKSTAR of the game: GARRETT ATKINS

The Rockies ended their eight game losing streak, and they ended it with style, winning 4-0 with an Aaron Cook complete game. He has really shown that he belongs in the All Star lineup in two weeks. It was a total turn around from last night’s tough loss. 

Cook has taken over the position of Rockies ace. Tonight was one of the two complete games he has already thrown this season, second in the NL with complete games; one behind Ben Sheets. After last night’s game, any sort of win would have been an improvement, but Cook came out and threw a complete game. He got 14 ground ball outs and only three strikeouts, but the thing about ground outs is the pitch count is low. He ended the eighth inning only having thrown 69 pitches, and ended the game with only 79. His stellar pitching performance also sped up the game, which only lasted 1 hour and 58 minutes, and MLB should take advantage of this because, I don’t know about you, but I have never been to a football, hockey or soccer complete game less than two hours long. 

All the Rockies runs came in the fifth inning. It started off with a Troy Tulowitzki double and then a textbook sac bunt by Cook to move Tulo over to third. Willy Taveras hit a single up the right field line to score Tulo. During Todd Helton’s at bat Taveras stole second, and then, with Helton on first with a walk and Matt Holliday up to the plate, Taveras stole third. Holliday would eventually get on with Bank’s second consecutive walk. After striking out his last two at bats, Brad Hawpe came up to bat and got lucky with a fielder’s choice, which should have been a double play, with one run scoring and then another run came in off of a shortstop throwing error. Garrett Atkins  doubled in Hawpe, who made it to second off of a stolen base. That one inning was all the Rockies needed. 

Cook only gave up five hits on the night and Omar Quintanilla, who replaced Jeff Baker in the ninth, kept it that way. In the top of the ninth with a hardball hit just out of Helton’s reach, Quintanilla ran over, dove for the ball, got it and shot up quicker than you can say Quintanilla. The ball got to Helton just in time for the out. It was a key play in the game for Cook. 

The Rockies can’t get the sweep tomorrow, but can go for the series win against the Padres. Hopefully tonight’s team will show up and not last night’s.  

ROCKSTAR of the game: AARON COOK

After sweeping the Indians, the Rockies couldn’t win against the Mets; final score 7-2. It has been hard for the Rockies to get wins this year, and after coming off a sweep the team was looking forward to playing the Mets; but tonight they couldn’t get it done.

Aaron Cook was not looking like his usual self (a 10-4 record after tonight.) He gave up six runs on twelve hits in seven innings. Cook looked good in the first with two ground ball outs and a strikeout, but he lost it in the second. The wind started to kick up in Coors Field and so did Cook’s pitches. He couldn’t keep his pitches down and the Mets capitalized, scoring five of their seven runs. He also gave up a homerun to Trot Nixon in the third. It was not a good night for the Rockies ace who got the loss.

One guy for the Rockies who has really been on fire is Jeff Baker. He homered in the second to give the Rockies a two run lead. This was his fourth homerun in four games. And even though he is not a true second baseman, he has really stepped up defensively and proved himself worthy. Baker was two for four and drove in the only Rockies runs in the game. It doesn’t look like he is going to be headed down to AAA any time soon with the way he is playing. Maybe his success can rub off on some of the other guys on the team.

Troy Tulowitzki had his first game back since being injured on April 29th. He was 0 for four but had two hard hits that the Mets made spectacular plays on. He was in a slump before the injury and hopefully being away will help out his .150 batting average. The fans were excited to see Tulowitzki back in the line up, but I refuse to do the Tulo cheer until he gets a hit. Tulowitzki needs to get himself back up to major league caliber.

Both Todd Helton and Garrett Atkins struggled tonight. Helton went 0 for four with a strikeout and two pop-ups. Atkins also went 0 for four with three ground balls and a strikeout. The Rockies win when the heart of the lineup gets hits and tonight that wasn’t happening; John Maine struck them down.

Tomorrow the Rockies face Pedro Martinez. Hopefully it will be a better showing for the Rockies offense. 

ROCKSTAR of the game: JEFF BAKER

Greg Reynolds got his second win of the season tonight in the Rockies 10-2 win against the Cleveland Indians. He pitcheed 6 innings and gave up 1 earned run on 5 hits with no walks-which he has struggled with. He was looking like a totally different pitcher after his last game against the Giants. He seemed in control and in his element tonight. He wasn’t alone; the rest of the team helped out with some offense and outstanding defense. 

The Rockies got started in the 2nd when, after 2 outs,  Willy Taveras got on first with a fielders choice.  Then came something not many players get the chance of doing; Jeff Baker hit an inside the park homerun. Baker’s ball was hit right on the nose; in any other part of the field it would have been a traditional homerun, but this one hit the deepest part and then bounced off the fence into the middle of no man’s land in left center and Baker turned on the jets and made it into home with plenty of time. In the next inning Brad Hawpe homered and brought in Garrett Atkins for 2 more runs. 

The defense was also on it’s A game tonight. The biggest play in the game came in the top of the 6th when the score was 5-1 Rockies and the Indians loaded up the bases. Reynolds got the first out with a strikeout but the bases were still loaded and the tying run was at the plate. Choo was at bat and hit a screamer in Omar Quintanilla’s direction. Quintanilla backhanded a line drive and fired the ball to Baker and got the double play. It is going to be a webgem tonight if you want to check it out. 

After that great play in the field, the Rockies once again came out with their bats. In the bottom of the 6th they scored 2 runs on three hits. And in the 7th scored 3 runs on 4 hits. It was a night the Rockies should see a lot more of with some major players coming off the DL. Troy Tulowitzki and Clint Barmes are supposed to be heading back to the show after rehabbing in the minors. 

Someone new was welcomed to the big leagues today; Doug Bernier made his major league debut today as a Rockie. The Rockies brought him up from AAA for three games until Tulowitzki makes his comeback. The Rockies made this move at a more reasonable hour than some other National League teams. 

The Rockies are going for another win against the Indians tomorrow. The Indians didn’t seem to have a problem with their pitchers batting today unlike an American League owner who blamed the NL for a pitcher’s injury, but you never know: tomorrow is another day. 

ROCKSTAR of the game: JEFF BAKER

Today was a day to forget for the Colorado ball club with a tough 10-7 loss against the Giants.  After winning the last two games against the Giants the Rockies couldn’t get the sweep.

Greg Reynolds started today’s game on a high after winning his first game against Milwaukee last week, but it was a different story for the young pitcher today. He looked good in the first only giving up one hit but couldn’t get the third out in the second until  4 runs were scored; 3 out of the 4 were on a 2 out homerun by Fred Lewis. Reynolds only lasted 3 2/3 innings and gave up 10 hits.

The rest of the team tried to help Reynolds out with some offense, but  couldn’t bring in the runs. In the second inning Todd Helton lead off with a single and Garrett Atkins brought him home on a double.  Two batters later Yorvit Torrealba knocked in a run with a single.  After the Giants scored another 2 runs in the 3rd the Rockies came right back with 2 runs off of a Matt Holliday double. It looked as if the Rockies had a chance to come back, but couldn’t bring Holliday in from second.

The Giants came right back with 2 more runs in the 4th. In the 5th inning the Rockies had a chance of catching the Giants.  Jeff Baker swinging a hot bat singled to left to start the inning and was followed by a Holliday single.  Helton walked and the bases were loaded for Garrett Atkins who doubled to right and brought in 3 runs.  Atkins was left on second for 2 consecutive outs and was joined on first by Omar Quintanilla.  With 2 men on Ian Stewart couldn’t capitalize and struck out looking. Once again the Rockies left potential runs on base.

Again in the 7th the Rockies had a chance to reach the Giants. With 2 outs the Rockies loaded the bases with  singles by Torrealba and Quintanilla and a walk to Jonathan Herrera, but Ryan Spilborghs struck out looking.  In fact the Rockies struck out a total of 13 times, including 3 strikes by both Holliday and Hawpe.

The Rockies didn’t lose because they didn’t have the opportunities, they lost because they couldn’t finish. Reynolds threw only 3 2/3 innings; Manuel Corpas gave up 2 runs in the 7th with 2 outs- the Giants scored 5 runs with 2 outs-and the Rockies couldn’t clear the bases.

Today’s loss could have easily been a win if only the team could complete what they started. The only good to come from this loss is the 4 tacos for a dollar at Taco Bell tomorrow because the Rockies scored 7 runs.  The Rockies need to regroup and get ready for a quick road trip to the windy city for some interleague play against the White Sox. The Rockies have played well in interleague game it would be nice to get back to a winning streak.

Rockies Blog

The Rockies 1-0 win today over the Giants was a big one.  Not just because they are in dire need of wins but because the entire team played a part.  The Rockies win when they play as a team. The playoff run in September of last year was spectacular because the team became a family.  Tonight’s win was a glimpse of what could turn out to be another close knit team with playoff potential.

It started off with Ubaldo Jimenez not giving up in the first.  He threw a total of 29 pitches but kept his confidence and got out of the inning unscathed.  Jimenez proved today that he belonged in the show.  In 7 innings he only walked one man and gave up 4 hits.  For a young guy struggling with control one walk is a big deal.  Although he personally didn’t get the W he was a key aspect for the club win.

The defense was some of the best I have seen from the Rockies all year. Willy Taveras, who has been off and onn defensively this year, was definitely on tonight with a spectacular catch in the 6th to give the Rockies the first out of a 1,2,3 inning.  He caught it over the back, reaching out, on the run in dead center field.  Taveras wasn’t the only one playing some defense, for a guy who was drafted as a third baseman,  Ian Stewart has proved that he can also play a pretty good second base, with 8 assists in 7 innings on the night.  His most impressive assist was in the first, with Lewis on second, Winn on first and  2 outs in the inning; with  a ball hit up the middle Stewart ran over and made an off balance perfect throw to get Rowand out at first for the third out. If he doesn’t make that play the score would have been 1-0 Giants in the first.

The defense was perfect tonight while the offense was dormant with the Giants ace Lincecum on the mound. It wasn’t until the bottom of the ninth inning that the first and last run was scored. Brian Fuentes earned his money tonight by getting three outs in the top of the ninth without a run, and earning himself a win which was his first of the season.

In the bottom of the ninth with Garrett Atkins occupying third, off of a walk and single by Brad Hawpe, and then Hawpe on second due to a passed ball, Chris Iannetta stepped up to the plate. He looked at a couple balls go by and then decided to swing, when he made contact the ball went off of his knee and he went down in pain.  It was a scary moment for the catcher who has had one of the best starts to the season on the team, but he finally got up and walked off the pain and made it to first with 4 balls.

The bases were loaded for Jeff Baker who flied out to Rowand in center; Atkins faked going in but made the right decision in going back as a good throw would have definitely caused an out.  Up off the bench then came Yorvit Torrealba who hit a  short fly ball right to Giants left fielder Lewis, who made a perfect catch and quickly threw the ball to Molina who was in perfect position on the plate.  The Ump called Atkins out but forgot to look for the ball that was rolling in the dirt in front of Molina.  Atkins was safe at home. Torrealba didn’t get the RBI but the only thing that matters is the club got the win.

It was an unselfish night for the Rockies that really paid off. They have won 6 of their last 7 games. The Rockies will go for a sweep tomorrow afternoon at Coors Field.

Rockies Blog

The Colorado Rockies were rocked out in Los Angeles on Monday night as they lose to the Dodgers 8-2.  It was the eighth straight loss for the Rockies who are playing terrible baseball right now.  If they don’t turn things around soon, we are really going to see a lot of trade rumors etc happening as they have already started up some.

Greg Reynolds was the loosing pitcher for the Rockies on Monday night as he tossed five inning.  Reynolds gave up seven hits and six runs (four of the runs were earned), as he dropped his record to 0-3 on the season.  Reynolds needs to keep the ball down unlike on Monday when he gave up two home runs.

Jorge De La Rosa came in to pitch the next two innings for the Rockies and also had trouble as he gave up two runs and a home run.

Garrett Atkins had gotten the Rockies a 1-0 lead with a rbi single in the first inning that scored Ryan Spilborghs.  The next run for the Rockies didn’t come until the ninth inning when Yorvit Torrealba doubled in Todd Helton.  You are not going to win very many games when you only score two runs.

I don’t know what the Rockies problem is right now.  It appears that they have no confidence, and why should they when they just lost their eighth game in a row?

Rockies Blog