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.

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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.

After losing a close game, 2-1, to the Mets the night before you would think the Rockies would bring some more offense the next night to prove themselves, but they actually brought less. It was an easy win for the Mets last night, who shut out the Rockies 3-0. 

Ubaldo Jimenez had another great outing. He pitched six innings with three runs on seven hits. For any starting pitcher three runs is respectable and usually can bring in a win. But the rest of the team needs to get some runs and  the bullpen needs to finish it off. But the Rockies had two out of three things needed to win, a good start and the bullpen domination, but they didn’t have the bats to score. 

Brad Hawpe was the only Rockie to get a hit. In nine innings only one man got on base from making contact. It was a pretty sad sight to see as a Rockies fan. They were so close the entire game and just couldn’t make it happen. 

The Rockies are losing ground in the NL West and every loss is huge. This year the the division isn’t at its best and the Rockies need to capitalize. The close games are key and it makes me nervous when they don’t win them. Just as the team was getting its strength back offensively they get shutout.

Tonight’s game is a big one. They need to prove themselves in front of America on ESPN. The lesser known teams in the West don’t get the Sunday night game that often and the Rox need to regain the respect they had at the end of last year; they need to capture a win. 

ROCKSTAR of the game: 

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

Well, I wasn’t on time to the game tonight because, of course, one of the only Rockies games that starts at 6 had to be the day that I work until 5. I do not like to show up late. I missed 2 of the Rockies 6 runs. But I guess in the end, late or on time, it turned out ok; the Rockies won 6-5 in a nail biter. 

Since Jeff Francis was put on the DL Mark Redman was given a second chance. He did a pretty good job for not having started in a couple of months. He pitched six innings and gave up two runs on six hits, and only walked one batter. Redman was in control tonight. 

The Rockies weren’t in control the entire game though. They were down in the second but answered right away at the bottom of the inning with a Jeff Baker homerun. He has really proved himself as a major leaguer lately and I think the only Sox he will be seeing this year is the White Sox. Another run came in, in the sixth. But knowing the Rockies I knew that no lead was safe -see Fuentes Blows Another One- and the Marlins came back with two run homerun in the eighth. The Rockies were down one and needed a run to keep the game going, and they got it in the bottom of the eighth. Clint Barmes lead off with a little blooper hit over the shortstop and Matt Holliday followed with another blooper just beyond the reach of the left fielder and shortstop. The runners advanced off of a wild pitch with Baker at the plate, and with a long fly ball Baker got a sac fly to tie up the game. 

The score stayed 4-4 until the eleventh when the Marlins got a run off of a two out hit. Once again the Rockies answered. Yorvit Torrealba  walked and then what would have been a Scott Podsednik sac bunt ended up with him on second and Torrealba on third from a throwing error. With a man on second and third Troy Tulowitzki walked to load up  the bases. Omar Quintanilla tried to advance the runner on third but he grounded to the second baseman, who then thew home to get Torrealba with the first out of the inning. With the bases still loaded Ryan Spilbourghs saved the day with a big hit out to left center; Podsednik and Tulowitzki scored to win the game. 

As I waited for the fireworks tonight, I saw some things that you can’t see on TV. First, well I guess you can see this on TV, Spilly got shaving cream in the face during his TV interview. Second was all the players’ children playing on the field, and I recognized Holliday’s kids. His youngest, Ethen who is a little over one, was carrying around a bat and then proceeded to hit it on the ground and get into a stance and swing. He looked like a real ballplayer. Lastly the fireworks, Coors Field knows how to put on a good fireworks show.

I am sure as a birthday present America would love a Rockies win, so tomorrow they will go for win number two against the Marlins. 

ROCKSTAR of the game: RYAN SPILBOURGHS

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