Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Lackluster Recrap: Live by solo home runs, get beat by a solo home run

Yes, the Colorado Rockies came out swinging on Tuesday night, connecting for four home runs! Of course three of those (Troy Tulowitzki, Seth Smith and Carlos Gonzalez) home runs were solos, with only Jason Giambi's too little, too late home run in the ninth being a two-run shot.

The Florida Marlins only hit one home run. That too was a solo blast off the bat of Mike Stanton. It ended up being the difference in the game. Why? Because the Marlins found other ways to score thanks largely to Bryan Petersen's 2nd and 3rd career triples. In case you're keeping track at home, all three have come in this series.

I'd also like to point out that Peterson and Emilio Bonifacio, Florida's 1 & 2 hitters on the evening, finished with five hits, two runs and two RBIs. The Rockies 1-2 punch of Dexter Fowler and Mark Ellis finished 0-for-9 with six strikeouts. Thats difficult to digest in a one-run loss.

Marlins 6, Rockies 5 (boxscore)

If you've been following the patterns of one Jhoulys Chacin lately, then you probably knew what was coming here. After pitching like an ace in Cincinnati, he was due for another disappointing performance. Disappointing would have actually been nice, because this one went well beyond disappointing and entered dreadful territory. Especially that first inning where he needed 40 pitches to escape.

Florida hit around, scoring three. And they never looked back.

I won't go any further into Chacin analysis because I've been saying the same thing for weeks. When he brings it, he's an ace. When he's off his game, it can be difficult to sit through. Need more of those acey ones.

Three positives

1. Edgmer Escalona: He did allow the Stanton home run. Aside from that, Escalona continued to not only eat innings for the Rockies, but put up 0's. He has been a real nice shot in the arm for the bullpen.

2. Jason Giambi: Watch his two-run pinch-hit HR. His first HR of the pinch-hit variety all season.

3. J.C. Romero: Pretty good Rockies debut. He did allow a pair of singles, but also recorded four outs and didn't allow Florida to expand their lead. Outs and no runs are what we're looking for.

Final thought

Rubber game on Wednesday. At least it's not an afternoon rubber game. Maybe the Rockies stand a chance this way, though a pitching matchup of Aaron Cook vs. Ricky Nolasco may suggest otherwise. Tune in to find out. Or don't. We'll be here either way.

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