Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Rock Solid Recap: Early Offense Carries Rockies Again

Rockies 8, Brewers 6 (boxscore)

This should not be newsworthy, but since we're grasping for positives this season, I'll proclaim it loud and proud anyway.

The Rockies have won back-to-back games TWO weeks in a row!

Absorb that for a moment...

Good? Now absorb this tweet from Purple Row's Andrew Fisher.


That's obviously not Reynolds' fault... but wow.

Winning Players: Eric Young Jr. & Carlos Gonzalez

For the second straight night, EY2 got the offense started with a lead-off double and scored the first run... this time on a Carlos Gonzalez single. Young would go on to produce a three-hit night that included his second home run (this time over the fence and off the facing of the second deck) in less than a week. As for Gonzalez, he would go to on have a 4-for-4 night at the plate with two RBI, a run scored, and a couple caught stealings (the aggressiveness is appreciated).

Great production from two guys at the top order, with Dexter Fowler (two hits), Wilin Rosario (two hits, home run) and Jordan Pacheco (two hits, two RBI) providing enough support to earn Rockies fans tacos and the team a victory.


Tyler Chatwood's Line: 6 IP, 2 R (1 ER), 4 H, 0 BB, 3 K, 1 HR, 77 pitches (51 strikes)

How about that? Chatwood gets back to pounding the strike zone like he has been all season in the minors and it allows him to find success (and a win) in the majors. The formula isn't all that difficult to figure out, young Rockies. Executing consistently and throwing strikes will keep your roster spot nice and cozy.

Bullpen's Line: 3 IP, 4 ER, 9 H, 0 BB, 3 K

These are the games Jim Tracy lives for. The Rockies skipper had to go through five different relievers to lock down the final nine outs, which will probably make his week... if not his month. He's just that weird.

Josh Roenicke was far from sharp in his inning plus, allowing four hits over six batters. But thanks to the solid work of Matt Reynolds and Matt Belisle (struck out Ryan Braun & Aramis Ramirez with the bases loaded), Roenicke was only charged with one run.


On the other hand, Rex Brothers was not as lucky as all three runners he allowed to reach starting the 9th would eventually come around to score. His already battered ERA now soars to 5.11.

As for Rafael Betancourt, he wasn't perfect either, allowing a couple hits, but the Brewers never really hit him hard and he was able to retire Rickie Weeks and Braun representing the go-ahead run to end it.

I'll say this... those last six outs were not for faint of heart, but for me served as a nice reminder of how awesome baseball can be when your favorite team is playing competitively and earns a hard fought win. Few things are better.

Highlight of the Night: A lot of big plays and hits for the Rockies tonight, but here's the best by far.


What's Next: A little afternoon baseball scheduled for Wednesday (1:05) at Coors Field and the Rockies have a chance for a sweep!

Exciting huh?

Well, yes, actually it is, until you learn that it'll be Guillermo Moscoso (0-2, 8.23) making the spot start for Colorado against Mark Rogers (0-1, 4.06) of Milwaukee.

Final Thoughts: Why is Moscoso making a spot start on Wednesday? Because Drew Pomeranz's start is being pushed back (again) due to biceps soreness.

You have to believe the Rockies will figure out at some point that they're doing more harm than good to everybody on their entire pitching staff, but especially their young developing arms like Pomeranz, Christian Friedrich, and even Tyler Chatwood. But the question is... will they figure it out in time to keep these guys from completely breaking down?

All we can do is hope, which is a scary (almost non-existent) feeling with this leadership in place.

More Rockies thoughts await you if you follow me on Twitter: @Townie813 & @HeavenHelton

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