Cardinals 9, Rockies 3 (boxscore)
Josh Outman's Line: 3 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 5 BB, 3 K, 1 HR, 70 pitches (34 strikes)
Stick a fork in Outman, he's done as a starter in the Rockies paired pitching system.
In the 1st inning, Outman walked two and threw two wild pitches. That led to one run. In the 2nd, he walked the opposing pitcher, Kyle Lohse, after a 12-pitch plate appearance. In the 3rd, something reasonable actually happened - he allowed a solo home run to Matt Holliday.
And then he was done, because all of that took 70 pitches.
There's no way Jim Tracy could justify starting Outman again this weekend in Washington after this miserably inefficient, all-around dreadful performance.
Well, I take that back, there are ways Tracy could justify it in his OWN mind, we'd just all lose OUR minds trying to sort through the rambling explanation.
Anyway, the Rockies will have to figure out if they like Outman in the bullpen or if he needs mechanical (more like mental) tuneup at Colorado Springs. I'm guessing it'll be the former, but I'm not sure there's much to be gained from him throwing 3-4 innings at the beginning, to likely throwing 2-3 innings in the middle.
What. A. Mess.
Tyler Chatwood's Piggyback Line: 2 1/3 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 1 BB, 1 K, 63 pitches (30 strikes)
Two pitchers from the same team in the same game throwing at least 60 pitches, and neither can crack 50% on strikes thrown.
I bet that doesn't happen very often.