Rock Solid Recap: Rockies Disaster Season With Solid Road Win

Rockies 2, Diamondbacks 1 (boxscore)

The disaster season started with a win from Jeremy Guthrie (who's long gone) and it ends with a win Jeff Francis (who rose from the baseball dead). What more do you need to know about the 2012 Rockies?

The numbers 64 and 98 will now go into the books as the Rockies worst record ever. We hope (and maybe even pray) this standard of suck is one they never equal or surpass in the future.

Winning Player: Jeff Francis 5 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 HR, 86 pitches (53 strikes)

Tough call here, but Francis gets the nod for finishing his comeback campaign with a strong outing and a victory.

Honestly, I applaud Francis. The numbers are whatever, but we know by now that you can't look at the numbers with Rockies pitchers (especially with this year's experiment) to determine their performance. Looking beyond them, I felt like Francis gave us more than I ever imagined he could coming in, so again, a polite applause for him and an open invitation to join us in 2012 if he wishes.

Honorable Mentions: The Bullpen: 4 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 3 BB, 2 K

The bullpen had its ups and downs this season, but they were without question the most consistently productive group on the Rockies team (not that that's a glowing endorsement but it's still a fact). I think it's fitting that both Adam Ottavino and Josh Roenicke (the two middle relief workhorses) pitched well tonight, and I think the coolest thing about the finale is the man with the bionic arm, Matt Belisle, got the final out to earn the save. Well done by Jim Tracy there.

More Honorable Mentions: Jordan Pacheco 3-for-4, run scored (All he does is get hits), D.J. LeMahieu 2-for-4, RBI (Perhaps the most pleasant surprise of all Rockies this season) and Jonathan Herrera 3-for-4 (Impossible not to love Johnny. Hope he has a big league job next season whether it's here or elsewhere).

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Rock Solid Recap: Road To 100 Hits Dead End

Rockies 7, Diamondbacks 4 (13 innings) (boxscore)

It's over. Our season long regional nightmare is all over.

Five years to the day they defeated the San Diego Padres 9-8 in 13 innings to win the National League Wild Card, the Colorado Rockies won another clincher in 13 innings with the 7-4 win over the Diamondbacks. OK, yeah, so this win was just a little bit less significant in the grand scheme, but it was still meaningful as they officially avoided to century mark in the loss column.

Whew.

RIP: Road to 100.

Winning Players: Chris Nelson & Charlie Blackmon

The Rockies had 13 hits in 13 innings. Seven of those belonged to Chris Nelson & Charlie Blackmon.

I think Nelson deserves top billing because he's the one who delivered to go-ahead RBI single in the 13th. That capped a night where Nelson was seeing the ball very well and had a number of good swings, including a couple drives that had home run distance but ended up just foul. Either of those staying fair would have changed the game a lot sooner.

Then again, it was Blackmon who had four hits, including the single that made it 5-3. That would actually ended up being the winning run, so you could make an argument for either.

It's kinda like the Miguel Cabrera-Mike Trout debate for the AL MVP, only not even close.

Turning Point: Josh Rutledge had a really rough four-strikeout game, but he's also a big reason the Rockies stayed alive. His two-out RBI double (scoring Blackmon) in the 8th tied the game. Tyler Colvin followed with his own RBI double, so things looked pretty good at that moment. Of course that was only temporary.

Drew Pomeranz's Line: 5 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 7 K, 2 HR, 80 pitches (51 strikes)

All things considered during this mostly uninspiring season for Drew Pomeranz, this was a positive note to go out on. Sure, he allowed a couple homers (both solo) and threw in a couple walks, but he stayed on track and never allowed any particular inning to escalate or become a potential disaster. That may not sound like much of achievement to my newer readers, but if you've been reading these recaps all season and looking at the pitching lines, you know how difficult that has been for Pomeranz and this entire staff.

It's a nice ending, but it's really only the beginning as Pomeranz enters this important offseason. Because of this season's results and stunted development, next year almost has to be two steps forward just to get where the Rockies wanted and needed Pomeranz by the end of this season, and maybe three steps forward to reach his potential. I'll settle for one step, as long as it's not another one sideways or backwards.

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Rock Solid Recrap: Cained Again In San Francisco

Giants 7, Rockies 1 (boxscore)

What Went Wrong: The Rockies were playing the Giants in San Francisco. The Giants starting pitcher was Matt Cain. The odds of anything going right were slim and none, and slim left the building about three batters into the Giants half of the 1st. Clearly he or she had more important things to do.

Tyler Chatwood's Line: 4 IP, 3 ER, 8 H, 0 BB, 2 K, 1 HR, 84 pitches (56 strikes)

Coming into this game Tyler Chatwood's 1st inning ERA was an even 9.00 over his first nine starts. That number actually goes up after Pablo Sandoval's three-run homer. From there Chatwood had to work very hard and deal with constant traffic to limit the overall damage and keep the game close. To his credit, he accomplished that (and didn't walk anyone), but it's clear he has to do a better job coming out of the gate sharper and more focused so the team isn't always in comeback mode immediately and so he can finally start working deeper into games.

Bullpen's Line: 4 IP, 4 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 5 K

Rough go again for Adam Ottavino as San Francisco touched him up for three runs in the 5th. That means he's now allowed 10 earned runs over his last 1 2/3 innings, raising his ERA from a very respectable 3.56 to 4.68. It's a damn shame, too, because along with Josh Roenicke and Matt Belisle he's been about as reliable as one can expect for a middle or setup reliever. He's just plain out of gas right now and his numbers are going to suffer for it.

Matt Cain's Line: 8 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 4 BB, 8 K, 116 pitches (74 strikes)

Even on a night when he doesn't have good command, Cain makes the Rockies lineup like they belong in Modesto. Dominant to the point where it's unfair and slightly embarrassing.

Turning Point: Sandoval's three-run homer was the point of no return, but the Rockies did mount a little rally against Cain in the 5th when they scored the lone run and then loaded the bases with two outs. They even had the ideal man at the plate in the returning Carlos Gonzalez, but after a good battle he rolled over a grounder to second base and then Ottavino's rough 5th finished the game off.

Highlight of the Night: I didn't know what to expect from Carlos Goznalez tonight but he looked pretty healthy while making this fantastic running catch.

Watch CarGo's Catch & Flip

What's Next: Finally a game to look forward to! The return of Jorge De La Rosa will finally happen Thursday afternoon at 1:45 at AT&T Park. According to Troy Renck and others it will be the first of at least two starts for Jorge, which likely depends on how good he looks here. But here's to hoping he just looks healthy. Good pitching results would also be nice, but good health and clear confidence in his stuff outweighs that in my eyes.

Oh... yeah... he'll be opposed by Barry Zito (12-8, 4.21)

Final Thoughts: It was my duty once again this season to write the Rockies eulogy for Big League Stew. This year our theme was concession speeches, so for the first time ever I dabbled in something political and hopefully came up with something you'll enjoy and maybe even agree with while fitting within the guidelines.

Concession Speech: 2012 Colorado Rockies

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

Rock Solid Recrap: Well, At Least They Outscored The Cowboys & Jets

Padres 12, Rockies 11 (boxscore)

What Went Wrong: Listen, anytime you score 11 runs and lose, it's obvious what went wrong. However, anytime you score 11 runs and lose at Petco Park, you've taken wrong to a whole new level of rotten. Eesh.

Alex White's Line: 4 IP, 3 R (2 ER), 4 H, 3 BB, 2 K, 81 pitches (41 strikes)

Lather. Rinse. Four innings. Nearly 50-50 strike-ball ratio. Repeat. Nothing to see here that you haven't already seen a dozen times.

Adam Ottavino's Line: 2/3 IP, 7 ER, 6 H, 1 BB, 1 K

Ottavino just didn't have it, and when you're married to this piggyback system you're pretty much screwed in this scenario. I mean where do you turn? The other piggybacks can't go today. You can't extend one of your late guys. As @Stars5Steve says on Twitter, you're managing to a system that creates little flexibility, not the game flow.

I couldn't think a dumber way to approach baseball than what the Rockies have been doing this season, and will do in an updated form next spring.

Turning Point: This one took some really wild turns: The Rockies scored five straight early to take a 5-1 lead. Then San Diego scored ten straight, including the eight-run 5th against Adam Ottavino and Matt Reynolds. And then in the 8th Colorado rallied for six thanks largely to Josh Rutledge's first career grand slam.

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Rock Solid Recrap: Rough First Inning Too Much To Overcome

Giants 8, Rockies 3 (boxscore)

What Went Wrong: We can pretty much narrow this down to San Francisco's five-run 1st inning against Jeff Francis. Though the 11 strikeouts from the offense and Dexter Fowler and Josh Rutledge combining to go 1-for-9 out of the top two spots in the order could also qualify as parts of the problem, especially considering Carlos Gonzalez and Wilin Rosario each reached three times behind them, including Rosario's 24th homer.

Turning Point: Gregor Blanco started the game with a triple. Marco Scutaro singled him home. The Giants rolled for four more runs, including three with two outs, and never looked back.

Jeff Francis' Line: 3 IP, 5 ER, 7 H, 0 BB, 5 K, 78 pitches (51 strikes)

The rough 1st inning put the Rockies behind the eight-ball and guaranteed a short evening for Francis. Pitching for a normal team, he may have been able to squeeze out two or three more innings based on how strongly he recovered in the 2nd and 3rd. The Rockies, however, are not normal, so it just goes down as an awful outing and another taxing night on the bullpen.

Bullpen's Line: 6 IP, 3 ER, 8 H, 0 BB, 7 K

Adam Ottavino was solid, striking over four and allowing one run over three innings. It was Josh Roenicke who struggled the most, allowing two earned runs in the 9th. His ERA finally creeped over 3.00 after staying in the 2's basically all season.

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July & August Player Rankings

Unfortunately (or maybe not) I didn't have a chance to do a thorough review of the Rockies July. I'm also a little pressed for time when it comes to doing a thorough review of August, but I will make some time for my favorite of those reviews (the player rankings). '

The following rankings will cover both July and August. It's based on my opinions only, but I look at several different things (offense, defense, pitching, baserunning, poise, consistency, intelligence and ability to change a game) while formulating it. So here we go... ranking all Rockies who suited up in July and August. Well, aside from those who were traded or made very brief cameos (Tommy Field and Edwar Cabrera).

1. Adam Ottavino
2. Wilin Rosario
3. Josh Rutledge
4. Eric Young Jr.
5. Rafael Betancourt
6. Jordan Pacheco 
7. Carlos Gonzalez
8. Josh Roenicke
9. Dexter Fowler
10. Tyler Colvin
11. Matt Belisle
12. Carlos Torres
13. Chris Nelson
14. D.J. LeMahieu
15. Jeff Francis
16. Rex Brothers
17. Tyler Chatwood
18. Jhoulys Chacin
19. Michael Cuddyer
20. Alex White
21. Todd Helton
22. Andrew Brown
23. Guillermo Moscoso
24. Jonathan Herrera
25. Drew Pomeranz
26. Will Harris
27. Matt Reynolds
28. Ramon Hernandez
29. Jason Giambi
30. Mike Ekstrom
31. Charlie Blackmon
32. Christian Friedrich
33. Matt McBride
34. Jonathan Sanchez
35. Edgmer Escalona

Based on workload and production, Ottavino was pretty much a no-brainer in the top spot. He has taken his hybrid role and run with it, making the Rockies front office almost smart in the process. That's tough to do.

The rest of the top 5 was difficult. I went with Rosario second because his development behind the plate has been encouraging, and he's already a game-changer offensively with more room to grow. Josh Rutledge is just a ballplayer, plain and simple. EY2 could have easily taken the #2 slot had he not been injured. He was playing like a man possessed before that. And Rafael Betancourt has remained on point in the 9th inning.

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

Rock Solid Recrap: Rockies Can't Overcome Themselves In Series Finale... But Gave Great Effort In Trying To

Dodgers 10, Rockies 8 (boxscore)

What Went Wrong: Oh, you know, many of the usual things. The starting pitching effort wasn't the strongest we've seen in recent weeks. And there was also some unsatisfactory work behind the plate from Ramon Hernandez, not to mention a throw or two going to the spot. Then reliever Will Harris imploded in the 8th (1 IP, 4 ER, 3 H, 2 BB), which would to be more costly than we could have imagined with the Rockies scoring seven runs in their half of the 8th.

Many of those things serve as a nice reminder that changes need to be made in this organization, despite the fact that Colorado has played improved ball recently and showed a lot of heart with their comeback attempt. They still lack fundamentals. They still lack direction. They still stink big picture. But I'll give them credit for showing some professional pride.

Turning Point: The 3rd inning (Read all about in the Pomeranz, Drew section). With an honorable mention to the top of the 8th inning and Will Harris.

Drew Pomeranz's Line: 4 IP, 6 R (5 ER), 0 BB, 4 K, 1 HR, 66 pitches (49 strikes)

The 3rd inning was a big problem for Pomeranz, though not all of it was his doing. There was some tough luck mixed in there with the bloop single from A.J. Ellis and the error on Jordan Pacheco that allowed Mark Ellis to reach. Then came Shane Victorino's infield hit that scored a run, follow by Adrian Gonzalez's seeing eye single through the right field for two more runs. Some maddening stuff in there.

Unfortunately, the two-run home run Hanley Ramirez hit to cap the inning was completely on Pomeranz. If you're going to establish yourself at the top of a rotation someday, those are the game-changing blows you have to avoid. Pomeranz hasn't been able to do that enough up to this point (at the big league level).

On the positive side, he was spotless in the 1st and 2nd innings. He then bounced back with a scoreless 4th despite a lead-off double. Also, he didn't walk anybody. So yes, ugly results, but far from his worst performance of the season.

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Rock Solid Recap: Rockies Complete The Sweep In New York

Rockies 1, Mets 0 (boxscore)

For some reason Citi Field in New York has become a nice home away from home for the Colorado Rockies (eight straight wins there over the past two seasons). And if you're asking for my best guess as to what that reason is... I'll say it's probably because the Mets play there, and the Mets are kind of a mess.

But hey, I'm not giving back any of those wins. I just wish they could stay longer.

Winning Players: The Bullpen 6 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 5 K

With 150 friends and family members in attendance on Wednesday night to see Adam Ottavino's scheduled piggyback outing, manager Jim Tracy elected to push him back until Thursday, which was kind of a dick move if you ask me. I mean, yes, this is professional baseball. There are no promises and you just have do your job when you're told and hopefully do it to the best of your abilities. That said, the Rockies have been dipping their toes in some Little League waters with his pitching system, so why not just pitch the guy when you said you would so he can have that night in front of his family.

That bugged me more than it should have, but it worked out well for the Rockies on Thursday as Ottavino was able to give them a couple scoreless innings out of the bullpen. He was followed by Rex Brothers, who also tossed two scoreless innings and ended up getting the win (8-2). Then it was Will Harris (he's turning out to be a nice find, huh?) with an overpowering 8th inning in the setup role to Matt Belisle, who earned the save in place of the resting Rafael Betancourt.

Amazing work by the bullpen the entire series.

Turning Point: The Mets have a lot of things that look and feel out of place. Among the most noticeable would be their decision to play Jordany Valdespin, an infielder by trade, playing center field in Thursday's game. That misguided strategy led directly to the only run of the game as Valdespin misplayed Tyler Colvin's flyball leading off the 8th into a triple. One batter later, Chris Nelson rolled one through the infield for the game winner.

Watch Tyler Colvin's Triple

Watch Chris Nelson's RBI single

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Rock Solid Recap: Rockies Split With Marlins, Lose Half Their Roster

Rockies 3, Marlins 2 (boxscore)

Winning Player/Turning Point/Highlight of the Afternoon: Jordan Pacheco

All Jordan Pacheco does is provide good at-bats every time he steps to the plate which regularly result in hits. He was at it again on Sunday, producing 33% of the Rockies hit total with a 3-for-4 day. That included a go-ahead two-run home run in the 5th inning that surprisingly held up to be the difference in the game.

Watch Jordan Pacheco's two-run homer

The homer was only Pacheco's 2nd of the season, but we obviously already know that's not his game. Whether or not that bothers you is completely up to you. Personally, I understand the need for some pop from the third base position, but the Rockies really just need offense in any form they can get it. So I'm perfectly content with Pacheco for the time being.

Other Winning Player: Adam Ottavino: 3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 K

Good stuff again from Ottavino to protect the lead and ultimately get himself another win (5-1). I'd say he's going to be due for a nice raise this offseason... unless his arm detaches itself.

Drew Pomeranz's Line: 4 IP, 2 R (1 ER), 3 H, 4 BB, 3 K, 1 HR, 76 pitches (42 strikes)

One of the walks was intentional to Giancarlo Stanton, so it's nice to see the Rockies figure something out there. Otherwise it was just another basic four-inning start by a Rockies pitcher since they went to four men. Nothing special, but not too discouraging. He was just kinda there and then gone, with no reason to believe we're actually trying to develop the kid.

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Rock Solid Recap: Good Baseball Is Fun — Rockies Win 4th Straight!

The Colorado Rockies have certainly been a huge disappointment this season, but at least they're beating up on the National League's two biggest disappointments — the Milwaukee Brewers and Miami Marlins. 

Rockies 5, Marlins 3 (boxscore)

That's four wins in a row now. Four!

A win on Friday would be five. Five!

Five would equal their longest winning streak of the season, but I'm getting way ahead of myself here. Let's just enjoy four.

I would say the Rockies pitched well overall on Thursday night, but haven't pitched incredible during this homestand. That was especially true in the later innings against Milwaukee. But the reason those six runs Milwaukee scored in all three games on that series didn't balloon to nine or ten is because the Rockies haven't been shooting themselves in the foot with ill-timed errors. And when they have made a mistake like Jonathan Herrera's error tonight, they haven't compounded it with another mental or physical miscue.

They have kept their focus. They have limited damage in the field. They have taken advantage and maximized opportunities to score runs. They are simply playing really good baseball, and have been since the last road trip started in Los Angeles.

Better late than never... I guess.

Winning Player: Welcome back, Michael Cuddyer!

His two-run homer in the 6th tied the game at three and ended up serving as the turning point for Colorado.

Watch Michael Cuddyer's game-tying blast

The Rockies would then score two more in the 7th on a Josh Rutledge pinch-hit RBI triple and a successful safety squeeze bunt from Eric Young Jr.

Watch EY2's effective bunt

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Rock Solid Recap: D.J. LeMahieu's Career Night Paces Rockies Attack

Rockies 9, Brewers 6 (boxscore)

All I wanted for my birthday was some cake, ice cream, and a lot of Rockies runs (enough to win at least). Low and behold, I got all three!

Winning Player: D.J. LeMahieu

I singled out LeMahieu on Sunday for his excellent play on the entire road trip and he follows that up with a career-high four hits on Monday. Granted, all four were singles, but singles can be very effective when everybody in the lineup is contributing. Monday was one of those nights for the Rockies, as all eight position players had at least one hit (Eric Young Jr., Dexter Fowler, Tyler Colvin and Chris Nelson each had two) and all eight position players had at least one run scored or one RBI.

Those nights are the best.

Turning Point: It was nice to see the offense come out swinging against Mike Fiers, who had an incredible 1.02 ERA over his last 10 appearances (9 starts). He's a good — potentially great — young pitcher that I figured this Rockies lineup would struggle against. They didn't struggle at all, and I credit EY and Jonathan Herrera for getting that started in the 1st, as well as Fowler, Carlos Gonzalez and Wilin Rosario for not letting the inning go to waste (Rockies jumped up 3-0).

Jeff Francis's Line: 5 1/3 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 2 K, 77 pitches (44 strikes)

How nice of Francis to allow a two-run homer to Carlos Gomez on his 77th pitch. That made life easy on old Jim Tracy, who immediately brought the hook.

Of course what else would you expect to happen when a starting pitcher has become conditioned to throwing 75-85 pitches, but all of that just plays right into the hands of Rockies management. They can continue selling the 75 pitch thing by pointing at a result like this. Unfortunately for them, though, we're not idiots.

Unfortunately for us, they just might be.

By the way, overall it was a very nice outing for Francis. Happy for him to get a win out of it.

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Rock Solid Recap: Encouraging Roadie Continues With Second Shutout

Rockies 3, Giants 0 (boxscore)

The Good News: The Rockies won another division road game with excellent pitching.

The Bad News: The Rockies won another division road game with excellent pitching, likely giving the brain surgeons in charge more motivation to keep the paired pitching system in place.

We can't win for losing around here... or something to that effect.

Winning players: Wilin Rosario, Tyler Colvin and Tyler Chatwood

It was difficult to pick one above the others, so we'll go with three tonight.

First of all, Wilin Rosario doubled twice off Tim Lincecum and had really strong at-bats all night long. But just as important to his cause were the two base runners he threw out at critical times in the game. The first came in the 1st inning after Tyler Chatwood walked Angel Pagan leading off, which really seemed to help Chatwood calm down and settle in. A big time throw and an odd decision by San Francisco.

The second came in the fifth with runners on first and third. Bruce Bochy again made an odd decision here, putting the runner in motion with Tim Lincecum at the plate. Lincecum swung-and-missed. Rosario made the strong throw to retire Brandon Crawford, ending the threat. We'll go ahead and call that the turning point as well, even with the Rockies holding a 2-0 lead, because they seemed destined to be San Francisco's inning.

Watch the big strike'em out throw'em out double play

Tyler Colvin had a two-hit night at the plate as well. The first was an 0-2, two-out hit that plated Wilin Rosario in the 4th. After the second hit, Colvin stole second and eventually scored on Chris Nelson's sacrifice fly. Another productive game for Mr. Colvin.

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Rock Solid Recap: Rockies Snap Losing Streak. Jim Tracy Just Plain Snaps.

Rockies 2, Dodgers 0 (boxscore)

The Colorado Rockies won a baseball game with pitching!

Holy crap!

Winning Players: The pitchers!

Drew Pomeranz's Line: 4 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 3 BB, 2 HBP, 7 K, 84 pitches (48 strikes)

Pomeranz dealt with a ton of traffic (mostly his own doing) but worked around it nicely, especially in the 1st when Los Angeles had two on with nobody out. Pomeranz calmly struck out Matt Kemp with some high heat, retired Hanley Ramirez on a soft grounder, and then finished it off with a strikeout of Juan Rivera.

I really thought at that point he would settle in and rattle off 5-6 good innings. Instead, he battled hard just to finish four scoreless. I guess if you want to bottom line it the scoreless part is the most important thing, along with his ability to dominate (good) hitters under pressure, but I still have a difficult time drawing real conclusions when he's being forced out there every four days.

Adam Ottavino's Line: 3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 2 K, 46 pitches (30 strikes)

Ottavino's outings have been all over the place of late, but he really settled in nicely tonight and gets a win out of it. I'm happy for him. Now hopefully he ices his arm good for his next multi-inning outing.

Matt Belisle's Line: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K

Belisle's 97th appearance of the season was much better than his 96th on Sunday. He's such a pro.

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Rock Solid Recrap: Giants 16, Rockies 4. It May Only Get Worse.

Giants 16, Rockies 4 (boxscore)

What Went Wrong: Click the boxscore or keep reading, but just know if I listed everything we'd be here until September.

Jonathan Sanchez's Line: 3 IP, 2 R (1 ER), 3 H, 3 BB, 1 K, 67 pitches (33 strikes)

That ball-strike ratio would get you cut from your high school baseball team. But you just watch, Sanchez will get at least one more start with the Rockies or become a piggyback reliever. I'd almost bet your money on it.

Bullpen's Line:  6 IP, 13 R (12 ER), 13 H, 4 BB, 4 K, 2 HR

The most overworked of the Rockies relievers, Adam Ottavino, actually pitched well (3 IP, 1 ER). Mike Ekstrom (1 IP, 4 ER), Matt Reynolds (1 IP, 5 ER) and Carlos Torres (1 IP, 3 ER), not so much. It's only a matter of time before any number of these guys end up on the DL with the countless other Rockies currently out of service.

That's So Rockies: An MRI revealed that Christian Friedrich's lower back problem is actually a stress fracture that will end his season. It never ends.

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Rock Solid Recrap: Another One For The Pile

Cardinals 11, Rockies 6 (boxscore)

Turning Point: The Cardinals plated four in the 1st on a Matt Holliday two-run double and a Carlos Beltran two-run homer. The Rockies wouldn't fold there, though, immediately cutting it to 4-2 and then 6-5 in the 6th. That's when Holliday delivered a the dagger against Adam Ottavino in the 7th (two-run homer). No turning back at that point.

Jeff Francis' Line: 4 IP, 5 ER, 6 H, 0 BB, 2 K, 1 HR, 56 pitches (38 strikes)

This is Francis' second rough outing of his last three, but only his third overall in 11 starts since returning to the Rockies. If you had told me this would be the case when he signed, I would have done cartwheels. However, if he struggles again in the next outing, it's probably time to assume he's hitting the wall in this paired pitching system much like Alex White, Christian Friedrich and pretty much everybody involved in it have to date.

Adam Ottavino's Line: 2 2/3 IP, 4 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 0 K, 2 HR

It's probably time to start treating Ottavino like a regular reliever (which is what he always should have been) rather than a piggyback reliever. It's not fair to him. It's not fair to the team. It's not fair to us watching. It's just not working.

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Rock Solid Recap: Rockies Avoid Sweep With Something Resembling Normal Baseball

Rockies 4, Diamondbacks 2 (boxscore)

This was kind of an odd game to watch. The Rockies, who have resorted to desperate, non-sensical experiments in recent weeks just to try to scratch out a handful of wins, actually played a normal, paint-by-numbers game on Wednesday. And to top it all off... they won it!

No... seriously. They won it!

They won it with Dexter Fowler leading off the game with a triple and Marco Scutaro immediately bringing him home with a sacrifice fly. They won it with a clutch two-run double by Scutaro in the 3rd. They won it with solid (even spectacular) defense. And they won it behind a starting pitcher that was not only good, but allowed to pitch beyond the 75-pitch limit.

Normal, drama free baseball for nine straight innings. I could get used to that.

Winning Players: Dexter Fowler & Marco Scutaro

Francis was good (more on him shortly), but Fowler and Scutaro really set the tone in the 1st and 3rd innings with their productive at-bats mentioned above. Fowler would finish the night with three hits, two runs and a steal. Scutaro went 1-for-1 with the big two-run double, the sac fly, and two walks. That's what you need from the 1-2 spots.

Turning Point: I alluded to some good Rockies defense tonight. The turning point in this game came courtesy of that defense as Tyler Colvin ran down Chris Young's shot into the right field corner that looked like a game-tying two-run double (at least) off the bat.

Watch Colvin's marvelous grab

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Rock Solid Recrap: Rockies Reach 50 In The Loss Column

Cardinals 4, Rockies 1 (boxscore)

Jeremy Guthrie's Line: 6 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 1 BB, 2 K, 84 pitches (47 strikes)

You'll notice two unusual things about Guthrie's line tonight.

1. It's good.

2. He was allowed to go beyond the 75 pitch limit.

I'm pretty sure the reason that happened is because Guthrie was due to leadoff the 7th inning. But it still worked quite well because Guthrie EARNED the extra rope and then rewarded the Rockies with a strong finish.

Win-Win.

If that doesn't give the struggling veteran a confidence boost, I don't know what will.

Adam Ottavino's Line: 2/3 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 28 pitches (13 strikes)

This is what it looks like when a reliever hits the wall. Ottavino was very effective in May, posting an 0.87 ERA in 10 appearances — 8 of those appearances coming in an 11 day span (24 overall appearances since May 20). He then posted a very respectable 3.24 ERA in his first eight June appearances. Over his last eight appearances though... 11.88, with nearly one walk per inning.

Needless to say, he could probably use a break that the Rockies paired pitching system won't afford him.

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Speedy Rock Solid Recrap: Guthrie Leads Bullpen Collapse

Padres 8, Rockies 4 (boxscore)

What Went Wrong: I couldn't see the game! (Expletive) Fox!

Turning Point: The moment Jeremy Guthrie was summoned from the bullpen, this game went from very winnable to just plain winnable. But the Rockies offense failed to get on track against Edinson Volquez, so it was looking less than winnable heading to the late innings. Then Adam Ottavino took the mound in the 8th and had a rare terrible outing, turing the game into a completely unwinnable.

It was a gradual turn, but it definitely started with Jeremy Guthrie allowing a pair of home runs in his two inning relief effort.

Christian Friedrich's Line: 5 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 5 K, 1 HR, 74 pitches (49 strikes)

Since I can't analyze how he looked, I'll just point out how much I love to see a zero in the walks column. It was just three starts ago that Friedrich walked five Tigers in less than five innings. Since, he's only walked one single batter. Improved numbers across the board will start coming when a pitcher starts locating better, so I'm encouraged by that.

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Rock Solid Recap: Josh Outman Starts Are Fun!

Rockies 11, Nationals 10 (boxscore)

Winning Player: Edwin Jackson

Only kidding. It's Tyler Colvin, who led the Rockies offensive attack with four hits (just a double shy of the cycle) and five RBIs. But he certainly wasn't the lone Rockie to have a productive afternoon. Dexter Fowler, Marco Scutaro, Carlos Gonzalez and Chris Nelson all contributed three hits apiece as Colorado pounded out an even 20 on the afternoon.

But I definitely will give Edwin Jackson an honorable mention. The Rockies absolutely brutalized E-Jax into submission during their glorified batting practice exhibition that would make even Jeremy Guthrie and Alex White cringe. But I guess we shouldn't be too surprised considering Edwin entered the game with a 13.91 ERA against the Rockies in SIX career starts.

Ugly.

Turning Point: The Rockies blew a 7-0 second inning lead and a 10-9 ninth inning lead because winning convincingly and on time apparently bores them. But it's OK, because Marco Scutaro sent the crowd home happy with a two-out, walk-off single in the 11th inning after a seven-pitch at-bat.

Way to go, Marco!

Highlight of the Night: Watch Marco Scutaro's game winner

Josh Outman's Line: 3 IP, 5 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 4 K, 1 HR, 67 pitches (41 strikes)

Well, Outman should have no beef with the offense. They have staked him out to 11-1 and 7-0 leads over his last two starts, yet all he has to show for that is 7 2/3 innings of total crap, one unintentional shoulder bump with the manager and zero wins.

I vote we replace him with Drew Pomeranz soon, or maybe even one of the youth campers from Tuesday. Frankly, I'll take any replacement aside from Guthrie, White or Guillermo Moscoso.

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Rock Solid Recrap: This Really Is The Road To 100

Phillies 7, Rockies 2 (boxscore)

What Went Wrong: The Rockies showed up. The Phillies showed up. This game was pretty much over when those two things happened.

Turning Point: The Rockies led 1-0 (I kid you not) in the 3rd inning and Josh Outman was one out away from working three scoreless when he walked Jimmy Rollins. Naturally, Placido Polanco followed that up with an RBI double to tie the game. One inning later, Outman was again one out away from a scoreless inning when John Mayberry hit a two-run homer.

Long story short, the Phillies scored 6 of their 7 runs with two outs.

Josh Outman's Line: 4 1/3 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 3 K, 1 HR, 72 pitches (40 strikes)

Game 1 of Jim Tracy's latest failed experiment (more on that later) went about like you'd expect. Josh Outman was, in two words, Josh Outman. That basically means a lot of baserunners, and the Phillies capitalized on their opportunities with those timely two-out hits. That said, without the new pitch count Outman likely gets through the 5th. That would have been nice for the bullpen.

Bullpen's Line: 3 2/3 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 4 K, 1 HR

Adam Ottavino finally had a rough night (allowed all three runs), but I suppose we should get used to those now that he'll be overworked even further.

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