Rock Solid Recrap: The Rockies Scored A Run!

Dodgers 7, Rockies 1 (boxscore)

What Went Right: The Rockies scored a run in the 4th inning, which snapped a 26-inning scoreless streak! Thanks, Andrew Brown!

Watch Andrew Brown's home run 

What Went Wrong: Well, as you can imagine, only scoring one run in an entire series is a recipe for being swept. So yeah, the Rockies were swept. They were pretty much unwatchable games the whole weekend. And the road to 100 continues with three games left to go. Buckle up.

Turning Point: The Rockies scored their run to take a 1-0 lead. Then the Dodgers scored four runs in the bottom half to take command of the game. Those four runs came on two-run homers from Matt Kemp and the legendary Luis Cruz.

Jorge De La Rosa's Line: 4 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 3 K, 2 HR, 67 pitches (46 strikes)

Four innings and done. Four innings and done. Four innings and done. These pitching lines ALL look the same, though it's always good to see De La Rosa avoiding the walks. That's a small positive that does stand out here. As does his good health to end the year.

Bullpen's Line: 4 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, 3 BB, 5 K

Rob Scahill was touched up for a run on three hits in the 5th. That's the first run he's allowed this season. Alex White then continued to struggle in the relief role by allowing two runs on three hits and two walks. The only clean reliever was Carlos Torres, who struck out two in the 8th.

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Rock Solid Recrap: D-Backs 8, Rockies 7. So Close.... Yet Not Really

Diamondbacks 8, Rockies 7 (boxscore)

What Went Wrong: The Rockies were done in by two big offensive innings. The first was the 1st, which has been a problem for Rockies starters all season. Arizona scored three there against Jhoulys Chacin on a triple, two doubles and a single.

Arizona then put up a five-spot in the 5th against Carlos Torres, Josh Outman and Edgmer Escalona. That inning included four walks (none intentional) and was the turning point in the game.

Jhoulys Chacin's Line: 4 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 2 K, 84 pitches (51 strikes)

Chacin rebounded from the rough start for a strong finish, but of course that early pitch count cost him the opportunity to work deeper in the game. I don't know for sure that he could have given Colorado another decent inning or two, but I long for the days when a professional pitcher in Colorado was given that chance. Don't you?

Highlight of the Night: Between Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez, we're likely to see a number of Todd Helton's records fall over the years. But it was Wilin Rosario who moved past his mark for home runs as a rookie with his 26th on Saturday night. Congrats to Wilin!

Watch Wilin Rosario go yard again

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Rock Solid Recrap: Giants 6, Rockies 3. 15 To Go.

Giants 6, Rockies 3 (boxscore)

What Went Wrong: If you've seen one Rockies-Giants game from AT&T Park, you've seen them all. Misplayed flyballs into triples, wild pitches, caught stealings, former Rockies that stunk getting big hits and once great baseball players grounding into double plays for the Rockies. It's all there for you, but it's just a small portion of the usual problems.

Turning Point: 7th inning. Giants leading 3-0. Rockies loaded the bases with one out. In comes Jeremy Affeldt from the Giants bullpen. In comes Jason Giambi from the Rockies bench. One pitch. 4-6-3 double play. Rally dead. Baseball game essentially over.

So the question I ask you now is the one I sarcastically (I think) asked on Twitter: How long before the Rockies ink Giambi to that next one-year contract?

Jeff Francis' Line: 5 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 1 BB, 3 K, 78 pitches (53 strikes)

Speaking of one-year contracts, I'd give one to Jeff Francis in a heartbeat. Francis has shown he has plenty left in the tank to be an above average bottom of the rotation guy, and as we've seen repeatedly over the years, you can never have enough starting pitching depth in New York, Detroit, Atlanta, anywhere, and that's especially true in Colorado.

Bullpen's Line: 3 IP, 4 ER, 6 H, 1 BB, 3 K

Really could have used one of those lights out nights from the bullpen, but instead we got a shaky Carlos Torres (1 ER), a sputtering Josh Roenicke (1 ER) and the usual Josh Outman (2 ER).

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Rock Solid Recrap: Drew Pomeranz Continues To Scuffle

Padres 4, Rockies 3 (boxscore)

Drew Pomeranz's Line: 3 IP, 4 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 3 K, 1 HR, 67 pitches (42 strikes)

Pomeranz just can't get it together, which almost makes me wonder if the Rockies should shut him down now, let him clear his mind and come back with a fresh start next spring. I know getting him the innings to develop and gain experience are important — which is why I hated the paired pitching system from the start — but I think enough might be enough already this season. His confidence is low, and there may not be much more to gain over the last 2 1/2 weeks.

Bullpen's Line: 5 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 4 K

Carlos Torres, Edgmer Escalona (he never goes away), Will Harris, Josh Outman and Josh Roenicke were marvelous and played a big role in the Rockies almost coming back here. Collectively, they were the Rockies biggest positive for about the 120th time this season.

Turning Point: There's a big difference between 1-0 and 4-0. That's why Jesus Guzman's three-run homer in the 3rd was the turning point.

Highlight of the Night: Two more hits for Chris Nelson, including this RBI double he ripped in Colorado's three-run 7th inning.

Watch Chris Nelson stay warm

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Rock Solid Recrap: Rockies Start And Finish Strong, Still Lose

Giants 9, Rockies 8 (boxscore)

What Went Wrong: Basically everything from the 4th to 7th innings. Details to follow.

Jhoulys Chacin's Line: 4 IP, 4 ER, 6 H, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 HR, 71 pitches (46 strikes)

Chacin had it for three scoreless innings and then completely lost it in a four-run 4th, which included a TWO-out, THREE-run homer by Giants' starter Madison Bumgarner. That was brutal and unfortunately highlights the lack of focus we sometimes see from Chacin at inopportune times. You have to finish the pitcher off there and finish that inning, because not doing so absolutely changed the game.

Carlos Torres' Line: 2 IP, 4 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 2 K

Torres has now allowed a run in seven of his last eleven appearances, but nine of those have multi-inning appearances and they've come just about every third day on average. I'm sure he's on fumes at this point.

Turning Point: Bumgarner's home run really was a game-changer, but the Rockies still had plenty of chances to recover. Unfortunately, Torres made that it more difficult with his poor outing, but Jim Tracy really deserves the majority of the blame for allowing Torres to hit for himself and strikeout in the 5th (he allowed two runs in the top half) when the Rockies had two runners on with two outs.

And that would really pay off so well for Colorado because Torres allowed those two extra runs in the 6th. If the Rockies get a hit there, they could have tied the game or even taken the lead. Instead, they find themselves down 8-5 and end up falling ONE run short.

Embarrassing management of the roster. It's September. The rosters are expanded, yet the Rockies still don't have enough flexibility to pull a reliever or pinch-hit in the middle innings when there's a chance to turn a game around with one freakin' hit? Can you imagine being the Dodgers seeing that? Not that I care about the Dodgers one way or the other, but they're fighting for a division and the team they're fighting with essentially has a win handed to them because another major league team is pushing a flawed system over trying to win games.

I say it again. Embarrassing.

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Rock Solid Recrap: A True Jim Tracy Classic

Phillies 3, Rockies 2 (boxscore)

What Went Wrong: Oh man, that was a fun one, wasn't it?

No?

The offense, bullpen and Jim Tracy ruined your night?

Yeah, I understand. They probably would have ruined mine too if I wasn't too busy watching the Pittsburgh Pirates commit a ridiculous seven errors against the Cubs. But you don't care about that one. You want to read about the Rockies offense snapping its 19-inning scoreless streak with a two-run first... and then starting a brand new 8-inning streak by not scoring the rest of the game.

Or better yet, you want to read about the Rockies overworked bullpen losing its 20-inning scoreless streak thanks in part to Carlos Torres allowing a pair of 7th singles, and thanks in part to, in my opinion, unnecessary tinkering by Jim Tracy.

With expanded rosters and extra relievers at his disposal, this is the time of year where Jim really gets to be himself. I'll let you decide if that's a good thing or not overall, but he probably would have been better served to let Torres work out of his own jam (he needed one out), as he has done many times in the piggyback role, rather than going to Matt Reynolds against Chase Utley. The result of that plate appearance was a walk, which is better than a home run I guess, but Tracy was again forced to make a change to Josh Roenicke as the inning continued,

Charlie Manuel countered that change by pinch-hitting Laynce Nix for Ty Wigginton. Bam, Nix drops a two-run double and it's tied at 2.

Now obviously I can't guarantee you things would have gone better had Torres remained in the game. But I do know that two innings later the Rockies were forced to use Will Harris in the 9th (since Tracy likes to save his closer for the save chance on the road), and predictably bad results materialized. I just didn't like any of it (including the awful failed hit-and-run with pinch-runner Andrew Brown and D.J. LeMahieu hitting in the 9th) and I don't care if it sounds like second-guessing.

PS: We need to get Nate Schierholtz out of the National League. Now!

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Rock Solid Recap: Rockies Bats, Bullpen Carry The Load

Rockies 6, Braves 0 (boxscore)

Winning Players: The Bullpen 6 IP, 4 H, 1 BB, 8 K

Another dominant performance from the Rockies bullpen with Carlos Torres leading the way again in the piggyback role. He allowed three hits over three innings while striking out three and continues to be, along with Adam Ottavino, the most pleasure surprises on the pitching side this season. Torres then gave way to Rex Brothers, who was flat filthy in two innings, striking out four and walking one. Matt Belisle put the finishing touches on Atlanta with a strong 9th.

Dominant.

Turning Point: Well, since only one team scored, I'd say the first run of the game was very important. That was produced by the bat of Carlos Gonzalez, who connected for his 22nd home run.

Watch Carlos Gonzalez go yard

One inning later, Jordan Pacheco would hit his 4th of the season to make it 2-0. That was also very important.

Watch Jordan Pacheco muscle up

Then again, you could easily argue the disastrous double play that killed a potential rally for Atlanta in the 6th inning was the most important of all important plays.

Watch Atlanta run into a double play

I think Fredi Gonzalez stole a page from the Jim Tracy playbook with that call. What in the blue hell was he thinking?

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Rock Solid Recap: Rockies Put Rare Resilience On Display

Rockies 4, Cubs 3 (boxscore)

I'm not used to this from the 2012 Colorado Rockies. They lost a game they absolutely should have won on Friday. Then they fell behind on Saturday 3-0, which is often times a sign the game is about to get ugly (especially away from Coors Field), but the Rockies bullpen held things in check, the defense held strong, and the bats provided just enough timely hits to complete the comeback.

Dare I say, they looked like winners.

Winning Players: The Bullpen... again. 5 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 4 K

The win goes to Carlos Torres, who pitched  2 1/3 scoreless at the piggyback reliever. Rex Brothers added a strong 1 1/3 and now has a scoreless streak of 7 1/3 innings over five appearances. Will Harris, who has served in the setup lately when Matt Belisle needs a day off, retired the only batter he faced to end the 8th. Rafael Betancourt was flawless in the 9th to earn his 26th save. Brilliance abounds in the bullpen right now.

Turning Point: Two big moments stand out for me.

The first, Josh Rutledge's pinch-hit, two-run homer in the 5th that got Colorado on the scoreboard and cut the deficit to 3-2.

Watch Josh Rutledge go yard

The second came after the Rockies grabbed the lead in the 7th. The Cubs were putting together a little rally with runners on 1st and 2nd with two outs. For some unknown reason, manager Dale Sveum elected to put the double steal on at that point, and Wilin Rosario put the fire out with a strong throw to cut down the trail runner Joe Mather.

Watch Wilin Rosario kill a rally

Huge play. And what makes it more impressive is that he dug out a ball in the dirt and still had the ability to make a good throw, and also had the presence of mind to throw to the correct spot. Very encouraging stuff from Rosario, who seems to be gaining confidence by the day behind the plate.

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Rock Solid Recap: Just Another Four-Game Winning Streak. No Big Deal.

Rockies 5, Mets 2 (boxscore)

Remember when the Rockies couldn't beat the same team twice in a row for like three months? Yeah, so now they're not only doing that, they're actually taking it one step farther and beating the same team three times in a row. They did it to Milwaukee last week at home. Now they're doing it to the Mets in New York. 

Unreal.

Also, thank you Brewers and Mets falling apart at the seams at just the right time. Of course I want to see changes from top to bottom and left to right, but I don't really want to see the Rockies ever loss 100. Very happy they're moving further away from that pace. 

Winning Player: Wilin Rosario 

The Rockies rookie catcher was terrific in Wednesday's win, and it all started in the 1st inning when he ended the Mets mini-rally (one run in, runner on first) by catching David Wright stealing.

Even if it ultimately didn't save a run, it definitely saved Francis a few precious pitches. We all know how vital that is for Rockies starters. In this case, it would help Francis stick around long enough to have a shot at winning (he didn't, of course).

Rosario then got the Rockies offense started in the 4th with a sacrifice fly scoring Jonathan Herrera. The thing I liked most about that plate appearance (aside from the obvious) is that he picked up Carlos Gonzalez, who had just struck out with the runners at second and third. Even if the Rockies didn't get the most out of the opportunity, at least they got something because of Rosario's good work.

That evened the score at 1-1. It stayed that way until the 7th when Mr. Rosario again made a difference with a go-ahead solo homer.

Watch Wilin Rosario Hit No. 20

I think the home run speaks for itself. He's a strong kid with scary offensive potential. We need a couple more of those guys.

Turning Point: Those three Rosario moments could all be considered turning points in the game. I also think the Rockies adding two insurance runs in the 9th was a huge difference (Chris Nelson's RBI single and Josh Rutledge's pinch-hit RBI double), especially when you look at how the bottom half played out with New York getting two runners and the tying run to the plate.

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Rock Solid Recrap: Tyler Chatwood's Rough Start Too Much To Overcome

Marlins 6, Rockies 5 (boxscore)

What Went Wrong: Well, getting behind 6-0 in the first two innings is never a good recipe for success.

Also, they should probably consider pitching around Giancarlo Stanton when there's a base open (homered in his 6th straight at Coors Field - a three-run shot), or at the very least do something to back him off the plate. That won't happen, of course, because there's a real fear among Rockies pitchers about leaving one hanging middle in.

That might be a leftover nugget from the Bob Apodaca era, but I can't prove that to be true.

Tuning Point: Stanton's three-run homer capped a four-run 1st inning. That was a crusher. But so was the Jose Reyes two-out, two-run triple in the 2nd inning that made it 6-0. Despite their best efforts against Miami's bullpen, that's the hit Colorado couldn't overcome.

Tyler Chatwood's Line: 4 IP, 6 ER, 9 H, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 HR, 71 pitches (48 strikes)

Chatwood fooled no one in the first two innings. That's bound to happen at the big league level, especially when you're talking about a 22-year-old pitcher still finding his way. What I liked is that Chatwood continued throwing strikes despite the rough start and finished the outing strong with two scoreless innings. That's always good to see (and something I value greatly), but obviously we need to see a lot more improvement and more consistency from Chatwood going forward.

He still has plenty of time.

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Rock Solid Recap: A Sweep! A Sweep!

Sad but true, there have been more perfect games than Rockies sweeps this season, but it was still pretty cool to see both go down this afternoon. 

Congratulations to 'The King' Felix Hernandez for his DOMINANT 27 up, 27 down performance in Seattle against the Tampa Bay Rays. And congratulations to the Rockies for earning only their second sweep (first three-gamer) with an exciting 9th inning rally and a walkoff.

Those never get old regardless of the circumstances or placement in the standings.

Rockies 7, Brewers 6 (boxscore)

Winning Players: Eric Young Jr. & Tyler Colvin

EY2 was without question the best player on the field this entire series, which is saying quite a bit when you're sharing it with Carlos Gonzalez and Ryan Braun, among others. Two more hits for him today, including his third home run in the past week and a critical single in the 9th inning that set up...

Watch Tyler Colvin's walk-off two-run double

How freaking fast is Young to score from first base on that ball? He was about halfway to second when the ball rolled past the base, yet still managed to score fairly easily without the ball getting to the corner. That's crazy speed. It's also another big hit and big game in a Rockies uniform for Colvin. What an addition he continues to be.

Turning Point: Will Harris had a rough Rockies debut on Monday night, allowing a three-run homer to Rickie Weeks in the 9th. He bounced back nicely in his second outing on Wednesday, retiring all six Brewers he faced in the 8th and 9th innings, which allowed the Rockies offense to rally and ultimately secure the first career win for Harris.

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Rock Solid Recrap: Tired Bullpen Falters In San Francisco

Giants 9, Rockies 6 (boxscore)

What Went Wrong: Not really a big fan of making excuses for failed performance on the baseball field, but it's hard to get around them when looking at the Colorado Rockies bullpen situation. Most of the guys out there are toast, and the ones who aren't toast are seemingly working on fumes.

So many unnecessary innings, not only for the piggyback guys, but that next layer as well that includes Matt Belisle, Rex Brothers and Matt Reynolds. Unfortunately. I think Belisle may have finally crossed the line to toast in his 56th appearance on Sunday afternoon after wobbling in the 7th inning and falling completely apart in the 8th inning.

Matt Belisle's Line: 1 1/3 IP,  4 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 1 K, 35 pitches (21 strikes)

Jim Tracy rode Belisle until he had nothing left (and then continued riding him for another 10 pitches or so). He then turned to Rafael Betancourt for a five-out save opportunity. Three batters later — sacrifice fly, three-run homer and a double — Betancourt was out, and the Rockies 6-4 lead entering the inning was now a 9-6 deficit.

Such a disappointing result after the offense battled back from an early deficit to take control in the middle innings. And, as usual, there's no reason to not draw a straight line right to the paired pitching system. It continues to cause more chaos and harm than good.

Alex White's Line: 4 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 3 K, 82 pitches (48 strikes)

Like Jeff Francis on Wednesday in Los Angeles, the damage against White all came within the first few hitters. A lot of his own doing (wild pitch included), but the botched rundown (somebody please work with Wilin Rosario on the basics of defense) certainly helped little. From there White wouldn't really find a good groove until the 4th inning, and of course that was his final inning. Who knows, he may have been good for at least one more inning, even two, which would be so huge to the bullpen's cause. It just isn't an option with our mess of a system in place.

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Rock Solid Recrap: Rockies Refuse To Sweep LA

Dodgers 6, Rockies 4 (boxscore)

What Went Wrong: This game was a complete mess from a strategic standpoint. I'll get into the pitching side shortly, but it really started when Jim Tracy posted his lineup card and it didn't include Carlos Gonzalez. In his career against Wednesday's opposing starter Chad Billingsley, Gonzalez was 10-for-18 with four walks. If you're going to schedule a routine day off for your best player, I wouldn't suggest doing it against a guy he's that locked in against, regardless of the sample size.

Maybe there's something I'm missing and he needed the day off (or maybe Tracy is just married to the two days in a row off thing). I don't know.

With CarGo out of the lineup, Tyler Colvin shifted to the outfield and Matt McBride returned to the lineup. He would proceed to have perhaps the worst game ever for a Colorado first baseman. At the plate, he was 0-for-4 with two strikeouts and two popouts (one that failed to advance a runner). That's bad enough.

In the field, he dropped a 1st inning popfly, which extended the inning for Jeff Francis. That's significant when there's a pitch limit in play, and it proved to very significant as this one played out. Later, McBride couldn't handle a throw from Jordan Pacheco that resulted in Pacheco being charged with an error. The throw was definitely high, but it had to be caught. No excuse.

Basically you bench CarGo for McBride straight up.

McBride's defense likely leads to a shorter outing for Jeff Francis.

CarGo never even receives a pinch-hit appearance.

Rockies lose 6-4.

Mess.

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Rock Solid Recrap: How About That For A 1-8 Homestand?

We knew it could ugly. Some even predicted an 0-for-the homestand before it began. 

It certainly lived up to the hype, didn't it?

Swept by Cincinnati.

Steal one from St. Louis.

Swept and completely embarrassed by San Francisco.

1-8.

Giants 8, Rockies 3 (boxscore)

Turning Point: Jordan Pacheco made a 1st inning error that got the ball rolling for San Francisco. However, it was Wilin Rosario's passed ball with the bases loaded that killed Tyler Chatwood and the Rockies. Not only did the game's first run score on the whiffed catch, one pitch later Hunter Pence grounded one to second for what could have been an inning double play, but instead was an RBI groundout.

Obviously that outcome wouldn't be guaranteed had Rosario handled the pitch, but the simple fact he couldn't handle it is a problem. That it resulted in a run is a bigger problem. That it took the double play out of order is the biggest problem yet.

Rosario had two chances to make up for the miscue at the plate. Both times he made the final out of inning and left the bases loaded. Rough, rough game for the rookie, but hopefully one that continues driving him to improve, while also reeling in those who have been pining for his Rookie of the Year candidacy. I'd love to see a Rockie win it. Don't me wrong. But they have to earn it.

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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: Pirates Don't Mind Stealing, Will Also Take What They're Given

Pirates 6, Rockies 2 (boxscore)

What Went Wrong: Like I indicated in the headline, pirates make a living stealing, but the ones from Pittsburgh didn't have to tonight. This win was furnished for them, free of charge. 

Some of the bigger issues for the sloppy Rockies on Tuesday night:

— The inability to finish innings on the mound and capitalize at the plate against the often injured, always overpaid Erik Bedard. More to come on these.

— Wilin Rosario had another awful night behind the plate with his league leading 12th passed ball and a costly wild pitch allowed. Obviously there's a long way to go in his development, but there's no sense taking playing time away. He has to learn on the job. But you're still allowed to cringe and not like it.

— Down four runs late, Jordan Pacheco inexplicably attempts to advance to third on a groundball to third base. He was tagged out easily, killing a scoring opportunity.

— In the 9th, Carlos Torres made a lousy throw to second on what should have been a double play. Rockies end up getting no outs (thanks to the throw and a missed call). Amazingly, that one didn't lead to a run, but still maddening.

As small as many of those miscues appear to be, there's no way you're going to win at this level when you make that many of them in one game. Especially against this Pittsburgh team that executes well under Clint Hurdle and does a wonderful job of getting the most out of the least. Not to mention it gets increasingly difficult to watch with each passing game, because you expect to see some improvement somewhere along the line. It just never happens. And just when you think it's about to, it disappears.

Turning Point: Rookie Josh Rutledge triples home the go ahead run in the 4th. I wish I could say that was the turning point. Unfortunately, though, it was the Rockies inability to bring Rutledge home (there were no outs) that started the shift in the game's outlook. Christian Friedrich struck out looking. Eric Young struck out looking. Marco Scutaro flied out harmlessly to center field.

That was the start of it. In the top of the 5th... well... keep reading.

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Weekend Recap: They Beat LA!

Friday

Rockies 13, Dodgers 3 (boxscore) 

Winning Players: The offense... again

The offense continued sizzling on this night against the surprisingly effective 2012 version of Chris Capuano. The boxscore was pretty to look at with Dexter Fowler contributing three more hits (two runs, two RBI), Michael Cuddyer touching the plate four times (home run included) and Wilin Rosario delivering the knockout punch with a three-run 6th inning homer.

There wasn't a single hole in the lineup among position players, and that was ultra-important given the piggyback pitching plan going into this game.

Josh Outman's Line: 3 1/3, 0 R, 2 H, 1 BB, 5 K, 55 pitches (37 strikes)

Couldn't ask for much more out of Outman under the circumstances. A very effective line.

The Bullpen's Line: 5 2/3, 3 ER, 8 H, 3 BB, 4 K

The walks and two runs belonged to Carlos Torres (two innings). Adam Ottavino (1 2/3 - 0 R), Matt Belisle (1 IP - 1 ER) and Esmil Rogers (1 IP - 0 R) closed it down efficiently.

Highlight of the Game

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Rock Solid Recrap: Same Starting Pitching. Less Offense. More Bad Results.

Braves 7, Rockies 2 (boxscore)

What Went Wrong: At the risk of becoming repetitive, I will skip this section. You already know.

Turning Point: Two up, two down for Juan Nicasio to start the 3rd inning.

Three batters later. Three-run home run Freddie Freeman. 3-0 Braves.

I've said it repeatedly in these Recraps, Rockies pitchers must become stronger finishers. That doesn't mean throwing 95-97 in the 7th-8th innings, either. That means throwing quality pitches with two strikes and/or two outs to finish off hitters and close down innings. They have to be the absolute worst at this in baseball, and it seems to cost them every single time an inning is extended.

It's how you lose close games. It's how you blow big leads. It's how you lose games before they're even started. It's losing baseball.

Make some damn pitches and let the offense do work.

Juan Nicasio's Line: 5 IP, 6 ER, 8 H, 3 BB, 5 K, 1 HR, 93 pitches (49 strikes)

Not the outing Colorado needed from Nicasio. Not enough strikes. Not enough outs. Just not enough. But I won't come down too hard on him individually. He's carried a heavy load so far and I expect much better his next time out.

Meanwhile, Adam Ottavino made his Rockies debut and tossed two completely perfect innings this afternoon. Carlos Torres then threw a perfect 9th after throwing a perfect 8th last night.

You know what was really cool about those four innings?

47 total pitches, 33 strikes.

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