Three Thoughts On Rockies Opening Day Loss To Brewers

1. Give Wilton Lopez a fair shake: Denver sports fans aren’t the most forgiving people when professional athletes struggle wearing their team’s uniform or decide to skip town for greener pastures, but it’s only one outing. Ugly, horrendous and disastrous, yes, but still only one outing. The Rockies brought Lopez in to be their 8th inning guy (if you hate set roles in the bullpen, I understand but we'll have to cover that later) and one magnified bad outing on opening day isn’t going to change that. Nor should it. 

2. It wasn’t Walt’s fault: Yes, Matt Belisle only threw one pitch in the game. (It was a damn fine pitch, too.) But when you spend all spring establishing roles you don’t just change them on opening day for no reason. Belisle did his job. The 8th inning is entrusted to Lopez. Everyone on the team knows this. Why would you then change that for the sake of changing it on opening day? There’s no logic in that. Lopez had done nothing yet to lose the role coming in, so you roll with him as planned.

Did Weiss stick with him too long? Maybe. Maybe he should have had Rafael Betancourt or someone else ready. That could have worked. And maybe next time he will. But you can’t panic and stray from the gameplan on Day 1. Especially when you're a BRAND new manager just establishing yourself. That’s not an impression you want to leave on players because they‘ll start second guessing him quickly.

When Walt Weiss feels like he needs to change a player's role, I don't think he'll hesitate to do it. It's just not going to happen in the middle of Game 1.

3. Jhoulys Chacin: The offense packed a nice punch. That was encouraging. Of course we also had a lot of the same lousy base running and poor execution in run scoring situations, but the potential to score runs in bunches will be there. I have little doubt about that.

As good as that was though, I think we all had to be pretty pleased and encouraged by Jhoulys Chacin’s performance. Granted, it could have ended up a lot different had Milwaukee not made three strange outs on the bases, but he looked great once he settled down and those middle innings into the 7th were fun to watch. If we could just get him to bottle that up and hold on to it, we’d had no worries at the top of the rotation.

But it’s one step at a time, so we’ll say he moved forward here and leave it at that.

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

Rock Solid Recrap: Can You Imagine If They Lost Monday?

Diamondbacks 5, Rockies 3 (boxscore)

What Went Wrong: Had the Rockies managed to lose Monday's game, this loss would have been a lot more... well... I guess I wouldn't say painful, since we're pretty much numb to it at this point, but it would have driven my anxiety through the roof with 100 losses on the horizon on Wednesday.

But since the Rockies won Monday, Rafael Betancourt's second consecutive blown save was more of a shoulder shrug moment than a blood boiler. No, I'm not happy it happened, but I'm more indifferent than annoyed, which I'm afraid will continue to be my feeling throughout the winter leading into the spring. I care, of course, I just need to see this organization give a damn too before I'll feel the normal emotions again.

Turning Point: Aaron Hill's three-run walk-off is the easy call here, but Gerardo Parra's two-out single that kept the inning going was pretty important too.

Jhoulys Chacin's Line: 5 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 2 BB, 4 K, 75 pitches (46 strikes)

Fabulous finish to an encouraging nine-start stretch since coming of the DL. Not much more needs to be said beyond that. As long as he maintains his health over the winter into the spring, he should be the Rockies opening day starter without any doubt.

Bullpen's Line: 3 2/3 IP, 5 ER, 8 H, 1 BB, 1 K

Guillermo Moscoso is a disaster that hopefully never appears with the Rockies again. And I don't feel bad saying that because unlike guys like Felipe Paulino, Franklin Morales and Jeremy Guthrie, I don't think he'll bounce back in a different atmosphere. He's just not a major league pitcher, plain and simple.

PS: It's easy to take shots at Rafael Betancourt after a couple rough outings, but this guy has been solid all year long.

Think about it... In a given baseball season, they are usually only 4-5 pitchers who truly excel in the closer's role. A couple of them are predictably dominant like Mariano Rivera, Craig Kimbrel and Aroldis Chapman. The others are randomly recycled veterans like Jim Johnson and Fernando Rodney.

Betancourt certainly didn't reach the elite level this season, but all things considered he was a big plus because the position always has instability and uncertainty surrounding it from year-to-year, sometimes even month-to-month. Betancourt at least brought those two things to his role (and in my opinion a lot more) while the rest of the pitching staff crumbled around him.

What's Next: And then there was one. The season finale comes your way on Wednesday at 5:10 and will feature a Jeff Francis (5-5, 5.75) vs. Ian Kennedy (15-11, 4.18) pitching matchup. My emotions are already overcoming me.

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

Rock Solid Recap: The Jordan Pacheco Show

Rockies 7, Cubs 5 (boxscore)

Winning Player: Jordan Pacheco

Real easy choice today. Pacheco was the man offensively (with the 1st inning three-run homer) and defensively (which you'll see shortly).

Watch Jordan Pacheco's three-run homer

Turning Point: Pacheco's 1st inning homer stood up the entire game, but there were moments when that seemed in doubt. That included the 5th inning when Chicago loaded the bases against Jhoulys Chacin with one out. The Rockies held a 7-3 lead there, and Chacin needed those two outs to qualify for the win. And he got them thanks to fielder's choice force play at home against Luis Valbuena and a Steve Clevenger groundout.

Jhoulys Chacin's Line: 5 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, 4 BB, 2 K, 1 HR, 85 pitches (55 strikes)

Chacin didn't have much today, but Jim Tracy allowed him to go beyond to the 75 pitches get out of that bases loaded jam. It was refreshing to see that from Jim and just as good to see Chacin reward the faith. I guess you could call it a gritty effort, but certainly a difficult one to watch or feel overly encouraged about. He is healthy, though, so there's that.

Bullpen's Line: 4 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 0 BB, 4 K

All of the bullpen's damage came against a gassed out Matt Belisle in the 9th. That was cleaned up by Rafael Betancourt, who struck out back-to-back hitters, and then Jordan Pacheco and Josh Rutledge finished it as you'll see right now.

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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 2, Rockies 1. Just Like Always.

Giants 2, Rockies 1 (boxscore)

What Went Wrong: One day after allowing 12 runs to the San Diego Padres at Petco Park and only losing by one run, the Rockies hold the mighty San Francisco Giants to two runs... and again lose by one run.

Bet nobody saw that coming.

And by nobody I mean everybody.

Turning Points: What makes a loss like this one all the more frustrating though is Madison Bumgarner walking five batters in six innings and the Rockies not making him pay for it.

• Dexter Fowlers starts the game with a walk... and then he's caught stealing. 

• Chris Nelson leads off the 2nd with a walk. Andrew Brown follows with a single. But that rally dies on a D.J. LeMahieu double play. 

• Fowler and Josh Rutledge walk with one out in the 4th. Jordan Pacheco and Wilin Rosario fail to drive them in.

• Andrew Brown walks in the 6th... caught stealing (picked off). 

Turning any single one of those walks into a run would have changed the entire outlook. Instead, Bumgarner gets off the hook repeatedly and the Rockies get absolutely nothing going against San Francisco's tough bullpen. Same result we've seen seemingly 1,000 times over the past few seasons against those guys.

Jhoulys Chacin's Line: 5 IP, 1 ER. 5 H, 1 BB, 2 K, 80 pitches (50 strikes)

Solid outing that very likely would have stretched out to an excellent outing with a couple more innings of work. But I'm just happy to see Jhoulys throwing this well and looking healthy because that's all that truly matters right now.

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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: Offense Disappears As Rockies Find Yet Another Way To Lose

Braves 1, Rockies 0 (boxscore)

What Went Wrong: Thursday afternoon was a replay of Wednesday night, only with the Rockies finding a more creative way to lose.

Yes, they again lost 1-0 on an unearned run, making them the first team since the Kansas City Royals on July 23 & 24 of 1987 to lose back-to-back games without allowing an earned run, and this time the error was Jhoulys Chacin completely whiffing on a simple throw back from Wilin Rosario, allowing Juan Francisco to hustle home from third. 

Watch and cringe:  

 

Offensively, Tim Hudson shut the Rockies out for seven innings, allowing six hits and two walks. Three of those six hits belong to Charlie Blackmon, who also added a fourth in the 9th. Good afternoon for him, but he had no assistance whatsoever.

Turning Point: See, watch and cringe.

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Rock Solid Recap: Jhoulys Dominated And Then Dexter Slammed The Door

Rockies 9, Padres 1 (boxscore)

Winning Player: Jhoulys Chacin 7 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 4 K, 1 HR, 75 pitches (53 strikes)

To say Chacin pounded the strike zone tonight would be an understatement. What a fantastic outing that only  saw him make one mistake, which of course Will Venable hit over the scoreboard in right for homer. That aside, Chacin was effective, extremely efficient, and more importantly than that, looked confident (and looks healthy). It looks like we might have something to truly look forward to every fifth day in September. 

PS: Chacin is the first Rockies starter to go 7 innings since Christian Friedrich back on June 4 (half a season ago). 

Honorable Mentions: Josh Rutledge (three hits, one run) and Tyler Colvin (home run, double, three RBI). 

Both of these guys keep on hitting and producing. Thinking about them in a lineup with Troy Tulowitzki, Carlos Gonzalez, Dexter Fowler and Wilin Rosario for years to come makes me as giddy as one can be while still fully understanding this team isn't set up to win anytime soon.  

Turning Point: The Rockies jumped out to a 5-0 lead thanks to some good two-out hitting. That started right away in the 1st inning when Carlos Gonzalez doubled and then Wilin Rosario knocked him in with a single. They would then add three more two-out runs in the 5th thanks to Tyler Colvin's two-run double and Chris Nelson's RBI single. And who knows, that inning could have been even more productive had Jim Tracy not gone to the Little League playbook with the old 1st-and-3rd steal a run double steal with Nelson on first and Jordan Pacheco on third.

That failed miserably, and probably will most times unless you have an EY2 or Dexter Fowler running at third or you're facing a team below rookie ball level.

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Rock Solid Recrap: Rockies Drop Series To Cubs, Lose To Chris Volstad

In case you haven't heard, both of those things are difficult to do. Especially the losing to Chris Volstad part. He hadn't won since July 10, 2011 — a span of 24 starts and 413 days.

Cubs 5, Rockies 0 (boxscore)

What Went Wrong: It's not just that they lost to Chris Volstad, it's that they were pretty much dominated by Chris Volstad. The Rockies only managed three hits (and three walks) against him in 6 2/3 innings. Their first runner in scoring position didn't come until the 7th. Just a forgettable effort offensively. Rain delay or not (which delayed the start of the game by more than two hours), they have to come out ready to play and be more productive against a guy barely hanging on to a major league career.

Turning Point: None really. Unless you want to consider the delay itself a turning point since the Rockies mentally checked out and never checked back in.

Jhoulys Chacin's Line: 5 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 3 K, 77 pitches (47 strikes)

From what I saw and heard (bits and pieces while he was in) he was pounding the strike zone and didn't get hit all that hard. Maybe a few too many flyballs mixed in there if you wanted to nitpick, but it would be impossible to not be encouraged by his first two outings. Now let's see what start #3 brings this week.

Highlight of the Afternoon: Certainly nothing from an offensive standpoint. But how about that throw by Carlos Gonzalez.

Watch CarGo's ridiculous throw

After a great day defensively on Saturday, Wilin Rosario struggled at times in the wet conditions on Sunday. Case in point, the inability to handle thaat throw (which ended up as an error on CarGo). Then 4-5 pitches later he couldn't knock one down in the dirt and threw wildly to Will Harris covering the plate.

It's a process, folks. It's a process. Must take the good with the bad to get somewhere.

What's Next: The Rockies head home after a highly (and unusually) successful road trip. Who will be waiting for them in Denver? None other than the free-spending Los Angeles Dodgers. Yes, Adrian Gonzalez is back to being a Rockies murderer, and we'll also be the first team to see Josh Beckett (5-11, 5.23) wearing blue on the hill. He'll go against Jeff Francis (4-4, 5.79), which makes this a rematch from Game 1 of the 2007 World Series.

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

Rock Solid Recap: Jhoulys Chacin Brilliant In Return From DL

Rockies 6, Mets 2 (boxscore)

Winning Player Jhoulys Chacin: 6 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 2 K, 73 pitches (51 strikes)

As good a return outing as you can have asked for or expected. Troy Renck pretty much summed it on Twitter. Chacin threw with confidence and swagger, which is something we haven't seen from him since early in 2011. He was in the strike zone consistently. He was efficient. It's the type of outing where he may have pushed to go the distance under different circumstances, but we'll certainly take these results and hope there are more to go this weekend in Chicago. 

Welcome back, Jhoulys.

Congrats on your first win since last Aug. 28.

Bullpen's Line: 3 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 1 K

The Mets scratched out one against Matt Reynolds in his 1/3 of an inning outing, but could get nothing going against Josh Roenicke, Matt Belisle and Rafael Betancourt.

Seriously... how nice is it to finally see the Rockies having opportunities to use Reynolds, Belisle, Roenicke and Betancourt in setup/closer situations?  It's almost like we have a little structure back in our lives.

Also, NO WALKS. From anybody!

Turning Point: The game obviously turned in the Rockies four-run sixth. Up until that point, Colorado was without a single base runner. D.J. LeMahieu and Jonathan Herrera changed that with back-to-back singles leading off the inning. Then came the big play... After Chacin put down his sacrifice bunt, starting pitcher Chris Young fielded it and promptly tossed it halfway down the right field line, which allowed LeMahieu to score and tie the game.

Watch The Mets Botch It All Up

Charlie Blackmon and Dexter Fowler would follow this with RBI singles. Ramon Hernandez then capped the rally with a sacrifice fly. So again, like Monday night, it came down to a few batters in one half inning where the Rockies executed everything correctly and benefitted greatly from the opponent's inability to do the same.

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What They're Saying About Jhoulys Chacin's Demotion

In case you haven't heard (or couldn't watch), yesterday's game was pretty fun. Heaven & Helton

Of course the big story after yesterday's game was the demotion of right-hander Jhoulys Chacin to Triple A - Colorado Springs. It certainly wasn't an unexpected piece of news after his rough outing on Tuesday night capped a brutal first month to his season. And if you back to 2011 you'll find his stretch of hot garbage actually extends all the way back to last June. 

If those painful visuals and numbers still left some doubt in your mind that Chacin needed physical and mental maintenance away from Coors Field, I'm sure the stinging words from manager Jim Tracy after the game made it clear it was only a matter of time... 

"Our starting pitching tonight was awful."

"I need to sleep on it, but you just can't go out and pitch like that. You just can't"

So there you go.  

I'm not sure anyone has a firm understanding or explanation as to what exactly is wrong with Chacin. Who knows, there may be a lot of somethings wrong that will take weeks, if not months, to iron out. The answers just aren't there, but the bloggers and writers have jobs to do and several of them have been weighing in over the past 24 hours.

Here's a quick rundown.

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Rock Solid Recrap: The Machine Is Battered... Perhaps Broken

Dodgers 7, Rockies 6 (boxscore)

What Went Wrong: This will give you a pretty good idea...

When the starting pitchers were in, this game was all Dodgers. Once the bullpens took over, though, the Rockies were able to fight — and I mean they fought valiantly — thanks to the outstanding work of Josh Roenicke, Matt Belisle and Matt Reynolds — seriously, those guys all deserve more than a simple pat on the ass — and a relentless offense that has feasted on bullpens during this homestand.

Unfortunately, it just wasn't enough... because.

Turning Point: In ten career starts and one relief appearance (64 innings) against the Dodgers prior to this evening, Chacin had allowed only ONE home run.

Four batters into this game, he'd already allowed two and trailed 4-0. He then allowed a third home run in the 5th to A.J. Ellis which ended up being the decisive blow.

WARNING: Graphic Pitching Line To Follow 

Jhoulys Chacin's Final Line: 4 2/3, 7 ER (career high), 11 hits, 4 BB, 3 K, 3 HR, 112 pitches (63 strikes)

If Dee Gordon's first career home run didn't rattle Chacin off his foundation right from the start, it's likely Andre Ethier's three-run homer that followed did the trick. It was a brutal start, and although he rebounded to a very small degree just to work into the 5th inning, it was an all around painful performance to watch.

On a 1-10 scale, his command was a 2. His velocity showed no improvement. Basically the Dodgers just sat back and barreled him up all night long because they're all professionals and that's what professional hitters do to struggling pitchers. In fact, of the 11 hits Chacin allowed, I can only picture one that was a cheapie. There may have been another one or two, but they all seemed to be struck with violent purpose.

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Lineup Card: Rockies vs Dodgers 5-1-12

Last Night's Recap: CarGo Stays Hot, Helps Cool Off Dodgers

And a bonus H & H link: April Review and Player Rankings

Colorado Rockies (11-11)

1. Eric Young Jr. (CF)
2. Marco Scutaro (2B)
3. Carlos Gonzalez (LF)
4. Troy Tulowitzki (SS)
5. Todd Helton (1B)
6. Michael Cuddyer (RF)
7. Ramon Hernandez (C)
8. Chris Nelson (3B)
9. Jhoulys Chacin (P)

Young starting in anywhere in the outfield is a bad idea. Young starting in centerfield is a recipe for disaster.

Unfortunately, whenever a Jim Tracy idea seems poor, misguided, or like a prelude to disaster, we end up writing about it in the Recap. 

I don't feel well. 

Los Angeles Dodgers (16-7)

1. Dee Gordon (SS)
2. Mark Ellis (2B)
3. Matt Kemp (CF)
4. Andre Ethier (RF)
5. James Loney (1B)
6. Tony Gwynn (LF)
7. Adam Kennedy (3B)
8. A.J. Ellis (C)
9. Ted Lilly (P)

You know what's scary and possibly a little bit sad? I feel like we're catching a major break with Juan Uribe and Jerry Hairston both out of tonight's lineup.

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

Rock Solid Recrap: Rockies Settle For The Predictable Doubleheader Split

Before you go any further, check out the Game 1 Recap. That was the good one. 

Pirates 5, Rockies 1 (boxscore)

What Went Wrong: Plain and simply, the offense stunk today. They were lucky to scratch out the win in Game 1 behind the wheels of Eric Young Jr. and the arms of Juan Nicasio and Esmil Rogers, and they followed that up with another feeble effort in Game 2 against Charlie Morton. That's not to mention getting nothing last night other the CarGo home runs.

I know this Pittsburgh staff has pitched lights out so far, but man, the Rockies offense has to find a ways to put pressure on the opposition. The Pirates offense is lousy to be sure, but at no point in this series were they ever in danger of being put out of the game. That made life easier on manager Clint Hurdle in terms of handling his pitchers, and it allowed their bats to peck, peck, peck, in search of one or two big hits, not three or four.

That's a BIG difference for them.

That's a BAD series loss for the Rockies.

Turning Point: This is easy. What should have been two harmless flyball outs to end fifth inning in a scoreless tie, ended up breaking the game open for Pittsburgh as Carlos Gonzalez lost both of them in the sun. The unlucky — He was wearing sunglasses! Not good ones, but still  — misplays would lead directly to Pittsburgh's first two runs. Garrett Jones and Pedro Alvarez then followed with back-to-back home runs, sealing the W for Morton.

Jhoulys Chacin's Line: 5 IP, 5 ER, 8 H, 2 BB, 5 K, 2 HR, 98 pitches (62 strikes)

It's unfortunate all of the runs charged to Chacin were earned (the lost balls in the sun are not errors), but it's not like he was sharp today, either, so don't feel too bad.

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Rock Solid Recap: Chacin and Cuddyer play hero in Milwaukee

Rockies 4, Brewers 3 (boxscore)

Winning Player(s): Whenever the Rockies steal a game from a quality team on the road, there are going to be several candidates. For tonight, though, I've narrowed it down to just two.

1. Jhoulys Chacin: We'll get into his performance a little later.

2. Michael Cuddyer: Even on a night when he's not in the starting lineup (nursing that bruised toe) Cuddyer finds a way to make a difference for the Rockies. As a pinch-hitter in the ninth, Cuddyer came to the plate needing to hit a flyball to score Eric Young Jr. as the go ahead run from third. Cuddyer played it a little safer, instead ripping a solid single right back through the middle.

Clutch!

Highlight of the Night: Watch Michael Cuddyer's game-winning knock

Turning Point: Jason Giambi's pinch-hit single leading off the ninth, which essentially turned into a double with pinch-runner Eric Young Jr. taking over. That, and Marco Scutaro doing his usual professional job of moving the runner to third with another productive plate appearance (still hasn't struck out) to set up Cuddyer's heroics.

Honorable Mention: I can't help but look back to Jhoulys Chacin's two-out, bases loaded single in the fourth that pushed Colorado's lead 2-0, and probably should have made it 3-0 if not for the missed call at the plate. Yes, the Brewers would later tie the game up, and the Rockies impressively responded to that, but this hit from the nine spot could easily be seen as the real difference maker.

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Lineup Card: Rockies @ Brewers 4-20-12

— Wednesday's Recap: Bottoms Up

Lineups 

Colorado Rockies (6-6)

1. Marco Scutaro (2B)
2. Dexter Fowler (CF)
3. Carlos Gonzalez (LF)
4. Troy Tulowitzki (SS)
5. Todd Helton (1B)
6. Ramon Hernandez (C)
7. Tyler Colvin (RF)
8. Chris Nelson (SS)
9. Jhoulys Chacin (P)

Ramon Hernandez returns from his minor hand ailment, Michael Cuddyer replaces him on the sideline with his bruised big toe suffered on his own foul ball on Wednesday. I don't think that would keep him out more than a day or two, but I do know big toe pain sucks. So we'll see. 

Milwaukee Brewers (6-7)

1. Rickie Weeks (2B)
2. Norichika Aoki (CF)
3. Ryan Braun (LF)
4. Aramis Ramirez (3B)
5. Corey Hart (RF)
6. Mat Gamel (1B)
7. Alex Gonzalez (SS)
8. Jonathan Lucroy (C)
9. Shawn Marcum (P)

Ryan Braun was 0-for-11 in Milwaukee's just completed series vs Los Angeles. I'm going to look at that as bad news for Rockies pitching this weekend. Really bad.

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

Rock Solid Recap: The Toddfather Saves The Day... Again

Rockies 8, Diamondbacks 7 (Boxscore)

Unreal. 

Un-freaking-real. 

On another crazy, bizarre, cold (and this time rain soaked) night at Coors Field that saw the Rockies struggle (understatement) to battle the elements defensively and ultimately blow a 5-1 lead, Todd Helton came to the rescue again with a breathtakingly dramatic, bordering on Rocktoberish two-out, two-run walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth to give the Rockies an exhilarating win over the Diamondbacks. 

How exhilarating? My heart is still thumping about an hour later and I don't think I'm having a heart attack. 

Todd Helton, ladies and gentlemen. I have a feeling he's won himself a Hall of Fame vote or two over these past 24 hours. If not, the voters can... 

Winning Player: Todd Helton. 

There are other good choices, like Tyler Colvin, Michael Cuddyer and Eric Young Jr. for example, but there's only one correct choice: Todd Helton. 

Watch Helton's walk-off home run.. now! 

Turning Point: Several in this back-and-forth beautiful mess of a baseball game. I felt like Jhoulys Chacin picking off Gerardo Parra in the first inning to end that potentially big rally was a huge play that held it's importance right until the end.

Matt Belisle limiting the damage around Troy Tulowitzki's two throwing errors in the sixth was also important.

But the turning point that directly positioned the Rockies for this win was Eric Young's two-out RBI double in the eighth that pulled the Rockies within one. That hit and that run cut off Arizona's string of six unanswered runs, and made everything in the ninth inning possible.

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Lineup Card: Rockies vs D-Backs 4-14-12

Colorado Rockies (3-4)

1. Marco Scutaro (2B)
2. Dexter Fowler (CF)
3. Troy Tulowitzki (SS)
4. Todd Helton (1B)
5. Michael Cuddyer (RF)
6. Tyler Colvin (LF)
7. Ramon Hernandez (C)
8. Jordan Pacheco (3B)
9. Jhoulys Chacin (P)

Wouldn't it be nice if the Rockies could build off yesterday's win, lock this series up early, start their first winning streak of the year, get back to .500 and allow Rockies fans to be to be happy campers for longer than 24 hours?

Yes, yes it would.

But they'll have to do it without Carlos Gonzalez, who sits with what we can now confirm as strep throat. He's unlikely to be available as a pinch-hitter this evening, and his availability going forward will be determined on a day-to-day basis. Chris Nelson also sits tonight for just the second time this season. Tyler Colvin and Jordan Pacheco are the additions.

— The Rockies reinstated Charlie Blackmon from the DL and then immediately optioned him to Colorado Springs where he'll work to get back in shape and then wait for a roster spot to open up. If the first seven games are any indication, however, he may be waiting awhile.

Arizona Diamondbacks (5-2)

1. Ryan Roberts (3B)
2. Gerardo Parra (LF)
3. Justin Upton (RF)
4. Miguel Montero (C)
5. Chris Young (CF)
6. Lyle Overbay (1B)
7. Aaron Hill (2B)
8. John McDonald (SS)
9. Josh Collmenter (P)

This is Arizona's eighth different lineup in eight games, so apparently Kirk Gibson doesn't mind tinkering. And for that matter his players don't mind it either.

  Links

— Last Night's Recap: Rockies Resilience On Display In Comeback Win Heaven & Helton

Rock Solid Recrap: Pomp, Circumstance and Miserable Baseball

A beautiful pre-game shot from Troy Renck.

That's where the majesty ended. 

Giants 7, Rockies 0 (boxscore)

What Went Wrong: Everything. 

At least in the opening series in Houston the Rockies received two excellent starting pitching efforts and a third that was competent. No such luck today. Everything was lousy ranging to unwatchable. An absolute worst case scenario home opener in every phase of the game. Especially when you add in that it came at the hands of the 0-3 San Francisco Giants.

Yes, Barry Zito shut them out. This revamped Rockies offense couldn't touch him much the same way they couldn't touch Lucas Harrell or Bud Norris... and 40+ pitchers last year that had no business shutting down a major league team either.

Not good. 

And the defense? How about two more errors — Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki — that led to three unearned runs against Matt Reynolds in the fifth. Just a sloppy, lousy performance everywhere on the field.

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Home Opening Lineup Card: Rockies vs. Giants

Colorado Rockies (1-2)

1. Marco Scutaro (2B)
2. Dexter Fowler (CF)
3. Carlos Gonzalez (LF)
4. Troy Tulowitzki (SS)
5. Todd Helton (1B)
6. Michael Cuddyer (RF)
7. Ramon Hernandez (C)
8. Chris Nelson (3B)
9. Jhoulys Chacin (P)

The regulars return for this afternoon's home opener. I'm sure Jhoulys Chacin is thrilled... especially from a defensive standpoint. 

San Francisco Giants (0-3)

1. Gregor Blanco (LF)
2. Melky Cabrera (RF)
3. Pablo Sandoval (3B)
4. Aubrey Huff (1B)
5. Hector Sanchez (C)
6. Angel Pagan (CF)
7. Brandon Crawford (SS)
8. Ryan Theriot (2B)
9. Barry Zito (P)

Everybody looks at Barry Zito as the perfect opponent to break out against. I agree that he fits the bill, but I also would have put Lucas Harrell in that category and little happened there. Maybe Zito, coupled with a return to Coors Field, will be enough to do the trick. If not, there will be plenty of early head-scratching going on in Denver.

Also, no Buster Posey or Brandon Belt in Bruce Bochy's line up? That's very accommodating.

Links

— A look back at yesterday's disappointing rubber match in Houston. Heaven & Helton

— A big thank you goes out to Josh Pahigian and Kevin O'Connell, who recently co-authored an update to their popular book The Ultimate Baseball Road Trip, for including a mention of Heaven & Helton during the Rockies section of their book. I'm very appreciative of the acknowledgement and certainly encourage any and all of you to check it out at some point. You can find it at amazon.com.

— Woody Paige has a... well he really likes Jim Tracy.  Denver Post 

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