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 Recrap: Edwar Cabrera Looks Better, Bats Not So Much Against Joe Saunders

Diamondbacks 6, Rockies 2 (boxscore)

What Went Wrong: The Rockies offense against Joe Saunders and the Arizona bullpen was two Michael Cuddyer home runs and a Josh Roenicke single. That's it. Three hits - one coming from a relief pitcher. That won't get it done in support of a pitcher making only his second career start, let alone the other pitchers currently employed by the Colorado Rockies.

Particularly awful was Carlos Gonzalez, who simply had no game plan against Saunders other than to swing at everything out of his hand and pray he left it in the middle of the plate. Saunders never made that mistake, so CarGo went 0-for-4 with some of his ugliest looking post-Aprils swings.

Rookie Josh Rutledge shared in the misery, going 0-for-3 with three strikeouts. The scouting report is already getting around, so now it'll be up to Rutledge to make the necessary adjustments going forward. Jim Tracy might be wise to give him a day off tomorrow to refresh his thoughts a bit, but should definitely continue giving him the bulk of the ABs at short or second.

Edwar Cabrera's Line: 3 1/3 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 4 BB, 4 K, 81 pitches (45 strikes)

This was a calmer, more confident looking Edwar Cabrera than we saw in his disastrous big league debut back on June 27, yet he was still pretty erratic and looks to be another 15-20 more starts in the minors from being a real option in the big leagues. Whether or not the Rockies will decide (or can afford) to give him those starts in the minors is yet to be determined, but there's definite upside here that I think they'd be risking a little bit if they keep throwing him out there at this stage in his development.

Overall Grade: C

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Rock Solid Recap: That Game Was Quite Fun

Rockies 8, Padres 6 (12 innings - boxscore)

I'm almost a little rusty when it comes to talking positive about the Rockies, but I must say tonight was one of the most enjoyable complete game experiences of the season. It was really was a fun, competitive game, that saw both teams coming up with the timely hits and spectacular defensive plays to literally keep their teams alive.

And we're happy to report that when all was said and done, it was the Rockies who prevailed, thanks in large part to the man our resident Rockies nickname-giver Brian Smith quickly anointed #Paycheck.

Winning Player: Jordan Pacheco (3-for-6, career-high 4 RBIs, game-winning hit)

I couldn't think of a more spot on nickname for Pacheco, who continues to cash in on his extended opportunity to start games at the hot corner. Obviously, Pacheco can flat out hit. He's also an improving defender, though there's still a long way to go before we'll feel 100% comfortable over there. But it's clear he's willing to work hard at it, and it's more clear he's going to carve out a nice little career for himself regardless of where or how much he plays.

Another good hitter, Michael Cuddyer, also had a big night at the plate, tying a career-high with four hits. He scored the winning run on Pacheco's 12th inning single. Ramon Hernandez then followed with his own RBI single to make it 8-6.

Turning Point: All of those heroics wouldn't have been possible without one incredible play by right fielder Tyler Colvin. With runners on 1st and 2nd in the 9th and only one out, Mark Kotsay pulled one towards the right field line that seemed destined to fall for a game-winning double. However, Colvin was able to run it down (showing the advantage the Rockies have with a Gonzalez-Fowler-Colvin outfield) and made an incredible diving catch to save the game.

And thanks to the overly aggressive baserunning of Everth Cabrera, it turned into an inning-ending double play.

It was awesome. Like, really awesome.

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Rock Solid Recap: Road To 100 Detours Through San Diego

Rockies 10, Padres 2 (boxscore) 

If there's a reason or two to believe the Colorado Rockies will avoid triple digit losses for the first time in franchise history, it's that they still have 11 games remaining with the San Diego Padres (not to mention another 6 with the Chicago Cubs). My God are they awful.

Winning Player: Jeff Francis - 6 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 1 BB, 1 K, 82 pitches (49 strikes)

Beautiful performance by Francis. And no, I do not care who it came against, it was beautiful and should be recognized as such.

It's also the first win by a Rockies starting pitcher since Christian Friedrich on June 4.

Honorable Mention: The offense was again very productive, backing up an 11-run outburst on Thursday with 10 more against Jason Marquis and others. Marco Scutaro, Michael Cuddyer and Wilin Rosario led the way with two hits each, with Cuddyer and Rosario both hitting their 12th home run.

Highlight of the Night: Rosario's home run was an absolute BOMB. You should definitely watch it again.

Watch Wilin Rosario's two-run BOMB

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Back To Your Regularly Scheduled Recrap: Rockies Lose 4-1.

Tigers 4, Rockies 1 (boxscore)

What Went Wrong: Cue the circus music... and then watch this lowlight.

Simple and to the point, much this like this entire Recrap will be.

Turning Point: None to speak of. The Rockies didn't collect their first hit until the 4th inning. By then the Tigers were up 2-0, and they never mounted a serious threat from that point on. So nope, no turning point. Just a dismal all around performance offensively.

Christian Friedrich's Line: 5 IP, 3 R (2 ER), 3 H, 5 BB, 4 K, 1 HR, 98 pitches (48 strikes)

Friedrich's command was somewhere between Ubaldo Jimenez and Franklin Morales at their worst. It was brutal, yet the Tigers only plated three against him (one with the help of that train wreck play mentioned above). I can't explain it. I don't see any reason in trying. I just know Friedrich will have to be significantly more effective his next time out against Texas or it will get very ugly, very quickly.

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Rock Solid Recap: Eight Run 10th Was A Thing Of Beauty

Rockies 12, Tigers 4 (boxscore)

I'm admittedly running out of gas after writing six posts for Big League Stew in a little over 24 hours, but how could I not muster up the energy to write about the Rockies snapping their eight-game losing streak overall, and their nine-game losing streak in interleague play.

Winning Player: Chris Nelson

Nelson was the pacesetter for the offense with his RBI triple in the 3rd and his two-run homer in the 4th. Both hits gave the Rockies a lead, the second of which came right after the Tigers had scored three in the 3rd to take the lead themselves. Those are big time contributions from a guy I've honestly been ready to give up on for a while now, and may not even be here this weekend had Troy Tulowitzki returned as scheduled.

Good for you, Nelly. Hope you stay hot and keep earning your spot.

Turning Point: The entire 10th inning was gorgeous. Every damn person in the lineup did something to contribute, including laying down good bunts, drawing walks, productive outs, and then it was all capped by the back-to-back home runs from Carlos Gonzalez and Michael Cuddyer.

I'm telling you, when this offense clicks, it's a fun thing to experience.

When this offense clicks and the pitching doesn't embarrass themselves, it's even more fun.

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Rock Solid Recrap: Here's Your Free 90 Feet, Mr. Crisp

Athletics 10, Rockies 8 (boxscore)

What Went Wrong: The Rockies hit extremely well. Got a starting effort from Josh Outman that sadly probably qualifies as a best case scenario. The bridge relievers (Adam Ottavino, Rex Brothers and Matt Belisle) weren't exactly sharp, but managed to get the ball to Rafael Betancourt with an 8-7 lead.

And then it happened. The 9th inning.

Turning Point: Coco Crisp led off that 9th inning with the most Coors Field bloop single possible (a popfly that dropped between LeMahieu, Cuddyer and Fowler), and then advanced to second on Jemile Weeks' bunt. I guess it was a sacrifice(?) but it took a great play from Betancourt and Helton to get that out.

That brings us to our big turning point here.

Crisp is an aggressive base stealer. He grabbed 49 bags last season. Had a respectable eight this year despite a DL stint. So naturally Betancourt pays him no attention and Crisp takes the 90 feet without so much as an acknowledge from Rosario, because he was already high-fiving Mike Gallego when the pitch was received.

A handful of pitches later, Crisp scored the tying run on a shallow flyball to right field. Michael Cuddyer made the play close at the plate, but Crisp expertly slid around the tag. So we had some bad luck involved here that put Crisp on base in the first place. That is what it is, and who knows how the Weeks at-bat plays out in a different scenario. But that lack of attention to detail with Crisp at second is what's mind-boggling and maddening.

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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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May Review and Player Rankings

May Record: 10-18 

The Rockies followed their 8-20 month of May in 2011 with an almost equally dreadful May this season. The only thing that saved it was the four-game sweep over Houston that ended it. Simply not good enough, but at least the arrow isn't pointing straight down heading into June.

Overall Record: 21-29 

No sense even looking at the standings until they break even. And we're still a long way from that.

May Swing Games: 4-6

Wins (Game They Could Have Lost)

• May 2nd vs Los Angeles (Read the Recap)
• May 15th @ San Francisco (Read the Recap)
• May 28th vs Houston (Both games of the DH - Read the Recap)

Losses (Games They Should Have Won)

• May 4th vs Atlanta (Read the Recrap)
• May 5th vs Atlanta (Read the Recrap)
• May 7th @ San Diego (Read the Recrap)
• May 12th @ Los Angeles (Read the Recrap)
• May 14th @ San Francisco (Read the Recrap)
• May 17th vs Arizona (Read the Recrap)

The fact their record looks pretty good in swing games speaks to how poorly they pitched in so many of those 18 losses. They just weren't competitive in too many of them, almost entirely because of the team's starting pitching issues. The decent record here is also aided by the much improved hitting at the end of the month stole them a couple big wins over Houston.

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Rock Solid Recrap: The End Nears For Jamie Moyer

Reds 7, Rockies 5 (boxscore)

What Went Wrong: Too many solo home runs. It's weird to say that, but the Rockies only had five hits today and every last one of them was a solo homer. The homers themselves are always good to see, don't get me wrong, but it wouldn't hurt to mix it up a little bit on this homestand.

Turning Point: You'd have to say Brandon Phillips' three-run home in the 3rd. It was the only non-solo roundtripper in the game, and as you can see from the score, the two extra runs made the difference.

Jamie Moyer's Line: 5 IP, 7 ER, 7 H, 1 BB, 2 K, 4 HR, 79 pitches (49 strikes)

As we've said several times over the weekend, the Great American Ballpark is a pitcher's worst nightmare. Today that nightmare reached ridiculous levels of absurdity as the teams combined to hit nine home runs. Four of those came off Moyer — including one where Todd Frazier lost the grip of his bat, tossed it 60 feet, didn't finish his swing, and the baseball still traveled 370 feet. I've never seen anything like it.

Given those conditions and circumstances, it's difficult to come down too harshly on Moyer for this specific game, but the fact remains he offers no upside currently, and he's certainly not going to be helping out in 2013. The Rockies will be much better off recalling (and sticking with) Drew Pomeranz ASAP.

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Rock Solid Recrap: Still 121 Chances To Write A Perfect Recrap

Marlins 7, Rockies 4 (boxscore)

What Went Wrong: The Rockies scored four runs in the first thanks to four consecutive hits. Jordan Pacheco and Carlos Gonzalez both singled. Michael Cuddyer cracked a two-run double off the left field wall. Troy Tulowitzki crushed a two-run homer over the left field wall.

They didn't record their next hit until the 8th inning.

It was a truly futile offensive performance that included a five-pitch 3rd inning, an eight-pitch 4th, and a nine-pitch 6th. It's like they got their hits out of the way early and then flushed the gameplan down the toilet, or they had no gameplan and got lucky in the 1st.

Just pathetic.

Turning Point: Well, aside from the offense disappearing, the game-changing moments came in the 4th inning. That's where Mark Buerhle doubled hard off the right field fence (missed a homer by three feet). Jose Reyes followed that with a single to center that Dexter Fowler overran, allowing Buehrle to score from second.

Then things completely unraveled as Moyer walked Hanley Ramirez and Austin Kearns ahead of a Giancarlo Stanton Grand Slam.

4-1 lead to game over in the a matter of six hitters.

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Rock Solid Recrap: Rockies Run Out Of Chances (Literally and Figuratively)

Padres 3, Rockies 2 (boxscore)

What Went Wrong: The Rockies fell behind early. (1-0 after one, 2-0 after two) and completely FAILED to make Edinson Volquez pay for his wildness (four walks in 5 1/3). Those failures included back-to-back walks (on eight pitches) by Volquez in the 2nd that resulted in back-to-back baserunners being thrown out at second base.

First it was Michael Cuddyer, who had the bag stole but was tagged after sliding over the base. Seriously. Next it was Wilin Rosario, who was thrown out by Nick Hundley trying to advance on a ball in the dirt.

You can't make this stuff up.

Turning Point: For the most part this was a blah game that seemed headed in San Diego's direction right off the bat. The Rockies did mount one big threat though in the 6th.

One batter after Marco Scutaro won a 12-pitch at-bat with a lead-off single, Carlos Gonzalez drove him home with a broken bat single that made it 3-2 San Diego. Troy Tulowitzki then walked, setting the stage for Todd Helton and Michael Cuddyer.

Bud Black then went to his bullpen, summoning lefty Joe Thatcher to face Helton. A battle Thatcher won with a strikeout. Next, Black called on right-hander Brad Brach to pitch to Cuddyer. Brach won that battle, also with a strikeout, to end the inning.

No Rockie would reach base in the final three innings.

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Rock Solid Recrap: Pitching Continues Circling The Drain

First are foremost, my thoughts are with the fan who was struck by Tyler Pastornicky's foul ball during tonight's game. That was a really, really scary incident. Hopefully the reports we hear continue to be positive. 

Braves 13, Rockies 9 (boxscore)

What Went Wrong: There's a reason I listed flawed and frustrating ahead of fun when describing the Rockies the other day. The current starting rotation is flawed to the point of giving Colorado absolutely no chance 3 1/2 times out of five. Just a miserable, embarrassing mess. And we're already seeing the wear and tear that's taken on the bullpen leading to awful results in the later innings, almost to the point of total predictability.

Yes, everybody knew coming in that this possibility existed, but not to the point we've seen over the past 10 days. This is a quagmire. A total cesspool of incompetence on several levels.

Point at Bob Apodaca. Point at Dan O'Dowd. Point at Jim Tracy. Point at Esmil Rogers, Edgmer Escalona, Guillermo Moscoso, Jhoulys Chacin, Rex Brothers, Jeremy Guthrie's bike.

Point at everybody and everything. You won't be wrong. And assuming things continue as they are (or at least close to it), a lot of those names — player or otherwise — will soon be erased from the Rockies official roster.

They'll have no choice. You can't continue fielding a pitching staff that has 4-5 big league arms at best. You can't continue making excuses for those who field that roster, fail to provide depth, or fail to mold those fringe arms into usable talent.

To quote Jim Tracy... "You just can't."

Oh, and did I mention you can also point at the awful defense? How about four more errors tonight — Troy Tulowitzki, Carlos Gonzalez, Esmil Rogers and Tyler Colvin. That should keep their spot as the worst defensive team in baseball pretty secure.

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Rock Solid Recrap: Colorado Springs Shuttle Gaining Occupants

Braves 9, Rockies 8 in 11 innings (boxscore) 

What Went Wrong: Staked to a 5-0 lead in the 1st inning, Guillermo Moscoso managed to give it all back, plus one, in less than five innings of work.

Guillermo Moscoso's Line: 4 1/3, 6 ER, 7 H, 3 BB (felt like 30), 5 K, 1 HR, 83 pitches (43 strikes)

Needless to say he did not take advantage of his second start with this awful line, and will soon be heading south to Colorado Springs to join Jhoulys Chacin. Not a lot more needs to be said about it. Thanks for playing, Guillermo. 

Oh, wait, don't leave just yet. Make some room for Edgmer Escalona on the Colorado Springs Shuttle. The Rockies right-handed reliever — who always seems to find himself pitching in a critical situation —took his first official loss of the year after allowing the game-winning two-run homer to Eric Hinske in the 11th. He now sports a 10.13 ERA in six appearances.

Matt Reynolds (he can stay) was also less than stellar in relief of Moscoso (1 2/3, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K). Had he been able to shut down Atlanta's rally in the 5th, or even just pitched a clean 6th, it could have been the turning point the Rockies needed to get this win.

Instead...

Turning Point #1: Trailing 5-2, Michael Bourn lays down a bunt with one out in the 5th inning. Originally it's ruled fair, with Ramon Hernandez picking the ball up and tagging Bourn out. After a discussion with the rest of his umpiring crew (or maybe it just took three minutes to register), Tim McClelland then changes his call to a foul ball. Bourn's at-bat continues, he singles, Moscoso, who was walking the razor's edge without any assistance, promptly implodes. Braves leave the inning leading 6-5. 


Good call or not, which I think it was, you just can't let an inning get away like that. 

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April Review and Player Rankings

May 1st already. Man, the days and weeks fly by when baseball season is in full swing.

Welcome to my own odd look back at the Rockies month of April. I actually used to do a variation of these monthly reviews back when I covered the Rockies for Bugs & Cranks circa. 2007-2009, and had some fun with them, so I've decided to bring them back and have some fun again in front of my new/old audience.

Here we go.

April Record: 11-11

Swing Games: Tommy Lasorda always said "every team wins 60 games and losses 60 games. It's what you do with the other 42 games that counts." We'll call those swing games, or to break it down even further, the ones you really wish you'd won or easily could/should have lost, but didn't.

By my count, the Rockies played six of those "swing games" in April, and managed split them right down the middle.

Wins

• April 14th vs Arizona (Read the Recap)
• April 20th @ Milwaukee (Read the Recap)
• April 25th @ Pittsburgh (Read the Recap)

Losses

• April 8th at Houston (Read the Recrap)
• April 24th at Pittsburgh (Read the Recrap)
• April 29th vs NY Mets (Read the Recrap)

The win over Arizona was my favorite. I'll highlight why in a moment. All three losses were equally disappointing because they all contributed to a losing series against a team the Rockies needed to beat.

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Rock Solid Recrap: Elusive Third Outs Haunt Rockies In Loss

Mets 7, Rockies 5 (boxscore)

What Went Wrong: Pretty simple. Guillmero Moscoro and Edgmer Escalona failed to finish off their innings strongly. On three separate occasions (twice against Moscoso, one against Escalona), the Mets were able to make something out of nothing with a two-out rallies/cheap runs.

In the third vs. Moscoso: New York used back-to-back singles from Ruben Tejada and Daniel Murphy and a David Wright double to create a two out run that gave them a 3-1 lead.

In the fifth vs. Moscoso: After the first two Mets were retired quietly, that same trio along with Lucas Duda singled consecutively to create three runs this time. Three runs that immediately answered Colorado's three run fourth, and gave New York a 6-4 lead.

In the ninth vs. Escalona: Mike Baxter started the inning with a double and was standing on third after two outs had been recorded. That's when Escalona uncorked a wild pitch (some confusion with the scoring on this... I'm going wild pitch) giving New York what proved to be a cheap yet valuable insurance run (7-4). 

Now, a portion of that credit goes to the middle of New York's order for their refusal to give away at-bats or go out quietly, but just as much discredit goes to the Moscoso and Escalona for simply not the big pitch to shut down an inning when they had the opportunity to do so. And for two guys looking to make a positive impression and stick around for awhile, this wasn't a strong statement game.

Turning Point(s): Hat tip to Ruben Tejada, who was the pivotal hitter in two of those innings and now has seven hits through two games in this series. Needless to say he has been a professional pain in the Rockies this weekend, so if he could just please go back to being Ruben Tejada tomorrow instead of Jose Reyes, it would be greatly appreciated.

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Rock Solid Recap: A Rare Sunday Recap!

That's not to say there wasn't some of the usual Sunday crap on display, but the Rockies overcame it! 

Here's how. 

Rockies 4, Brewers 1 (boxscore)

Winning Player: Jeremy Guthrie needed a good outing this afternoon after struggling through his first two starts at Coors Field.

Needless to say, he came through.

Guthrie's Line: 7 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 2 K, 101 pitches (55 strikes)

The ball-strike ratio wasn't sparkling by any means, nor was his groundball-flyball (7-5), but Guthrie somehow managed to avoid a significant threat all afternoon and notched his second victory of the season.

I'd provide more analysis but I'm not exactly sure how to explain his success today. And sometimes it's better to not over analyze and just accept results. So there they are. Good enough.

Turning Point: Jim Tracy avoided using Matt Belisle in last night's loss. I didn't quite understand the thought process in that situation, but at least it paid off this afternoon as a fresh Belisle was able to clean up the mess — 1st and 2nd, no outs — left by Rex Brothers in the eighth.

And we're not talking about cleaning up at the bottom of Milwaukee's order here. Belisle had Ryan Braun, Aramis Ramirez and Corey Hart staring him down, and he retired all three to keep it a 3-1 game. Just a beautiful piece of pitching to shut down a potential game changing inning.

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Rock Solid Recap: Bottoms Up

Rockies 8, Padres 4  (boxscore)

Winning Player(s): As the title may or may not indicate, I'm going with the bottom third of tonight's starting lineup. That includes Chris Nelson, Jonathan Herrera and Juan Nicasio. All three played a huge part in tonight's win, and you're about to read how.

Turning Point: Sometimes the turning point can be obscure, other times it's blatantly obvious. Tonight's was the latter, because it came via Chris Nelson's two-run double in the second that gave Colorado a 2-1 lead.

The most important thing is that it did just that, gave Colorado the lead. But with runners on 2nd and 3rd and one out, I felt like it was ultra important for the Rockies to not settle for one, or even worse, none in that spot. Nelson's hit not only guaranteed they would put up the crooked number, but it opened the flood gates to a five-run inning that San Diego never recovered from.

Nelson would finish up his night with a pair of doubles, a walk, two runs scored and two more driven in. That's how you take an opportunity and run with it.

Juan Nicasio's Line: 6 1/3 IP, 4 ER, 7 H, 0 BB, 5 K, 2 HR, 99 pitches (65 strikes)

Terrific outing for Nicasio on the heels of that unexpectedly disastrous effort against San Francisco. If you recall, Nicasio walked FIVE in that game (career high), but came back firing strikes with all of his pitches tonight and worked effectively outside of the zone when he had to. The only Padre that got to him was Chase Headley (two home runs), but he's been getting to every Rockies pitcher since he came into the league so we're used to seeing that.

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Rock Solid Recrap: Sundays are back in Colorado

Astros 3, Rockies 2 (boxscore) 

What Went Wrong: Same as last night. Same as practically every Sunday from the 2011 season. Colorado's offense mounted few relevant threats against Bud Norris and the Astros bullpen. They were awful with runners in scoring position — 0-for-5 (3-for-17 in the series). And they backed that up with defensive letdowns at the absolute worst possible time.

That's the formula we've grown accustomed to. That's the formula Dan O'Dowd desperately tried to destroy with his string of offseason changes. It's not off to a promising start.

Of course Jim Tracy is going to catch a lot of flack for his usual Sunday lineup antics. Understandably so. But I have to admit I understood his thinking today (scary I know) initially, and didn't hate it, either. Of course my 20/20 hindsight vision hates it now, but five hours ago I was willing to give him a pass.

Yes, it would be ideal to spread the off days out. (Hopefully he does from now on) But the opening weekend congest things a bit. I think Tracy wanted to show consistency starting the same lineup on both Friday and Saturday, which is fine. You're obviously not going to bench regulars in the home opener. And he didn't want those bench players — most of whom were swinging hot bats at the end of spring — sitting idle for an entire week.

It's a tough thing to balance. For all his faults, I won't go after him for his thought process or the actual lineup. His late game strategy is much easier for me to target.

He made the call to bring in Dexter Fowler for defense with a one run lead in the eighth. That was a good start. Colvin shifted to right, upgrading that position as well. Cuddyer moved to first leaving Todd Helton on the bench. That proved costly. But the biggest move was the one he didn't make, leaving Jordan Pacheco to man third while Chris Nelson stayed glued to the bench.

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