Running Thoughts: Chacin vs. Lannan

Colorado Rockies (16-17) vs Washington Nationals (19-15)
Coors Field
First Pitch: 7:18 (38 minute rain delay)
Attendance:
Lineup Card (Tonight's lineups)
Couch Time

Tarp is off the field.  Baseball in mere moments.

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Running Thoughts: Cook vs. Halladay

Lineup Card


It's what?  39 degrees?  As if Roy Halladay didn't have enough going for him.  

I don't know what approach the Rockies should take in this one.  Maybe they should hand out binoculars to everyone in the first five rows of the stands.  Even that probably wouldn't help.  

Top 1st

Aaron Cook gets through the first unscathed.  It was difficult though, as Melvin Mora failed to turn yet another routine double play ball.  I mean this was tailor made for 4-6-3, he bobbled it, fell on his ass, and recovered to throw out Howard at first.  Cook struck out Werth to end it.

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Running Thoughts: Smith. vs Kendrick

Preview

Lineup Card

Here we go.  This should be interesting.

Rockies lining up in their three announcer setup tonight.

1st Inning

• Shane Victorino triples on an 0-2 pitch.  Smith simply can't make a quality 0-2 pitch.  
• Polanco with the sac fly.  Hawpe made a great throw from fairly deep right.  Good try.  
• Another 0-2 basehit, this time by Chase Utley.  
• Smith strikes out Howard.  He's throwing strikes tonight, no doubt about that.  Now he just needs to find more quality strikes.  
• And then he walks Werth on four pitches.  Maybe I need to shut up.  
• Strikes out Ibanez.  High pitch count inning but limited the damage.  
• Phillies 1, Rockies 0
• Jason Giambi with a laser RBI single to even the score.  Much needed hit for team and player.  
• Rockies 1, Phillies 1
• Good first inning of baseball.  

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Running Thoughts: Jimenez vs. Kershaw

Preview

Lineup

Vin Scully -- "Ubaldo Jimenez is 6-0.  His ERA is 1.00.  He pitched a no-hitter.  Otherwise he hasn't done a darn thing."

I love Vin.

1st Inning

• Rockies load the bases and then Ian Stewart is called out on strikes on a pitch that was high and inside.  
• Jimenez's strike zone better be that big!  
• Jimenez retires Martin, Kemp and Ethier in order.  
• Back to work on Kershaw's pitch count.  

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Running Thoughts: Chacin vs. Knuckler

Preview

Lineup Card

1st Inning

• Dexter Fowler, as many switch-hitters do against a right-handed knuckleballer, will hit from the left side.
• Rockies are making Haeger prove he can throw a knuckleball for a strike.  He can't.  Can't throw a fastball for a strike either.  Three walks in a row.  
• CarGo clears the bases!  Sweet piece of hitting.  
• Charlie Haeger out after five batters.  Damn!  Ramon Ortiz in.  
• Ian Stewart:  Two-run bomb to dead central.  
• #8 hitter Paul Phillips is the first out recorded.  
• Rockies 6, Dodgers 0  
• Good start for Jhoulys Chacin.  Only needed 13-14 pitches.  

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Running Thoughts: Rogers vs. Kuroda

Checking in a little later after a Mother's Day gathering with the family.

1st Inning

• Doesn't look like I missed much.  

2nd Inning

• I see Tulo at third with one out.  
• And Ian Stewart is able to sacrifice him home on a flyball.  Good start.  
• Rockies 1, Dodgers 0
• Dodgers showing sound fundamentals as well.  Leadoff double by Blake, moved to third by Martin.  Sets up Blake Dewitt
• Dewitt pops out, but Rogers make bad pitch to the pesky Jamey Caroll, who dumped right in to right field.  Rogers will learns a valuable lesson there.  You have to focus and execute every pitch at this level.  Even the Jamey Carroll's can make you pay in their own way.  It won't be a blast, but a bloop can hurt just as much.  
• Rockies 1, Dodgers 1

3rd Inning

• Feeble looking swings in that inning.  Sometimes Kuroda will do that to you and you don't understand how or why.  
• Wow.  Rogers strikes out Xavier Paul on a fantastic changeup.  Nasty.  
• Ian Stewart with another horrendous throwing error.  Fast runner in Kemp, yes, but slow down and make a big league throw.  
• And now Matt Kemp steals second.  Poor defense opening doors for the opponents again.  Should be 2 out with no one on.  
• Predictably, Ethier knocks in Kemp.  Dodgers take advantage of all Rockies errors.  Been that way since 1993.  
• Rogers isn't sharp by any means, but he's at least making the Dodgers earn it.  Defense needs to back him up.  
• Dodgers 2, Rockies 1

4th Inning

• Tulo smacks one off the base of the wall for a double, CarGo bloops one right over second base to even the game at 2.  
• Olivo with another rally killing AB.  6-4-3.  Just when I was about to compliment the patient ABs the team was having.  
• Rockies 2, Dodgers 2
• The dreaded leadoff walk.  Couple good takes by Martin.  
• Rogers gets three very weak grounders to strand the runner.  Solid poise!

5th Inning

• Rockies hustle their way into 2nd and 3rd with no.  Smith single, 1st to 3rd on a Fowler single, Fowler takes second on a bobble.  
• Casey Blake robs Helton with a diving stab.  Big play.  
• CarGo battles tough, earns a sac fly RBI.  
• Rockies 3, Dodgers 2
• The back and forth continues.  Xavier Paul leads off with a double.  
• Ethier ties it up again.  Ringing double to deep right.  He's a really studly baseball player.  
• Somehow Barmes misses a liner.  Right off the glove.  Dodgers retake the lead.  
• Wild pitch, RBI single by Martin.  
• It's just another replay of every Rockies/Dodgers game in 2009.  
• Feel awful for Rogers.  He wasn't great, but geez, if a couple more plays get made behind him he's probably only allowed two runs right now.  
• Dodgers 5, Rockies 3

6th Inning

• Casey Blake with another Web Gem.  Dodgers winning this one with defense.  
• EY rips a triple down the right field line.  Smith dumps a single into left center.  
• We gots a barnburner.
• A Dodger error helps steal the Rockies a run.  Helton gets a sac fly.  Back and forth.  Poor defense at poor times.  
• Tulo walks, CarGo bounces out on the first pitch.  Maybe learn to take one of those sometimes.  
• Dodgers 5, Rockies 5
• Matt Daley in.  Another leadoff Dodger double.  Jamey Carroll this time.  Pressure right back on.  
• This figures.  Two quick outs after the double, but Kemp just flips one perfectly between Fowler and Gonzalez.  That craps just never ends with the Dodgers.  
• Dodgers 6, Rockies 5

7th Inning

• Vin Scully points out the Rockies are hitting .185 from the 7th inning on.
• Matt Belisle throws the Rockies best inning of the night.  1-2-3.  

8th Inning

• Nothing for Fowler, Helton or Tulo against Ramon Troncoso.  
• 6 up, 6 down for Matt Belisle.  He deserves a win... hint hint... offense.  

9th Inning

• Broxton.
• Odd he blows a save two nights in a row?  
• CarGo with a great AB.  Fouled off 7-8 pitches before singling.  
• Gonzalez out by 4 steps stealing.  Not even close.  

Running Thoughts: Cook vs. Richard

Preview

Lineup

Huston Street could begin a rehab assignment on Monday.  That's awesome news.  

The Rockies are getting very close to being healthy, which makes this next stretch of games even more important.  I mean tonight in San Diego.  I mean this weekend in LA.  I mean next week vs Philly.  

You don't want to dig a hole now with these guys on the verge of returning.  Stay afloat, keep the pressure off them when they return, and then get ready to take off in a big way in the middle of the month.

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Running Thoughts: Smith vs LeBlanc

Preview

Lineup Card

San Diego opens their broadcast showing highlights of Greg Smith's last outing.

<---- A lot of that from Smith.

1st Inning

• LeBlanc starts off with an efficient 1-2-3 inning.  Would have preferred a run or two to help Smith settle in.  Can't always get what we want.  
• Thank you Tony Gwynn Jr.!  Swings and pops up the first pitch.  
• After a basehit by Eckstein, Olivo guns him out on a failed hit-and-run.  That's right.. help the kid out.  
• And now Gonzalez walks.  Not the worst result in the world.  
• Headley grounds out.  Not a smooth start by any means, but encouraging!
  

2nd Inning

• 6 up, 6 down for Barry Zito Wade LeBlanc.  Lots of ugly, off balance swings in the early going. 
• Scott Hairston has a couple good swings that go foul, so Smith walks him, then turns around and picks him off.  We'll just take the outs.  
• And another walk.  That's three.  Command just isn't there.  
• Smith gets a popup and a strikeout of Torreabla.  Ubaldo is seen taking notes on how he did that.
  

3rd Inning

• LeBlanc has a MUCH wider strike zone than Smith does.  Stewart called out on a ball that was 8 inches outside.  
• Greg Smith breaks up the perfect game with an infield single.  That figures!
• LeBlanc returns the favor by singling off Smith.  
• 5 Padres reached the first time through.  2 hits, 3 walks, 2 outs on the bases, 4 regular outs.   
• Mora drops a liner.  Should have been a double play.  Now Gwynn gets to run instead of the pitcher.  
• That's three scoreless for Smith so far.  Not all pretty, but indeed all scoreless.  Let's get the kid some runs now!

4th Inning

• Rockies load the bases with one out and leave them that way.  Ian Stewart was screwed again on a couple strike calls.  Smith isn't getting those calls I assure you.  
• Padres on the board first.  Jerry Hairston triples to deep left center, scoring Headley from first.  Smith has been playing with fire all night.  Finally catches up.  
• Padres 1, Rockies 0

5th Inning

• Let's wake the bats up already.  Smith is keeping you in the game.  Reward him!  
• Greg Smith leads off with a double.  EY fails to move him over or do anything productive.  
• However, CarGo picks him and doubles Smith to the house.  Good to strike right back.  
• Helton drives in the go ahead run on a hard single to right.  Who needs a home run?  
• Rockies 2, Padres 1
• I often wonder how Todd Helton only has three Gold Gloves.  Plays like the one he just made on Tony Gwynn are what make me wonder.  
• Smith follows that up with his 5th walk.  Sets up Adrian Gonzalez.  
• Mora botches another double play ball.  Runner on 2nd with two outs.  
• So Smith gets through five.  I have to believe his night will be over with a chance to win.  

6th Inning

• Rockies offense quiet in the 6th.  
• Daley hits the first batter.  Kyle Blanks should have hit into a double play, but Mora's turn was painfully slow.  His third time failed DP of the night.  
• And now the bases are loaded.  Matt Daley is off his game a little bit lately.  Not good with how Rafael Betancourt is also struggling.  
• Randy Flores to face Tony Gwynn.  
• Flores gets the out... on a wild pitch to the screen and the deflects back to Olivo.  Blanks out at home. 
• Whew.  

7th Inning

• Another quick and silent inning offensively.  That's great... just keep applying that pressure on the pitching and defense.  
• Now it's Joe Beimel.  Burning through pitchers quickly this evening.  
• Fowler in for Young defensively.  Mora still in defensively.  Why?
• And now the Padres are pecking Beimel to death.  1st & 3rd with one out.  They're going to bust through one of these times.  
• Tulo with the tailor made 6-3 double play.  Keeps Mora out of the equation.  

8th Inning

• Offense: WAKE UP.  Need more runs.  
• I said WAKE UP.  
• Manny Corpas handling the 8th.  Jim Tracy's confidence in him must be soaring.  
• Veanble triples on an 0-2 pitch. Ugh.  
• Tie game.  Sac fly by Jerry Hairston.  
• I'm sure we'll be seeing Heath Bell now.  Great.  
• Rockies 2, Padres 2

9th Inning

• It will be Heath Bell.  Good luck waking the bats up against him.  
• Finally Ian Stewart breaks the slumber with a two out walk.  At least there's a pulse.  
• That amounts to nothing.  So yeah, have to hold them again.  
• Rockies turn to closer Morales in a tie game on the road.  Alright.  Matches up with lefties at least.  

Running Thoughts: Jimenez vs. Correia

Rockies Lineup

• LF Smith
• CF Fowler
• 1B Helton
• SS Tulowitzki
• RF Gonzalez 
• C  Olivo
• 3B Stewart
• 2B Barmes
• P   Jimenez

Two things of note here.  

1) Eric Young sits for the second straight day, which leads me to believe his leadoff stint is over and he'll end up being the obvious choice back to the minors when Hawpe returns.  

2) The Helton/Gonzalez switch has concluded.  Fine.  I just hope Tracy actually settles on something soon, because I remember how frustrating the constant Clint Hurdle lineup changes became for all involved.

Troy Renck provided a lot of good info on Rockies injuries today on his Twitter feed.  Be sure to check that out and get up to date.

And before we get to the game action in San Diego, I'd like to offer my congratulations to Ubaldo Jimenez for being named NL Pitcher of the Month.  May tonight be the beginning of his run at back-to-back award winning months!

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Running Thoughts: Chacin vs. Sanchez

More Lineups Changes

That's to be expected on a Sunday, but these are fairly significant.

Dexter Fowler leads off.  Clint Barmes hits second and plays second.  Why, I don't know.

Carlos Gonzalez hits third, Tulowitzki fourth, Jason Giambi in for Helton is fifth.

Melvin Mora starts for Ian Stewart and hits 6th.  So I guess Tracy has determined that Stewart can't hit lefties?  That's nonsense and a little bit of overmanaging.  Just let Stewart play.  Or maybe Mora is turning into his new Olivo, since Olivo is now scuffling.

Ryan Spilborghs hits seventh.  Paul Phillips gets his first start and hits eighth.  Jhuolys Chacin on the mound.  We all have our fingers crossed for the youngster.

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Running Thoughts: Rogers vs. Cain

Lineup News

Young moves back to second base and leads off.  Barmes back to the bench.

2-5: Fowler, Gonzalez, Tulowitzki and Helton.  Tracy sticks with that arrangement.

Ian Stewart back in the 6 hole.  Olivo falls to 7th.  Ryan Spilborghs -- sits last night against the lefty but starts against the righty today -- bats 8th.

Pat on the back for Esmil Rogers.  Go get'em, kid.

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Running Thoughts: Cook vs. Zito

I'll start off by mentioning another new lineup look for the Rockies.

EY Jr.s starts in LF and leads off.  Fowler in CF.  Carlos Gonzalez moves up to third and plays RF.  That gives the Rockies an abundance of speed at the top of the order.  Tulowitzki stays in his spot.

Todd Helton drops to fifth.  Interesting idea I suppose.  He's not hitting for power, which isn't unusual for him these days, but he's still maintained his ability to get on base throughout his career.  Maybe this will kickstart him, I'm not sure, I guess I was just liking the dynamic of CarGo providing Tulo with protection and giving the middle of the a little speed boost.

I mean they did score 23 runs in two games with that lineup, so I'm not sure I understand the need for a big change tonight.  Guess we'll see how it works out.

Olivo, Mora (starts for Stewart), Barmes and Cook round out the lineup card.

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Running Thoughts: Smith. vs Benson

Miguel Olivo played just hours after passing two kidney stones?  That dude really does have stones!

How about this lineup... EY Jr. starting again, leading off again... and playing LF.  Alright.  Let's see how this goes.

Fowler, Helton, Tulowitzki, Gonzalez, Olivo, Stewart.  No surprises there.

Melvin Mora gets the nod over Barmes at second.  Could be an interesting defense day again as we've seen a few when Mora plays.

Only notable resting for Arizona is SS Stephen Drew.  That makes sense against the lefty Smith.

Alright... time to take another series.

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Running Thoughts: Jimenez vs. E. Jackson

Ian Stewart was interviewed by the folks over at MLB Trade Rumors.

Quite the interesting lineup tonight for the Rockies.  Eric Young Jr. does get a start at second base... and he's leading off.  Fowler hits second.  The speed there is off the charts with those two.  Helton and Tulowitzki hit in their customary 3 and 4 spots.

Carlos Gonzalez slides down to 5th.  I like it.  I've been very anxious to see CarGo moved to an RBI position in the order.  I think he'll thrive there now, and I think he'd thrive there if the Rockies elect to trade Brad Hawpe at some point in the near future.

Olivo hits 6th, Stewart 7th, and there's Seth Smith hitting 8th.  That's one damn good #8 hitter.  Very excited to see how this lineup performs tonight.

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Running Thoughts: Hammel vs. Haren

It's Dante Bichette Night at Coors Field!  Let's win one for Dante!  Or just win one because winning is better than losing!

Hey look... that's Larry Walker!  Nice surprise for all the folks out at the ballpark tonight.

Rockies go with the same lineup as yesterday.  No arguments there.

Arizona will have Justin Upton despite his fouling a ball off his leg last night.  Dammit.

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Running Thoughts: De La Rosa vs. Volstad

The emotions of the Keli McGregor memorial service give way to baseball now.  The Rockies host their expansion brothers in the rubber match of a big three game series before getting deep into division play.

If you haven't heard, Colorado placed Brad Hawpe on the 15 Day DL this morning and recalled Eric Young Jr. I was thinking (kinda hoping) they might recall veteran Jay Payton, but the Rockies likely looking forward to having a speed guy off the bench in late innings.

Seth Smith will start in LF this afternoon and hit 5th.  Miguel Olivo catches once again.  Everything else is the usual.

Big game today.  I'm always big on taking that final game of the series just because there's always something significant about it.  You're either avoiding a sweep, trying to win a series, or trying to get a sweep.  Let's get one today!

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Running Thoughts: Cook vs. Robertson

The return of good Aaron Cook must happen... NOW.

Return of good Rockies offense would also be nice.

Why?

Because it's the crappy infield defensive lineup.  Giambi at first, Mora at second -- he's more comfortable at third.  Bleh!

Marlins will give Cameron Maybin the nightcap off.  Chris Coghlan returns in his place.  Wes Helms takes over at third, moving Jorge Cantu to first.

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Running Thoughts: Smith vs. Nolasco

Rockies Examiner explains the TV situation.

Just talked to the producer for Fox Sports Rocky Mountain and she said that there is no TV for the first game, HOWEVER; they are turning on their broadcast at 5:30pm so if the first game is still ongoing (probably will be) then they WILL show that.  

So follow along with me and the radio broadcast until they flip the switch at 5:30.

Seth Smith gets the nod over Dexter Fowler in Game 1.  He bats second and plays left, CarGo shifts over to center.  Chris Iannetta starts behind the dish.

The Marlins go with an entirely right-handed lineup against Greg Smith.  I figured they would.   This presents quite a challenge for Greg, who will need his command to be at its best.  These aren't just right-handed hitters, these are right-handed bats that go up there looking to go yard.

I'm going to close my eyes and hope this goes well!

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Running Thoughts: Jimenez vs. Hernandez

Pretty strange start time for getaway day on the east coast.  It worked just perfect for my schedule today, but I'm sure there are plenty of Rockies fans who are annoyed by this.  I doubt many Washington are pissed about it though, because judging from last night's crowd, not many people in Washington are even aware there's a team playing in town.

Brad Hawpe gets another rest this afternoon.  Though it's not Seth Smith taking his spot against the righty Hernandez.  Ryan Spilborghs gets the nod, plays left and hits 6th, moving Gonzalez to right.

Looks like I'm stuck with the Washington feed today.  Oh joy.

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Running Thoughts: Hammel vs. Lannan

Some early notes.

-- Todd Helton gets a rest ahead of tomorrow's matchup with Livan Hernandez.  Helton is a ridiculous 33-for-69 against the big man, so it's Giambi tonight in the three-hole against a tough lefty.

-- Ian Stewart gets a well deserved blow in favor of Melvin Mora.  Mora really earned the start with his three hit performance last night.  Wouldn't be a bit shocked to see him spell Ian or Clint Barmes more against lefties going forward.

-- We also welcome Chris Iannetta back into our lives this evening. I'm calling a home run.  

First pitch is on its way!

The patch honoring Keli McGregor

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