Rock Solid Recap: Mother Nature Says Six Innings Is Plenty

Rockies 10, Cubs 5 (boxscore)

A win is a win, even when Mother Nature shortens the game to six innings and especially when you're hoping like heck your favorite team avoids its first 100-loss season.

The good news is this win will increase the Rockies chances of avoiding that slightly. The bad news is they still have work to do over these next eight games to make sure they don't lose six of them.

It's coming down to the wire, folks. Sit tight.

Winning Player: D.J. LeMahieu 3-for-3, home run shy of the cycle, two runs, one RBI

The Rockies obviously had a lot of offense in a short period of time, but LeMahieu really led the attack with his three hits against his former team. The biggest coming in the 4th when he doubled home a run ahead of Josh Rutledge's two-run double that gave Colorado the lead. Another former Cub, Tyler Colvin, contributed two hits himself, including a two-run triple in the 3rd that cut Chicago's lead to 4-1. Also delivering were Chris Nelson (three hits, two runs), Matt Bride (big three-run 5th inning blast) and Wilin Rosario (two hits, HR #27).

In total Colorado had 15 hits and 27 total bases in the six completed innings. Not bad at all.

Turning Point: This game turned the second Theo Epstein traded Colvin and LeMahieu to the Rockies for Ian Stewart and Casey Weathers. It remains Dan O'Dowd's one shining moment over the past 12 months.

Jorge De La Rosa's Line: 3 IP, 4 R (2 ER), 5 H, 1 BB, 2 K, 2 HR, 67 pitches (45 strikes)

The two unearned runs came after Josh Rutledge's 1st inning overthrow that landed somewhere in Oklahoma. I mean he overshot Jordan Pacheco at first base by at least 40 feet. Perhaps the wet baseball played a factor in that. Perhaps it didn't. I don't know. I just know it was the only bad throw in the game and the conditions got much worse as it went along.

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Rock Solid September Recap: These Are Rare

Rockies 4, Diamondbacks 2 (boxscore)

Since starting this blog in 2010, the Colorado Rockies record in games from Sept. 15 on is 9-33. That's including Monday's win over Arizona, which broke a nine-game losing streak.

That bad. That real bad.

But Monday was good... so let's talk why they finally won one.

Winning Player: Andrew Brown

Was leaning towards Tyler Chatwood here but Andrew Brown's late home run changed my mind. It was a solo shot in the 8th, but that insurance run was a big one to get for Rafael Betancourt. Brown also had a double earlier in the game and a run-scoring groundout. Productive night all around offensively, and the adventurous catch out in right field was a highlight too.

Watch Andrew Brown's opposite field homer

Watch Andrew Brown's nice catch

Honorable Mentions: Chatwood (more shortly), the bullpen (more shortly), along with Charlie Blackmon and Tyler Colvin who each contributed two hits.

Turning Point: After Arizona scored two in the 4th to take a 2-1 lead, the Rockies battled right back with two of their own in the bottom half (Brown's RBI and a D.J. LeMahieu RBI single). Chatwood then put up a big 0 in the 5th to stabilize things, which allowed the bullpen to bring it home.

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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 Recap: Rockies Welcome Josh Beckett Back To The National League

More specifically... Tyler Colvin welcomes Josh Beckett back to the National League.

Rockies 10, Dodgers 0 (boxscore)

Winning Players: All of them. That's about as complete a performance as this team has had all season. And honestly, it's as satisfying a win as you can have in August of a lost season. Beating the Dodgers in Beckett's debut and in dominant fashion? Hell. Yes.

Special mentions are definitely in order for Tyler Colvin. Not only did he greet Beckett with the mammoth home run, he also played a big role in breaking the game open with a two-run 8th inning triple.

Another key contributor was Chris Nelson (single, double, triple, three runs scored) with the bat and with the glove. He started a huge double play on Matt Kemp that snuffed out the Dodgers 8th rally attempt.

D.J. LeMahieu (two hits, two RBIs, great double play turn) and Jonathan Herrera (three hits) also get hat tips.

Watch the Rockies turn a big DP

Turning Point: Jim Tracy made a logical managerial move. I swear to it. He made a logical managerial move in the 6th inning when he pinch-hit for piggyback/hybrid reliever Josh Roenicke in a run scoring opportunity, and I'll be damned if Josh Rutledge didn't come through with a pinch-hit RBI single to extend the lead and the inning.

This might not just be a turning point in a baseball game. It could be the turning point in all our lives.

Watch Josh Rutledge deliver

Oh, right, then Matt Belisle hit for himself with two runners on base in the 8th and struck out bunting. But I guess the Rockies were out of players by then or something. And then the Rockies scored six more runs inning and it didn't matter. Fun times!

Jeff Francis' Line: 5 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 1 BB, 6 K, 91 pitches (56 strikes)

Josh Beckett was the talk going in but Jeff Francis stole the matchup with his outstanding five-inning performance. Of course I emphasized five innings there because that's a big deal for a Rockies pitcher. And you know what's an even bigger deal? Jim Tracy allowing Francis to reach 91 pitches despite being in a jam in the 5th. It's a good thing he did, too, because Francis finished the outing in style with the nasty 60-something mph curveball that struck out Shane Victorino.

Loved it.

What's Next: The Dodgers series continues on Tuesday night at 6:40 with a slightly less interesting pitching matchup. For the Rockies, it'll be the young righty Tyler Chatwood (3-3, 4.98). For the Dodgers, it'll be the crafty and surprisingly effective left-hander Chris Capuano (11-9, 3.37).

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

Rock Solid Recap: Rockies Complete The Sweep In New York

Rockies 1, Mets 0 (boxscore)

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

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

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

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

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

Amazing work by the bullpen the entire series.

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

Watch Tyler Colvin's Triple

Watch Chris Nelson's RBI single

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Rock Solid Recap: Rockies Earn Win With Jumbled Lineup

Rockies 3, Mets 1 (boxscore)

Most of the names in the lineup were unrecognizable to people who don't follow the Rockies closely (and even some who do), yet they found a way to start their road trip on the right track with a win over the New York Mets. And to make it more satisfying, they won a game started by Cy Young candidate R.A. Dickey (no-decision for him).

Winning Player: Tyler Colvin

First base belongs to Colvin again with Michael Cuddyer back on the disabled list. He took advantage of the playing time on Monday night, breaking Colorado into the scoring column with a mammoth second deck bomb off Dickey in the 5th.

Watch Tyler Colvin's home run

But that was just his first big moment in the game. In the 8th, with the Mets threatening to retake the lead, Colvin make a fantastic diving stop of a Jordany Valdespin groundout that was ticketed for the right field corner. Colvin then gathered himself and flipped to Matt Belisle (who was a little late covering) JUST in time to get the out.

Big time play.

Without the out, the game would have been tied and New York still has the bases loaded. If the ball gets down the line, it likely clears the bases and we know the result that would lead to.

And then to cap his night, Colvin singled in the 9th to keep the inning alive. One batter later, Ramon Hernandez gave the Rockies an insurance run with a single of his own.

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

Rockies 9, Brewers 6 (boxscore)

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

Winning Player: D.J. LeMahieu

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

Those nights are the best.

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

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

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

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

Unfortunately for us, they just might be.

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

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Rock Solid Recap: Encouraging Roadie Continues With Second Shutout

Rockies 3, Giants 0 (boxscore)

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

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

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

Winning players: Wilin Rosario, Tyler Colvin and Tyler Chatwood

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

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

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

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

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

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Rock Solid Recap: White Impressive In Latest Return, Rutledge Remains Warm

Rockies 8, Cardinals 2 (boxscore)

Winning Player: Jordan Pacheco

Paycheck keeps on hitting and producing in the Rockies lineup, going 3-for-3 with a sac fly, two RBI and a run scored on the evening. His average sits at a pretty .307, and he also continues to show steady improvement defensively. He's a real nice guy to have around regardless of where you sit in the standings.

Tyler Colvin (two doubles, RBI), Josh Rutledge (another home run), Carlos Gonzalez (two hits, one run) and Todd Helton (three walks) also had some nights at the plate. It was honestly a good solid game all the way around for Colorado, so we'll definitely enjoy the treat.

Alex White's Line: 5 1/3 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 3 K, 84 pitches (50 strikes)

White looked better than ever (which might not be saying much during his Rockies tenure) through five innings, but then impacted a wall head-on in the 6th. Jim Tracy gave him a chance to work out of it (going beyond the 75-pitch something or other) but White couldn't pull it off, leaving with two runs in and the bases loaded. However, Rex Brothers did get through the inning without further damage with a double play, keeping White's line very respectable and more importantly keeping the Rockies in the game.

Overall I'd call it an encouraging outing (especially considering the opponent), but we still need to see some consistency from White before getting too exciting. Unfortunately, though, I'm not sure the paired pitching system allows for said consistency.

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

Rockies 4, Diamondbacks 2 (boxscore)

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

No... seriously. They won it!

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

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

Winning Players: Dexter Fowler & Marco Scutaro

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

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

Watch Colvin's marvelous grab

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Rock Solid 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 Recrap: Rockies Gonna Rockie

Phillies 8, Rockies 5 (boxscore) 

What Went Wrong: They'll let you feel good and have fun watching baseball for a day or two... and then they're right back to the sloppy, lackadaisical, unfocused Rockies we've grown accustomed to over the last three seasons. Even if they only resort to it for an inning or two, it's too much, and it's difficult to overcome.

Of course it doesn't help when Jeremy Guthrie starts at Coors Field and you're darn near out of the game before even taking your first at-bat. But this still proved to be a winnable game down the stretch. A lazy pitch here. An awful baserunning mistake there. That's all it took to eliminate their chances to clinch this series.

Turning Point: The Rockies had chipped away with two runs in the 3rd and trailed only 4-2 in the 6th. That's where the currently struggling Adam Ottavino entered in relief and things got away again. And the frustrating thing about it is the inning lined up very well for Ottavino. Two outs, no one on base with the light-hitting Juan Pierre coming up. Pierre gets the single, steals second, but that's OK because you can walk Mike Fontenot (who really isn't more threatening that Pierre) intentionally to bring up the pitcher Vance Worley.

An absolutely perfect setup: Until Ottavino makes the one lazy, lousy pitch to Worley, who doubles home his first two RBIs of the season. That makes it 6-2 and puts you in a spot where even Wilin Rosario's three-run homer isn't enough. Brutal execution.

Jeremy Guthrie's Line: 4 2/3 IP, 4 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 3 K, 1 HR, 76 pitches (45 strikes)

Ugly, ugly start. Decent recovery to keep the team in the game. Somebody please offer us a Low-A prospect or something comparable because I'm running out of things to say about Guthrie other than we're all ready to move on.

Highlight of the Night: Watch Baby Bull Sr. connect for his home run

Not Highlight of the Night: Watch Tyler Colvin embarrass himself on the bases

That crap can't keep happening.  Big league baseball players shouldn't have to be reminded to hustle and/or finish plays, but it happens so often with the Rockies over the past three seasons that at some point somebody has to be held accountable. It's not one player. It's several players. It doesn't matter how many pieces of furniture you move around, this stuff still exists because the people who are in a position to rectify the problem refuse to send the proper message the MOMENT the situation occurs.

I would start benching players for this stuff. Instantly. Why wouldn't you at this point? The message has to be sent. You can't worry about embarrassing the player, because he wasn't concerned about embarrassing the organization and the fanbase with his laziness. Make them accountable. Teach them they have a responsibility to play hard and play smart. Those are the two things they can control. Those are the two things they owe everybody. We can live with the results as long as you honor those two things.

What's Next: Series on Sunday at 1:10. I'll be at the Townsend family reunion in Wisconsin. Most of you will be watching Drew Pomeranz (1-3, 3.06) vs. Cole Hamels (10-4, 3.20). Hopefully we'll have good things to discuss tomorrow night.

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

Rock Solid Recrap: Four Errors Seems Like Too Many

Nationals 4, Rockies 1 (boxscore) 

Yes, a real Recrap this time. 

Saturday was a pretty hectic day around these parts with the weather and my duties over at Big League Stew getting most of my attention. Admittedly only got to see bits and pieces of another Rockies game this week, which kinda sticks, but doesn't really stink when you examine what happened. 

Anyway, we'll keep things relatively short since I don't feel like going back and rewatching the part I saw and the other I've read about.

What Went Wrong/Turning Point/The Usual 

The Rockies would end up with four errors on the afternoon (two each in the 6th and 7th innings). The first came on yet another errand throw by Wilin Rosario, who now has NINE E-2's on the season. His led directly to a run as you see here. Josh Roenicke then followed up with this throwing error on a pick-off attempt, allowing Ryan Zimmerman to walk home.

Just maddening blunders that expose a complete lack of team wide fundamentals. And it's tough enough to overcome one of those, when you start compounding them and stacking as they did here, it's impossible.

Also, it's embarrassing.

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Rock Solid Recap: Tyler Colvin Is Unconscious, Drew Pomeranz Is Just Plain Confident

Rockies 5, Nationals 1 (boxscore)

Winning Player #1: Tyler Colvin

Dude took Stephen Strasburg deep twice on Friday night. I wouldn't put his hot streak in the same category as Troy Tulowitzki's 2010 September, or just about any of Carlos Gonzalez's torrid stretches, but this is pretty damn special.

Watch Tyler Colvin's big night

It was also nice to see him get a little help tonight from Dexter Fowler, who also homered as the Rockies defeated Strasburg for the second time in as many weeks.

Hey, remember when everybody was arguing over Fowler and Colvin and who should play, who should sit,  and all that? It looks like everybody was right, so let's all pat ourselves on the back!

Winning Player #2: Drew Pomeranz - 6 1/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 2 BB, 6 K, 81 pitches (52 strikes)

Pure brilliance from Pomeranz against a premier offense that had scored 32 runs over their last four games... against San Francisco no less. And he did it almost exclusively with fastballs (74 of 81 pitches) because he locating it with precision and Wil Nieves allowed him to stick with what was working.

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Rock Solid Recrap: A Much Appreciated Blackout

Cardinals 6, Rockies 2 (boxscore)

In what may be a first, I'm actually thankful tonight's game was blacked out here in Illinois. That's because it allowed me to keep both of my eyes on two of the best games I've seen all season: Phillies-Mets in New York and Giants-Nats in Washington.

But that doesn't mean I wasn't listening closely to the Rockies, or that I haven't sought out the highlights of the games key plays and studied the boxscore.

I don't like what I see, by the way.

Christian Friedrich's Line: 4 1/3 IP, 6 ER, 5 H, 3 BB, 5 K, 89 pitches (55 strikes)

Friedrich's control abandoned him again in the middle innings, much like it did in Detroit a couple weeks ago. Naturally, those two professionally built offenses made him pay for it, and all we can do is hope that serves as a learning experience. Losing focus or command at this level, even for two or three batters, can be a death sentence. You have to stay sharp or things can and will unravel quickly. 

That's the lesson. But the overall good news is that when Friedrich is pumping strikes he's pretty effective. It's just a matter of maintaining it and also finding better ways to navigate the rough waters when they rise. Unfortunately, though, the latter has been the undoing of too many Rockies pitcher to name.  

Turning Point: Without being redundant, the 5th inning is where it all went to hell, and it's easy to point at the moment where this game jumped the shark for Colorado. It happened when Friedrich walked Lance Lynn to load the bases. Sure, the bounce back strikeout of Rafael Furcal was nice, but there was no chance he was escaping that undamaged after walking the opposing pitcher. None.

Highlight of the Night: Here's your nightly Tyler Colvin did something good video clip.

Watch Tyler Colvin's two-run bomb

What's Next: Out of the frying pan in St. Louis, into the fire in Washington. The Rockies will open a three-game series there on Friday night, and they'll do it with Drew Pomeranz (0-3, 3.72) on the mound. He'll be  opposed by Stephen Strasburg (9-3, 2.81), though I tentatively write that because MLB.com is suggesting that decision hasn't been made official. I'll take Edwin Jackson as a substitute if possible.

Final Thoughts: Remember when I said Wilin Rosario was becoming my favorite Rockies catcher ever? Well, I may have to exercise my right to change my mind. Here's why...

Watch Wilin Rosario bail as Matt Holliday bears down

That can't happen. That run cannot score there. I understand Matt Holliday is a large man and he's moving fast, you still have to get that out. You have to stand in there, you might have to take a hit, but you have to get that out for your pitcher and your ballclub.

There's no way around it. I don't want to see Wilin get hurt, obviously, but I want to see a willingness to stand his ground and make the right play. I'm disappointed it didn't happen there. Very disappointed. 

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

Rock Solid Recap: Francis, Colvin Continue Carrying Rockies

Rockies 3, Cardinals 2 (boxscore)

Winning Player #1: Jeff Francis — 5 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 HR, 77 pitches (49 strikes)

Francis continues to pitch like a veteran that has reached the mountain top, hit rock bottom, and is hungry to make that long, exhausting climb back to where the view is best. He's really providing a huge boost to Dan O'Dowd pitching gimmick. In fact, he's completely unfazed by it.. and dare I say, it might actually suit him perfectly.

It's just unfortunate the Rockies don't have a real rotation and there are no healthy, productive arms around him right now, because this Jeff Francis as a 4th or 5th starter gives you a huge advantage over most of the National League in those slots.

Winning Player #2: Tyler Colvin

Dan O'Dowd did win one trade this offseason. He won it big. Tyler Colvin has been a wonderful addition so far, and his three-run homer on Tuesday was just the latest large contribution he's made.

I was cautiously optimistic when the O'Dowd acquired him over the Winter Meetings. My conclusion being: He'll need to hit to matter. Well, he's hitting (his .810 slugging percentage was the highest in baseball since June 9 entering Tuesday's game), and I'm flat out ecstatic he's a part of the organization now and should remain a big part of it for the foreseeable future.

Turning Point/Highlight of the Night

Watch Tyler Colvin's three-run jack

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Rock Solid Recrap: Outman? More Like Out Of The Rotation.

Cardinals 9, Rockies 3 (boxscore)

Josh Outman's Line: 3 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 5 BB, 3 K, 1 HR, 70 pitches (34 strikes)

Stick a fork in Outman, he's done as a starter in the Rockies paired pitching system.

In the 1st inning, Outman walked two and threw two wild pitches. That led to one run. In the 2nd, he walked the opposing pitcher, Kyle Lohse, after a 12-pitch plate appearance. In the 3rd, something reasonable actually happened - he allowed a solo home run to Matt Holliday.

And then he was done, because all of that took 70 pitches.

There's no way Jim Tracy could justify starting Outman again this weekend in Washington after this miserably inefficient, all-around dreadful performance.

Well, I take that back, there are ways Tracy could justify it in his OWN mind, we'd just all lose OUR minds trying to sort through the rambling explanation.

Anyway, the Rockies will have to figure out if they like Outman in the bullpen or if he needs mechanical (more like mental) tuneup at Colorado Springs. I'm guessing it'll be the former, but I'm not sure there's much to be gained from him throwing 3-4 innings at the beginning, to likely throwing 2-3 innings in the middle.

What. A. Mess.

Tyler Chatwood's Piggyback Line: 2 1/3 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 1 BB, 1 K, 63 pitches (30 strikes)

Two pitchers from the same team in the same game throwing at least 60 pitches, and neither can crack 50% on strikes thrown.

I bet that doesn't happen very often.

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June Review and Player Rankings

June Record: 9-18

The Rockies followed up a 10-18 May with a 9-18 June. It's almost impossible to believe they finished April at a very respectable 11-11, isn't it?

Overall Record: 30-47

June Swing Games: 4-3

Wins (Games They Could Have Lost)

• June 3rd vs Los Angeles Dodgers (Read the Recap)
• June 15th @ Detroit (Read the Recap) 
• June 25th vs Washington (Read the Recap)
• June 28th vs Washington (Read the  Recap)

Losses (Game They Should Have Won)

• June 10th vs Los Angeles Angels (Read the Recrap)
• June 13th vs Oakland (Read the Recrap)
• June 20th @ Philadelphia (Read the Recrap) 

Again, the Rockies record in 50/50 swing games looks a lot better than their overall mark because a high percentage of their losses are games they're completely out of early due to the starting pitching.

Simply stated, this isn't your typical win 60, lose 60, how do they split up the other 42 games team. It's a win 50, lose 90, pray the offense keeps them from losing 100 team.

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