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: Rockies Put Rare Resilience On Display

Rockies 4, Cubs 3 (boxscore)

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

Dare I say, they looked like winners.

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

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

Turning Point: Two big moments stand out for me.

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

Watch Josh Rutledge go yard

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

Watch Wilin Rosario kill a rally

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

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Rock Solid Recrap: 2012 Rockies Reemerge In Ugly 8th

Cubs 5, Rockies 3 (boxscore)

What Went Wrong: Three weeks of good baseball unraveled quickly in the 8th inning. After Brett Jackson tied the game with a solo home run off Matt Belisle (which was a shocker), the Rockies relapsed with a series of miscues (Blackmon bobble in the outfield, Nelson and LeMahieu botched double play and Matt Reynolds' overthrowing a play at first), that allowed the Cubs to grab the lead. It was really quite frustrating considering how focused and solid the team had played recently, and I sincerely hope this doesn't lead to another stretch of hideous performances.

Turning Point: When Matt Belisle (1/3 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 1 HR) doesn't have it, it's simply not going to work out for the Rockies. This game was pretty good evidence of that.

Drew Pomeranz's Line: 5 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 1 K, 2 HR, 72 pitches (43 strikes)

Pomeranz was very efficient and very effective — retired the first 12 in a row — right up until the 5th inning when Alfonso Soriano and Wellington Castillo each got to him for a solo home runs. I believe I counted seven outs that were three pitches or less, which is solid. So I guess overall this would qualify as a step forward from his recent string of four inning outings. Then again, there's still that empty feeling not knowing how Pomeranz would have fared had he continued on.

Highlight of the Night: Ah, the sound of a well struck baseball off Carlos Gonzalez's bat is sweet music to my ears.

Watch & Listen

What's Next: Another morning game in Chicago with a 11:05 first pitch. Hopefully the Rockies and Alex White (2-6, 5.55) wake up on the right side of the bed this time, while Brooks Raley (1-2, 7.63) and the Cubs continue sleepwalking as they have for the past 103 years. .

Final Thoughts: I think the Rockies set a new record in the 5th with two separate (Jonathan Herrera and Carlos Gonzalez) head first slides into first base. Those annoy me to no ends and make me very nervous, especially when it's a guy like CarGo who has a history of wrist injuries and is really frickin' valuable. Let's try to practice running through the base, if possible.

Please?

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

Rockies 5, Mets 2 (boxscore)

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

Unreal.

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

Winning Player: Wilin Rosario 

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

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

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

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

Watch Wilin Rosario Hit No. 20

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

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

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