Lineup Card: Rockies vs Dodgers 5-2-12

Last Night's Recrap: The Machine Is Battered... Perhaps Broken

Lineups 

Colorado Rockies (11-12)

1. Jonathan Herrera (2B)
2. Dexter Fowler (CF)
3. Carlos Gonzalez (LF)
4. Troy Tulowitzki (SS)
5. Todd Helton (1B)
6. Michael Cuddyer (RF)
7. Wilin Rosario (C)
8. Chris Nelson (3B)
9. Drew Pomeranz (P)

Pre-planned off days for Marco Scutaro and Ramon Hernandez this afternoon. I'm guessing neither will be too disappointed to avoid Kershaw.

Los Angeles Dodgers (17-7)

1. Tony Gwynn (LF)
2. Mark Ellis (2B)
3. Matt Kemp (CF)
4. Juan Rivera (1B)
5. Andre Ethier (RF)
6. Jerry Hairston (3B)
7. Justin Sellers (SS)
8. A.J. Ellis (C)
9. Clayton Kershaw (P)

Sure the big boys like Kemp, Ethier and even David Wright before them have all come up with big hits against the Rockies, but it's been their inability to retire Mark & A.J. Ellis, along with other role players like Ruben Tejada and Kirk Nieuwenhuis that have killed them this homestand. Today would be a good day to start putting the pests away. 

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

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

Dodgers 7, Rockies 6 (boxscore)

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

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

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

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

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

WARNING: Graphic Pitching Line To Follow 

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

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

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

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Lineup Card: Rockies vs Dodgers 5-1-12

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

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

Colorado Rockies (11-11)

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

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

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

I don't feel well. 

Los Angeles Dodgers (16-7)

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

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

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

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 Recap: CarGo Stays Hot, Helps Cool Off Dodgers

Rockies 6, Dodgers 2 (boxscore)

Winning Player: Carlos Gonzalez (2-for-3, 2 RBI, 2 R, BB, 2 broken bats)

Just to give you an idea of how productive he was tonight, even the lone out he made was an RBI grounder in the first. He really played his offensive role perfectly tonight and is so locked in right now it's making life much easier for the pieces around him.

Also, he made a really good catch. (Watch)

Honorable Mentions: Troy Tulowitzki - Only one hit, but it was the game-breaking two-run double in the decisive 4th.

Ramon Hernandez - We've seen his power early in the season, but tonight he impressed with his situational hitting. In the 4th, it was a sacrifice fly that capped the three-run rally. In the 6th, Ramon delivered a two-out RBI double that pushed the advantage to 5-2. Big insurance runs.

Turning Point: Ramon's double led us to 7th inning, where Jim Tracy surprised most of us by putting Juan Nicasio back on the hill after he needed a season high 108 pitches to get through the first six. Granted, Nicasio had held his own all night long and the bullpen was certainly gassed from the weekend series with New York, but it just felt like Nicasio had reached his limit in a stressful 6th and this was going to be a really bad idea.

Exactly seven pitches later, it proved to be a really bad idea as pinch-hitter Jerry Hairston and lead-off man Dee Gordon smoked back-to-back singles. That forced Tracy to finally budge and make his call... to Esmil Rogers. Rogers then made a difficult situation an impossible situation by walking Mark Ellis to load the bases for Matt Kemp.

*GULP*

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