The Rockies got just what they needed on Friday night as they easily dismantled the Milwaukee Brewers by a final score of 8-3. We were all waiting for the Rockies offense to break out of their slump, and they were able to put up a crooked number against what had been the best starting pitcher in all of baseball in the month of July in Wily Peralta. They still did not show much power tonight and probably the two hardest hit balls by the Rockies were long fly outs. Nevertheless it is nice to get the confidence back in their offensive abilities and they will be looking to build on this momentum and finish out the home stand strong.
Tyler Chatwood was fantastic tonight both on the mound and also at the plate. He finished the game going seven innings allowing six hits, two runs, no walks and he struck out 11 batters. The 11 strikeouts set a new career high for him. You never want to give up runs but the two runs he issued on the night were after the Rockies had built an 8-0 lead and he was more or less just getting the ball over the plate and letting his defense make plays behind him. Chatwood also added two hits on the night including a bases loaded two RBI double in the second inning. It was a game for Chatwood that was truly some little league type numbers for him pitching and hitting.
The Rockies were able to make the most of their opportunities early on in the game and they scored four runs in both the second and fourth innings. The Rockies had nine hits in the game including two hits by Todd Helton, Nolan Arenado and Tyler Chatwood. Six of the nine Rockies starters had at least one RBI on the night. The one negative from the game tonight is that the Rockies seemingly took their foot off of the pedal once they built their lead up to a comfortable margin. The Rockies had no hits after the fifth inning and they did not score after the fourth inning. This has been an issue in the past with this offense, where they would become complacent and ultimately let the other team back into the game. Luckily that did not happen tonight, but it is something that the Rockies will need to be aware of moving forward this season.
Heading into play today the Rockies were only five games back of the Dodgers for the lead in the National League West Division. The Rockies have failed to make up any ground in the last week, but the good news is that they also did not fall behind by a wide margin. Hopefully the Rockies will be able to gain some momentum from this game and be able to finish off a series victory against the Brewers and draw closer to the lead in the West.
The Rockies will be back in action tomorrow night against the Brewers as Collin McHugh (0-1, 10.29 ERA) of the Rockies will be taking on Tom Gorzelanny (1-4, 2.47 ERA) for the Brewers. McHugh will be making his debut as a member of the Colorado Rockies. He came over to the Rockies in exchange for Eric Young Jr earlier in the year. First pitch for the game tomorrow is at 6:10 PM Mountain time.
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