The Rockies were defeated by the Brewers last night in the rain by a final of 7-5. Collin McHugh made his Rockies debut and left something to be desired. He struggled through five innings allowing nine hits and six runs. He looked very stiff and uncomfortable especially in the first inning and the Brewers took advantage early and often. By the end of the third inning they had built a 6-0. The Rockies tried to comeback as they scored four runs in the sixth inning and cut the Brewers lead to two. Jonathan Lucroy homered off of Adam Ottavino in the seventh inning and Troy Tulowitzki hit a home run in the eighth inning off of former closer John Axford. There was a one hour and forty five minute rain delay before the bottom of the ninth inning, and when play resumed Jim Henderson was able to get the Rockies in order to slam the door on their attempt at a comeback. McHugh took the loss and is now 0-2 on the season with a 10.50 ERA in four games combined with the Mets and Rockies. Tom Gorzelanny was the winning pitcher and is now 2-4 on the year with a 2.83 ERA. The save for Henderson was his 12th of the year.
Taking the mound today for the Rockies will be Jhoulys Chacin. Chacin has had a very good year to this point and has a 9-5 record with a respectable 3.53 ERA in 19 starts. He took the loss in his last start against the Marlins despite pitching well. He went seven innings allowing eight hits, three runs, no walks and struck out four. He did not recieve much run support from the Rockies offense as they lost the game 2-4. Chacin is in a great place on the mound right now and has recorded a quality start in six of his last eight starts and is 6-2 during that same time frame which has lowered his ERA nearly a full run from 4.52 to 3.53. Chacin is 6-3 when pitching at Coors Field this year and has a 4.42 ERA in 12 games started. Current Brewers are hitting for a .274 average with four home runs and eight RBI in 62 combined at bats against Chacin in their careers. Chacin is happy that he will not have to face Aramis Ramirez as he has dominated against him going 6 for 15 with two doubles and one home run. It comes as a surprise but Norichika Aoki is 3 for 5 against Chacin with one double and two home runs. Aoki is much like Ichiro in the fact that he has power when he chooses to use it but most of the time he is a player that will slap the ball the other way and look for ways to get on base. Chacin has been a very consistent pitcher for the Rockies this year, and every time he takes the mound he has given the Rockies a chance to win the game. He has pounded the strike zone and relied on his defense to make plays behind him. He should continue to do that throughout the year because when he tries to get too fine he will walk more hitters and also has a tendency to leave the ball over the plate and that is when he takes damage. He will be looking to give the Rockies another good performance today and will be looking to try and give the Rockies some momentum before heading on their 10 game road trip.
The Brewers will be sending Donovan Hand to the mound today to take on the Rockies. Hand is 0-2 on the year with a 3.41 ERA in 16 appearances. He will be making his fifth start of the year today as he has split time this year between the bullpen and the starting rotation. Hand took the loss in his last start against the Padres. He lasted four innings allowing seven hits, two runs, one walk and struck out one. He had to leave the game after four innings when he was struck in the hand while trying to bunt off of Padres pitcher Tyson Ross. He seemed to be fine but was taken out of the game for precautionary measures. Hand is 0-1 this year on the road with a 4.24 ERA in seven games (two starts). Hand has a four pitch arsenal that he uses on the mound that is highlighted by two good off speed pitches in his slider and curve. He will not blow anyone away as his fastball tops out around 91, but he has very good command of all of his pitches which makes him difficult to hit. His slider is a sharp breaking pitch that is his out pitch to right handed batters. He and the Brewers are looking for his defined role with the club and whether it is in the bullpen as a long reliever or if it is in the starting rotation. They will be evaluating him closely throughout the remainder of the year to see exactly what his future holds with the organization.
The Brewers lineup for the final game of the series is as follows:
1. Rickie Weeks, 2B
2. Norichika Aoki, RF
3. Jonathan Lucroy, C
4. Carlos Gomez, CF
5. Caleb Gindl, LF
6. Yuniesky Betancourt, 3B
7. Juan Francisco, 1B
8. Jeff Bianchi, SS
9. Donovan Hand, P
The Rockies lineup for the final game of the series is as follows:
1. Dexter Fowler, CF
2. Corey Dickerson, LF
3. Troy Tulowitzki, SS
4. Michael Cuddyer, RF
5. Todd Helton, 1B
6. Nolan Arenado, 3B
7. Yorvit Torrealba, C
8. Jonathan Herrera, 2B
9. Jhoulys Chacin, P
First pitch for the game this afternoon is scheduled for 2:10 PM Mountain time.
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