The Rockies lost in a good old fashioned shootout at Coors Field yesterday afternoon by the final score of 10-8. Jeff Manship took the loss for the Rockies, while Clayton Kershaw collected his 14th victory of the season despite giving up a season high in runs. The Rockies offense had a great start tot he series as they finished the game with 8 runs on 18 hits. Wilin Rosario hit his 21st home run of the season and seven of the eight starting position players had multiple hits in the game.
Tonight the Rockies are handing the ball off to the capable hands of Jhoulys Chacin as he takes on the talented Dodgers lineup looking for his 14th victory of the season. On the year Chacin has a 13-7 record with a very good 3.08 ERA in 26 starts on the season. He was outstanding during his last start against the Giants as he took a no hitter into the seventh inning. He finished the game going seven innings allowing jst one hit, one run (no earned runs), issued two walks and struck out nine in the game. The nine strikeouts tied a season high which he also did in a game against the Astros at the end of May. Chacin is 8-3 at home this year with a 3.71 ERA in 15 games started. This will be his fourth start this year against the Dodgers and he will be trying to remain perfect against them. He has not pitched great against them but is 2-0 this year with a 5.09 ERA in his three previous starts against them. Current Dodgers have hit Chacin fairly well in their career matchups as they have a .323 average with six home runs and 24 RBI in 164 combined at bats. Chacin will catch a break today as Yasiel Puig will be out of the lineup after he strained his right knee in the game yesterday. Chacin will need to be careful with the Dodgers lineup even with Puig out of the lineup. They are clearly a determined team and that scares pitchers.
The Dodgers will give the ball to Ricky Nolasco who will be trying to tame the streaky Rockies offense. Nolasco was traded to the Dodgers from the Marlins on July 6th, and he has been a contributing factor to the recent success of the team. On the year he is 11-9 with a 3.26 ERA in 28 games started. He is starting to find his groove and in his last two starts he has gone a combined 16 innings allowing only 5 hits and no runs. He has won his last five decisions and has only one loss since joining the Dodgers in July. That one loss came at the hands of the Rockies who beat him on his first start at Dodger Stadium. In that game he lasted only five innings giving up eight hits, three runs, three walks and only struck out four. Other than that he has been perfect for the Dodgers staff. Current Rockies have done well against Nolasco in their career matchups as they have a .328 average with four home runs and 17 RBI in 116 combined at bats. He is not excited to face Michael Cuddyer, Todd Helton or Troy Tulowitzki tonight. Cuddyer is 6 for 10 with two home runs and six RBI, Todd Helton is 8 for 18 against him, and Tulowitzki is 6 for 15 with one home run, and three RBI. Hopefully those three will be able to cause some havoc in the game tonight as well.
The Dodgers lineup for the game tonight is as follows:
1. Carl Crawford, LF
2. Nick Punto, SS
3. Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
4. Michael Young, 3B
5. Andre Ethier, CF
6. Mark Ellis, 2B
7. Skip Schumaker, RF
8. Tim Federowicz, C
9. Ricky Nolasco, P
The Rockies lineup for the game tonight is as follows:
1. Dexter Fowler, CF
2. DJ LeMahieu, 2B
3. Troy Tulowitzki, SS
4. Michael Cuddyer, RF
5. Wilin Rosario, C
6. Todd Helton, 1B
7. Nolan Arenado, 3B
8. Charlie Blackmon, LF
9. Jhoulys Chacin, P
First pitch for the game tonight is scheduled for 6:40 PM Mountain time. The Rockies look to get back on track tonight and continue to break out offensively. The Dodgers will be trying to get above .500 against divisional opponents as they currently have a 27-27 record against the NL West teams. They are the only division leader to not have a winning record against teams in their division. Carlos Gonzalez was scratched from his rehab start last night with a flare up of his finger. Gonzalez said he was still going to try and come back this year, but he will need some more rest before attempting a comeback.
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
Monday, September 2, 2013
Rockies Lose in Shootout at Coors Field
It was a rough start for the potential Cy Young winner in the National League but he finally got some much needed run support from his offense and was able to sneak away with the victory by a score of 10-8. The Rockies were able to get to Kershaw early on in the game as they put up three runs in the first inning to take the lead away from the Dodgers who had put up one run in the top of the inning. The Dodgers got one run back in the third inning on an AJ Ellis RBI single which scored Andre Ethier and made the score 3-2 in favor of the Rockies. The Dodgers took the lead in the fifth inning when they scored three which was highlighted by a two RBI single from Clayton Kershaw. The Rockies immediately answered back in the bottom of the fifth with two runs and tied the game at five. The Dodgers scored three more times in the sixth inning which came in part from a Andre Ethier two run home run deep to right field off of Jeff Manship which pushed their lead to 8-5. The score remained that way until the bottom of the eighth inning when the Rockies scored twice to make it an 8-7 game. Matt Belisle was not able to keep the score a one run game when he came on in the ninth inning. Belisle gave up two more runs to the Dodgers in the ninth and the lead was back up to three heading to the bottom of the ninth. Wilin Rosario led off the ninth inning with a solo home run to right field but that was all the Rockies could muster and lost the game by a final score of 10-8. Clayton Kershaw picked up his 14th victory of the season despite giving up a season high in earned runs with five over five innings of work. Jeff Manship took the loss and is now 0-5 on the year. Kenley Jansen came in and locked down his 25th save of the season.
It was a rough start for Bettis again as he struggled to get outs in the first inning and faced seven batters. He was able to dance out of danger a bit and only allow one run in the inning however. He finished the game going 4 2/3rd innings allowing eight hits, five runs, four walks, and struck out four in the game. It took him 104 pitches and he didnt even make it the full five innings. He was dancing around the zone too much and the Dodgers hitters were waiting him out. He saw a lot of deep counts which also caused the elevated pitch count. Jeff Manship relieved Bettis and did not fair much better as he went 1 1/3rd innings allowing three hits and three runs (two earned). That does not count the two runs that he allowed which he inherited from Bettis when he relieved him in the fifth. A bright spot for the pitching staff today was Jeff Francis. Francis came in and worked the seventh and eighth innings and was fantastic as he did not allow any hitters to reach base and struck out four. Matt Belisle pitched the ninth inning and failed to hold the Rockies within one run as he gave up four hits and two runs.
Offensively the Rockies did very well as they scored eight runs on 18 hits. Every Rockies position player had at least one hit and seven of the eight had multiple hits. The top five in the lineup, Rutledge, LeMahieu, Cuddyer, Rosario, Arenado, all had two hits and scored at least one run, and LeMahieu was the only one that did not have an RBI out of the five. Charlie Blackmon had three hits on the day but grounded out to end the day for the Rockies. It was a questionable move by Walt Weiss when Jordan Pacheco walked to bring the tying run to the plate and he left Charlie Blackmon in to hit and kept Todd Helton and Troy Tulowitzki on the bench. Blackmon has been swinging the bat well but he does not have the experience that Tulowitzki or Helton have at the end of games. It was a tough call for Weiss to make and he chose to stay with Blackmon and it did not pay off for him.
The Rockies and Dodgers will be back in action tomorrow night for game two of their three game series. Jhoulys Chacin will be tkaing on Ricky Nolasco. First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 PM Mountain time.
It was a rough start for Bettis again as he struggled to get outs in the first inning and faced seven batters. He was able to dance out of danger a bit and only allow one run in the inning however. He finished the game going 4 2/3rd innings allowing eight hits, five runs, four walks, and struck out four in the game. It took him 104 pitches and he didnt even make it the full five innings. He was dancing around the zone too much and the Dodgers hitters were waiting him out. He saw a lot of deep counts which also caused the elevated pitch count. Jeff Manship relieved Bettis and did not fair much better as he went 1 1/3rd innings allowing three hits and three runs (two earned). That does not count the two runs that he allowed which he inherited from Bettis when he relieved him in the fifth. A bright spot for the pitching staff today was Jeff Francis. Francis came in and worked the seventh and eighth innings and was fantastic as he did not allow any hitters to reach base and struck out four. Matt Belisle pitched the ninth inning and failed to hold the Rockies within one run as he gave up four hits and two runs.
Offensively the Rockies did very well as they scored eight runs on 18 hits. Every Rockies position player had at least one hit and seven of the eight had multiple hits. The top five in the lineup, Rutledge, LeMahieu, Cuddyer, Rosario, Arenado, all had two hits and scored at least one run, and LeMahieu was the only one that did not have an RBI out of the five. Charlie Blackmon had three hits on the day but grounded out to end the day for the Rockies. It was a questionable move by Walt Weiss when Jordan Pacheco walked to bring the tying run to the plate and he left Charlie Blackmon in to hit and kept Todd Helton and Troy Tulowitzki on the bench. Blackmon has been swinging the bat well but he does not have the experience that Tulowitzki or Helton have at the end of games. It was a tough call for Weiss to make and he chose to stay with Blackmon and it did not pay off for him.
The Rockies and Dodgers will be back in action tomorrow night for game two of their three game series. Jhoulys Chacin will be tkaing on Ricky Nolasco. First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 PM Mountain time.
Rockies Begin Series With Dodgers
The Rockies are flying high after their win yesterday afternoon in which they secured the series victory over the Reds and also watched Todd Helton secure his 2,500th hit with a double down the left field line. The offense exploded in the series as they scored 19 runs on 36 hits in the three game series with the Reds. They will need to get their heads on right and be prepared for the upcoming series with the Dodgers as they have had a historic second half run and are coming off of a three game sweep against the cellar dwelling Padres. Yasiel Puig sparked the Dodgers and they turned a close race for the National League West division into a runaway. They now lead the division by 11.5 games over the Diamondbacks and are 17 games ahead of the Rockies. At one point in the second half, the Dodgers rolled off one of the best 50 game records anyone has ever seen as they went 42-8 during the stretch. They finally have it clicking and will be one of the favorites to win the World Series when the playoffs come around.
The Rockies will be sending Chad Bettis to the mound this afternoon and he will be looking to end his long winless stretch and finally get his first Major League victory. On the year Bettis is 0-3 with a 4.80 ERA in his six starts on the year. He took the loss in his last start against the Giants when he lasted six innings allowing, nine hits, four runs, issued one walks and struck out two. He has been rather unimpressive during his time with the Rockies and has failed to make a good impression which would make him a factor for the Rockies rotation in 2014. He has made two starts at home this year and is 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA. In both of those starts he was able to last six innings but gave up six runs combined and has walked five in those 12 innings of work. Bettis will need to be sure that he gets ahead of the hitters in the game this afternoon and does not leave anything over the middle half of the plate especially against the middle half of the lineup. The Dodgers are a strong offensive team that got stronger at the end of the waiver trade deadline as they acquired Michael Young from the Phillies. He is not a strikeout pitcher so he needs to have better control than he has shown so far this season.
The Dodgers will be sending one of the most dominant pitchers in all of baseball to the mound this afternoon in Clayton Kershaw. Kershaw has had a fantastic year for the Dodgers even though his win/loss record would say something different. On the year he is 13-8 with a stellar 1.72 ERA over 28 games started on the year. He took the loss in his last start against the Cubs when he went 5 2/3rd innings, allowing seven hits, two runs (one earned run), issued one walk, and struck out nine batters. Once again he pitched decent in the game but did not receive any run support in the game from his offense and was saddled with the loss. That has happened more this year for him which is why he has a high loss total of eight. On the road this year he owns a 6-3 record with a 1.91 ERA in 13 games started. He has faced off against the Rockies three times this year and has a 1-1 record with a 2.35 ERA. In those games he has gone for 23 innings allowing only 18 hits and six earned runs, while walking just three batters and striking out 23. On July 2nd, Kershaw threw a complete game, four hit shutout against the Rockies at Coors Field. Current Rockies hitters are hitting .250 against Kershaw with five home runs and 20 RBI in 244 combined at bats. Dexter Fowler has had the most success against him as he owns a .421 average with two doubles and a triple. Kershaw should be the National League recipient of the Cy Young Award as he currently leads the league in innings pitched (204), strike outs (197), ERA (1.72), and WHIP (0.88). There is no question that this will be a tough matchup for the Rockies today, but they have beaten him in the past and they will look to do it again.
The Dodgers lineup for the game today is as follows:
1. Carl Crawford, LF
2. Yasiel Puig, RF
3. Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
4. Hanley Ramirez, SS
5. Andre Ethier, CF
6. Mark Ellis, 2B
7. AJ Ellis, C
8. Juan Uribe, 3B
9. Clayton Kershaw, P
The Rockies lineup for the game this afternoon is as follows:
1. Josh Rutledge, SS
2. DJ LeMahieu, 2B
3. Michael Cuddyer, RF
4. Wilin Rosario, C
5. Nolan Arenado, 3B
6. Charlie Culberson, LF
7. Jordan Pacheco, 1B
8. Charlie Blackmon, CF
9. Chad Bettis, P
First pitch for the game today is scheduled for 2:10 PM Mountain time. The Rockies will be looking to continue their good season against NL West opponents and get a good start to this series in hopes of getting their fourth consecutive series victory. The Rockies will be trying to draw up a blueprint of how to beat the Dodgers that other teams will copy going down the stretch and into the playoffs. Josh Rutledge makes his return to the team today as he starts at shortstop to give Troy Tulowitzki a breather. The Rockies went with a right handed heavy lineup in hopes of giving them a better shot at getting to Kershaw early on in the game.
The Rockies will be sending Chad Bettis to the mound this afternoon and he will be looking to end his long winless stretch and finally get his first Major League victory. On the year Bettis is 0-3 with a 4.80 ERA in his six starts on the year. He took the loss in his last start against the Giants when he lasted six innings allowing, nine hits, four runs, issued one walks and struck out two. He has been rather unimpressive during his time with the Rockies and has failed to make a good impression which would make him a factor for the Rockies rotation in 2014. He has made two starts at home this year and is 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA. In both of those starts he was able to last six innings but gave up six runs combined and has walked five in those 12 innings of work. Bettis will need to be sure that he gets ahead of the hitters in the game this afternoon and does not leave anything over the middle half of the plate especially against the middle half of the lineup. The Dodgers are a strong offensive team that got stronger at the end of the waiver trade deadline as they acquired Michael Young from the Phillies. He is not a strikeout pitcher so he needs to have better control than he has shown so far this season.
The Dodgers will be sending one of the most dominant pitchers in all of baseball to the mound this afternoon in Clayton Kershaw. Kershaw has had a fantastic year for the Dodgers even though his win/loss record would say something different. On the year he is 13-8 with a stellar 1.72 ERA over 28 games started on the year. He took the loss in his last start against the Cubs when he went 5 2/3rd innings, allowing seven hits, two runs (one earned run), issued one walk, and struck out nine batters. Once again he pitched decent in the game but did not receive any run support in the game from his offense and was saddled with the loss. That has happened more this year for him which is why he has a high loss total of eight. On the road this year he owns a 6-3 record with a 1.91 ERA in 13 games started. He has faced off against the Rockies three times this year and has a 1-1 record with a 2.35 ERA. In those games he has gone for 23 innings allowing only 18 hits and six earned runs, while walking just three batters and striking out 23. On July 2nd, Kershaw threw a complete game, four hit shutout against the Rockies at Coors Field. Current Rockies hitters are hitting .250 against Kershaw with five home runs and 20 RBI in 244 combined at bats. Dexter Fowler has had the most success against him as he owns a .421 average with two doubles and a triple. Kershaw should be the National League recipient of the Cy Young Award as he currently leads the league in innings pitched (204), strike outs (197), ERA (1.72), and WHIP (0.88). There is no question that this will be a tough matchup for the Rockies today, but they have beaten him in the past and they will look to do it again.
The Dodgers lineup for the game today is as follows:
1. Carl Crawford, LF
2. Yasiel Puig, RF
3. Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
4. Hanley Ramirez, SS
5. Andre Ethier, CF
6. Mark Ellis, 2B
7. AJ Ellis, C
8. Juan Uribe, 3B
9. Clayton Kershaw, P
The Rockies lineup for the game this afternoon is as follows:
1. Josh Rutledge, SS
2. DJ LeMahieu, 2B
3. Michael Cuddyer, RF
4. Wilin Rosario, C
5. Nolan Arenado, 3B
6. Charlie Culberson, LF
7. Jordan Pacheco, 1B
8. Charlie Blackmon, CF
9. Chad Bettis, P
First pitch for the game today is scheduled for 2:10 PM Mountain time. The Rockies will be looking to continue their good season against NL West opponents and get a good start to this series in hopes of getting their fourth consecutive series victory. The Rockies will be trying to draw up a blueprint of how to beat the Dodgers that other teams will copy going down the stretch and into the playoffs. Josh Rutledge makes his return to the team today as he starts at shortstop to give Troy Tulowitzki a breather. The Rockies went with a right handed heavy lineup in hopes of giving them a better shot at getting to Kershaw early on in the game.
Sunday, September 1, 2013
Todd Helton: The Face of Rockies Baseball
(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
It was a vintage Todd Helton at bat in the seventh inning of the game today against the Reds. He battled to work the count full against Reds pitcher Curtis Partch, and then on the full count pitch Todd Helton became just the 96th player in Major League baseball to reach 2,500 career hits. He laced the full count offering down the left field line and raced around first and headed for second base just like he had done 583 times before. He made it into second safely on a close play, and recorded his 584th double in his career. It was very fitting that his 2,500th hit was a double as he has made a career of doing just that. The crowd at Coors Field embraced the moment and gave Todd Helton a very deserving standing ovation. They all recognize that it is a rare accomplishment to reach the milestone. Todd Helton acknowledged the fans around by tipping his cap to the crowd and then looked up and waved to his family in the stands. Todd Helton is a stand up guy and has been the face of the Rockies franchise for 17 years and counting. He has left his mark on this franchise, Major League Baseball, and the entire state of Colorado.
(Photo by David Zalubowski/AP Photo)
The Rockies used their first round pick (8th overall) in the 1995 draft to select the two sport star from the the University of Tennessee. He wasted no time making a good impression in his first full year in the minor leagues in 1996. Combined over AA and AAA, Helton hit .336 with nine home runs, 28 doubles, and 64 RBI in just 114 games. Helton also impressed with his plate discipline as he walked 62 times and struck out only 49 times. He worked hard in the off season and that work payed off in 1997. He began the season at AAA and was magnificent during the year. He hit .352 with 31 doubles, 16 home runs, and 88 RBI in just 99 games. His work in AAA earned him a late season call-up for the Rockies and he began what has turned out to be one of the all-time best careers for a first baseman in Major League Baseball history.
(Photo from utsports.com)
Helton Made his debut for the Rockies on August 2nd, 1997 against the Pirates. He started the game in left field and wasted no time in getting his first Major League hit and RBI. He finished the game 2 for 4 with his first Major League home run. In limited duties in 1997 he finished the season with a .280 batting average with five home runs and 11 RBI. He did not get enough at bats to lose his rookie status so he was officially a rookie in 1998 and had a fantastic rookie campaign. Andres Galarraga moved on from the Rockies so Todd Helton began the year as the starting first baseman. On the year he hit .315 with 37 doubles, 25 home runs, and 97 RBI. He finished second in the Rookie of the Year voting behind Cubs phenom Kerry Wood. There was no sophomore slump in 1999 for Helton as he hit .320 with 39 doubles, 35 home runs and 113 RBI. In 2000 Helton broke out in a big way which sparked a five year run that would be hard to put up in a video game. In 2000 he hit .372 with 59 doubles, 42 home runs, and 147 RBI. He led the league in hits, doubles, RBI, batting average, on base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS and total bases. Despite all of that, he was discredited for playing most of his games at altitude and finished 5th in MVP voting, behind players who had much less impressive offensive seasons. He was selected to his first of five straight All Star Games and earned his first of four straight Silver Slugger awards. He has struggled with injuries in the last five years of his career, but when all is said and done he will own just about every Rockies offensive record.
(2001) (Getty Images) (2013)
Todd Helton has had an amazing career for the Rockies and even though his time may be coming to a close, he still is able to impact the team as an emotional leader on and off of the field. Through today, Helton has played in 2,226 games. He has had 9,362 plate appearances, 7.879 official at bats, scored 1,389 runs, has 2,500 hits, 584 doubles, 37 triples, 365 home runs, 1,393 RBI, has 37 stolen bases and has a career average of .317. His career on base percentage is .415, and a slugging percentage of .540. For those of you into Saber Metrics, here are some stats for you. His walk percentage is 14.2% compared to his strikeout percentage which is just 12.3%. His wRC (runs created) is 1,753, His wRAA (runs above average) throughout his career is 610.8, his wOBA (weighted on base average) is .406, and his wRC+ (runs per plate appearance, 100 is average) is 132. Helton has a .331 career BABIP (batting average for balls in play) and his career OPS is .955. Some more stats on Todd is that he has hit 1,687 ground balls, 1,854 fly balls, 1,188 line drives, 119 infield fly balls, 62 infield hits, and two bunt base hits. He has taken 11,456 balls, and seen 16,024 strikes for a total of 27,480 pitches seen in his career. If this is truly his last season playing baseball professionally then he can say that he was one of the best.
(Photo by ESPN)
Todd Helton has been relatively underrated outside of the state of Colorado and has not received much of the attention that any other player would have got with similar numbers simply because he plays the majority of his games at Coors Field. Either way you look at it, Helton has put up Hall of Fame numbers and should be strongly considered for the Hall of Fame when he is eligible five years after he retires. He is a five time all star, four time Silver Slugger winner, and has three Gold Gloves sitting on his mantle as well. Right now he is 17th on the all time doubles list and is 38th in the all time extra base hits list. His offensive numbers should be worthy of his entry into the Hall but he also is one of the best defenders at first base in Major League history. He currently has the sixth best fielding percentage (.996) for any first baseman that has ever played the game. Todd Helton deserves the recognition for being one of the best there has ever been. He played the game the right way and more importantly to this generation, he did it clean. Pure talent and hard work led to his great career. Todd Helton truly is the face of Colorado Rockies baseball.
(Photo by Jack Dempsey/AP Photo)
Helton Notches 2,500 Career Hits, As Rockies Beat Reds
Todd Helton belted a double down the left field line in the seventh inning of the game today to secure his 2,500th hit in his glorious career, and helped the Rockies secure a 7-4 victory over the Reds to finish out the series. It was fitting that Helton's 2,500th hit was a double as he has made a career of smacking doubles all over the park. The Rockies finished the series with a victory and secured their third straight series win. Tyler Chatwood started the game but had to leave in the third inning when he tried to handle a line drive back up the middle with his bare hand. Word from the Rockies staff was that he left the game with a bruised thumb on his throwing hand. The Rockies are happy to be playing at home as they have found their winning ways again and can perhaps play spoiler for some teams down the stretch.
Tyler Chatwood cruised through the first two innings of the game but ran into trouble in the third. He gave up a single up the middle to the opposing pitcher Mike Leake. Chatwood tried to grab the ball with his bare hand and it glanced off of his thumb and into center field. The training staff came out to look at him but he convinced them that he was okay and stayed in the game. He gave up a two run home run to the next batter in Shin-Soo Choo and then walked the next two hitters which forced Walt Weiss to go to the bullpen early. Adam Ottavino came on in relief and pitched well in the game as he went three innings allowing just three hits and one walk. He got the victory in the game and is now 1-2 on the year with a 2.79 ERA on the season. Four other pitchers worked the last four innings for the Rockies to secure the win for the team.
Offensively the Rockies had another great game as they scored seven runs on 12 hits and were able to get to the Reds starting pitcher Mike Leake early and often. The Rockies took the lead in the first inning when Michael Cuddyer doubled down the left field line to score Corey Dickerson. They added onto their lead in the second inning when Nolan Arenado took Leake deep to left to give the Rockies a 3-0 advantage. After the Reds tied the game in the third inning, the Rockies responded by scoring four runs in the fifth inning, which gave them the lead for good. The inning was highlighted by a DJ LeMahieu double that scored two runs and a Michael Cuddyer double to score LeMahieu. Arenado added a sacrifice fly to give the Rockies a 6-2 lead. Michael Cuddyer led off the seventh inning with a solo home run which set the mood for Todd Helton to follow that with his double to get into the history books with 2,500 career hits. Cuddyer finished the day 4 for 4 and was a triple shy of the cycle. Corey Dickerson added three hits in the game and DJ LeMahieu had two hits on the day.
Yasiel Puig and the rest of the Dodgers are coming into town next and will begin a three game series against the Rockies tomorrow afternoon with first pitch scheduled for 2:10 PM Mountain time. The Rockies have a tough matchup to start the series as Chad Bettis will be facing off against Clayton Kershaw. Kershaw is having a marvelous year for the Dodgers and should be a shoe in for the National League Cy Young Award. Bettis is 0-3 on the year with a 4.80 ERA and Kershaw is 13-8 with a stellar 1.72 ERA. The Rockies are looking to prove that they still have some fight in them this year and will not roll over for anyone.
Tyler Chatwood cruised through the first two innings of the game but ran into trouble in the third. He gave up a single up the middle to the opposing pitcher Mike Leake. Chatwood tried to grab the ball with his bare hand and it glanced off of his thumb and into center field. The training staff came out to look at him but he convinced them that he was okay and stayed in the game. He gave up a two run home run to the next batter in Shin-Soo Choo and then walked the next two hitters which forced Walt Weiss to go to the bullpen early. Adam Ottavino came on in relief and pitched well in the game as he went three innings allowing just three hits and one walk. He got the victory in the game and is now 1-2 on the year with a 2.79 ERA on the season. Four other pitchers worked the last four innings for the Rockies to secure the win for the team.
Offensively the Rockies had another great game as they scored seven runs on 12 hits and were able to get to the Reds starting pitcher Mike Leake early and often. The Rockies took the lead in the first inning when Michael Cuddyer doubled down the left field line to score Corey Dickerson. They added onto their lead in the second inning when Nolan Arenado took Leake deep to left to give the Rockies a 3-0 advantage. After the Reds tied the game in the third inning, the Rockies responded by scoring four runs in the fifth inning, which gave them the lead for good. The inning was highlighted by a DJ LeMahieu double that scored two runs and a Michael Cuddyer double to score LeMahieu. Arenado added a sacrifice fly to give the Rockies a 6-2 lead. Michael Cuddyer led off the seventh inning with a solo home run which set the mood for Todd Helton to follow that with his double to get into the history books with 2,500 career hits. Cuddyer finished the day 4 for 4 and was a triple shy of the cycle. Corey Dickerson added three hits in the game and DJ LeMahieu had two hits on the day.
Yasiel Puig and the rest of the Dodgers are coming into town next and will begin a three game series against the Rockies tomorrow afternoon with first pitch scheduled for 2:10 PM Mountain time. The Rockies have a tough matchup to start the series as Chad Bettis will be facing off against Clayton Kershaw. Kershaw is having a marvelous year for the Dodgers and should be a shoe in for the National League Cy Young Award. Bettis is 0-3 on the year with a 4.80 ERA and Kershaw is 13-8 with a stellar 1.72 ERA. The Rockies are looking to prove that they still have some fight in them this year and will not roll over for anyone.
Rockies Take on Reds in Rubber Match of Their Series
The Reds got the best of the Rockies last night as Greg Reynolds led the team to an 8-3 victory. Reynolds held the Rockies to just seven hits and three runs over eight innings and secured his first victory since 2011 when he was a member of the Rockies staff. The Reds were led by a trio of players that each had three hits. Shin-Soo Choo, Brandon Phillips, and Ryan Ludwick each had three hits in the game. Brandon Phillips, Joey Votto, and Ryan Ludwick also had two RBI apiece for the Reds in the game. Brandon Phillips came up a single shy of the cycle in the game and led the team to the victory. The Rockies will be looking to get back on track this afternoon as they try for the series win against the Reds.
Tyler Chatwood will be making his return to the mound for the Rockies in the game today against the Reds. It will be a tough test for him in his return, but he will be trying to keep his good season on track. On the year, Chatwood has a 7-4 record with a very good 3.15 ERA in 15 games started. His last start before suffering the elbow injury was against the Braves on July 31st and he was roughed up in that start as he lasted just 2 1/3rd innings allowing 10 hits, eight runs (seven earned), had one walk and struck out one. This year at home he has a 4-1 record with a 3.47 ERA in eight games pitched at Coors Field. Current Reds players have struggled against Chatwood as they have just three hits in 22 combined at bats. Shin-Soo Choo has the most at bats against Chatwood with eight and has failed to get any hits against Chatwood. It will be interested to see how Chatwood performs coming off of his injury. He will need to be careful when pitching to the Reds hitters especially their 1-5 hitters, as all of them have the potential to leave the yard at any time. Should he be able to get ahead of the hitters, then he has a chance to use his breaking balls to put them away.
The Rockies will have the task of trying to figure out the Reds starter Mike Leake this afternoon. Leake has quietly put together a very good season for the Reds. On the year he has a 11-5 record with a 3.27 ERA in 26 games started. He has struggled lately and has given up at least four runs in each of his last three starts, but he has managed to go 1-0 during that span thanks to the Reds offensive fire power. At the end of July he had a very good ERA of 2.59 but since then he has struggled to find his rhythm in the five starts since then. He has been very good on the road this year as he has a 7-1 record with a good 2.60 ERA in 14 starts. Current Rockies players have hit Leake very well in their career matchups against each other as they have a .372 average with five home runs and 10 RBI in 43 combined at bats. He is very happy that Tyler Colvin is still in AAA because Colvin has done the most damage against Leake as he has a .353 average with four home runs and eight RBI against him. Nobody is happier that August is over than Mike Leake. In five starts in August, Leake had a 1-1 record with an atrocious 6.44 ERA. He will be trying to get back to his winning ways in September, but the Rockies will be trying to make sure that it does not happen against them.
The Reds lineup for the game today is as follows:
1. Shin-Soo Choo, CF
2. Brandon Phillips, 2B
3. Joey Votto, 1B
4. Jay Bruce, RF
5. Devin Mesoraco, C
6. Chris Heisey, LF
7. Jack Hannahan, 3B
8. Zack Cozart, SS
9. Mike Leake,P
The Rockies lineup for the game this afternoon is as follows:
1. Corey Dickerson, LF
2. DJ LeMahieu, 2B
3. Troy Tulowitzki, SS
4. Michael Cuddyer, RF
5. Todd Helton, 1B
6. Nolan Arenado, 3B
7. Yorvit Torrealba, C
8. Charlie Blackmon, CF
9. Tyler Chatwood, P
First pitch for the game today is scheduled for 2:10 PM Mountain time. The Rockies will be trying to get their third series win in a row and get some momentum before Yasiel Puig and the Dodgers come into towin on Monday.
Tyler Chatwood will be making his return to the mound for the Rockies in the game today against the Reds. It will be a tough test for him in his return, but he will be trying to keep his good season on track. On the year, Chatwood has a 7-4 record with a very good 3.15 ERA in 15 games started. His last start before suffering the elbow injury was against the Braves on July 31st and he was roughed up in that start as he lasted just 2 1/3rd innings allowing 10 hits, eight runs (seven earned), had one walk and struck out one. This year at home he has a 4-1 record with a 3.47 ERA in eight games pitched at Coors Field. Current Reds players have struggled against Chatwood as they have just three hits in 22 combined at bats. Shin-Soo Choo has the most at bats against Chatwood with eight and has failed to get any hits against Chatwood. It will be interested to see how Chatwood performs coming off of his injury. He will need to be careful when pitching to the Reds hitters especially their 1-5 hitters, as all of them have the potential to leave the yard at any time. Should he be able to get ahead of the hitters, then he has a chance to use his breaking balls to put them away.
The Rockies will have the task of trying to figure out the Reds starter Mike Leake this afternoon. Leake has quietly put together a very good season for the Reds. On the year he has a 11-5 record with a 3.27 ERA in 26 games started. He has struggled lately and has given up at least four runs in each of his last three starts, but he has managed to go 1-0 during that span thanks to the Reds offensive fire power. At the end of July he had a very good ERA of 2.59 but since then he has struggled to find his rhythm in the five starts since then. He has been very good on the road this year as he has a 7-1 record with a good 2.60 ERA in 14 starts. Current Rockies players have hit Leake very well in their career matchups against each other as they have a .372 average with five home runs and 10 RBI in 43 combined at bats. He is very happy that Tyler Colvin is still in AAA because Colvin has done the most damage against Leake as he has a .353 average with four home runs and eight RBI against him. Nobody is happier that August is over than Mike Leake. In five starts in August, Leake had a 1-1 record with an atrocious 6.44 ERA. He will be trying to get back to his winning ways in September, but the Rockies will be trying to make sure that it does not happen against them.
The Reds lineup for the game today is as follows:
1. Shin-Soo Choo, CF
2. Brandon Phillips, 2B
3. Joey Votto, 1B
4. Jay Bruce, RF
5. Devin Mesoraco, C
6. Chris Heisey, LF
7. Jack Hannahan, 3B
8. Zack Cozart, SS
9. Mike Leake,P
The Rockies lineup for the game this afternoon is as follows:
1. Corey Dickerson, LF
2. DJ LeMahieu, 2B
3. Troy Tulowitzki, SS
4. Michael Cuddyer, RF
5. Todd Helton, 1B
6. Nolan Arenado, 3B
7. Yorvit Torrealba, C
8. Charlie Blackmon, CF
9. Tyler Chatwood, P
First pitch for the game today is scheduled for 2:10 PM Mountain time. The Rockies will be trying to get their third series win in a row and get some momentum before Yasiel Puig and the Dodgers come into towin on Monday.
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