Rockies' bats come alive in win over Cardinals

Published May 12, 2013

Sports Network

St. Louis, MO –  After being silenced by the Cardinals' starting pitching the last two days, the Rockies got an outstanding effort from one of their own.

Jorge De La Rosa took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and Colorado's offense awoke from its slumber as the Rockies came away with an 8-2 victory over St. Louis in the finale of a three-game set.

The Cardinals saw starter Shelby Miller retire 27 straight batters on Friday and Adam Wainwright come five outs away from a no-hitter the following day. On Sunday, though, the Rockies were the ones stifling St. Louis.

De La Rosa (4-3) struck out seven and didn't surrender a hit until David Freese lined a single past first baseman Jordan Pacheco with two away in the seventh.

The Colorado lefty issued three walks, but his efforts were key in helping the Rockies end their season-long four-game losing streak.

Troy Tulowitzki smacked a three-run homer and Charlie Blackmon stroked a two- run shot in his return to the big-league level. Blackmon was called up Sunday when the Rockies placed first baseman/outfielder Michael Cuddyer on the 15-day disabled list.

St. Louis didn't score until the ninth, when they were able to plate two runs.

Jamie Garcia (4-2) lost for the first time in four starts, surrendering both homers as well as eight hits over six innings. He struck out seven in the defeat.

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Cano, Yanks down Rockies to claim three-game series

Published May 09, 2013

Sports Network

Denver, CO –  Robinson Cano belted a solo home run to help lift the New York Yankees to a 3-1 victory over the Colorado Rockies in the rubber match of a three-game series at Coors Field.

Thursday's tilt became a battle of the bullpens when a two-hour, seven- minute rain delay knocked both starting pitchers, New York's CC Sabathia and Colorado's Jeff Francis (1-3), out after four innings.

Once play resumed, Cano launched a two-out shot to right field off Rockies reliever Adam Ottavino to put New York up 3-1 in the fifth.

Colorado had its chances against Yankees' relievers Adam Warren (1-0), Boone Logan, Preston Claiborne and David Robertson, but stranded two runners in both the sixth and seventh innings.

Robertson recovered after issuing a walk to the Rockies' leadoff hitter, Eric Young, in the eighth, then Mariano Rivera overcame plunking a batter in the ninth to earn his 13th save of the season.

Vernon Wells gave the Yankees a 1-0 lead with an RBI single in the opening frame, but the Rockies answered in the bottom of the first on a Carlos Gonzalez sacrifice fly.

New York went back in front in the fourth. Former Rockie Chris Nelson stroked a leadoff double and eventually scored on Chris Stewart's sac fly to center field.

After Sabathia retired the Rockies in order in the home half, heavy rain halted play. Sabathia had allowed just one hit prior to the stoppage.

Game Notes

Cano picked up his 1,500th career hit with a two-out single in the third inning ... Joe Girardi notched his 499th win as Yankees manager.

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Diamondbacks down Rockies

Phoenix, AZ –  J.J. Putz worked out of a jam in the ninth and the Arizona Diamondbacks held on for a 4-2 victory to capture their third win of a four-game set with the Colorado Rockies at Chase Field.

The Rockies had runners on second and third with two out for pinch-hitter Carlos Gonzalez, but Putz struck him out to notch his fifth save and secure Arizona's sixth win in eight contests.

Patrick Corbin (3-0) worked out of trouble most of the game, giving up nine hits over 6 2/3 frames. However, Colorado was just 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position and managed just two runs.

"He didn't walk anybody. He just keeps the ball in play," Arizona manager Kirk Gibson said of Corbin. "We made some good plays behind him today. We took care of the ball really good."

Cody Ross and Josh Wilson chipped in an RBI apiece in the victory. Jason Kubel made his return from the disabled list, but went 0-for-3.

The Rockies, losers in six of eight since a hot 13-4 start, saw star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki exit the contest with a left shoulder strain.

When he was thrown out at the plate in the first inning, Tulowitzki appeared to sustain the injury on an awkward slide. He was replaced in the field by Jonathan Herrera in the third and the team is calling him day- to-day.

"It sounds like he kind of jammed his shoulder sliding into the plate," Colorado manager Walt Weiss said of Tulowitzki. "We'll have to reevaluate him tomorrow, see how it feels tomorrow."

Jon Garland (2-2) was tagged for four runs -- three earned -- on eight hits and two walks. Eric Young had three doubles and scored a run on Dexter Fowler's base hit in the setback.

Arizona took advantage of Garland's control issues in the third and grabbed an early 2-0 lead.

While facing Kubel with runners on second and third, Garland's pitch got away from catcher Wilin Rosario and Cliff Pennington scored easily. Gerardo Parra advanced to third on the play and then also crossed the plate when Garland threw a wild pitch.

The D'Backs then added a run in the third and fourth innings to build a four- run cushion. Wilson doubled home Paul Goldschmidt, who singled to start the fourth, and after Parra began the fifth with a triple, Ross sent him home with a base hit to center.

Colorado cut its deficit in half in the sixth, which Young led off with his third straight double. He then came around to score on a single from Fowler, who moved to third on a bunt by Herrera and crossed the plate on a wild pitch from Corbin.

The Rockies, though, were unable to score in the first, fourth, seventh and ninth innings, stranding runners in scoring position in each.

Game Notes

The Diamondbacks placed shortstop Didi Gregorius on the 7-day DL with a mild concussion prior to the game. The move is retroactive to April 27 ... The Rockies designated infielder Chris Nelson for assignment and infielder Nolan Arenado made his big-league debut. He went 0-for-3 with a walk.

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Goldschmidt powers Diamondbacks past Rockies

Phoenix, AZ –  Paul Goldschmidt hit a two-run home run as the Arizona Diamondbacks defeated the Colorado Rockies, 3-2, in a National League West matchup on Thursday.

Wil Nieves drove in the other run for the Diamondbacks, who saw starter Trevor Cahill (1-3) allow an unearned run on four hits and four walks over five innings, despite needing 105 pitches to finish his outing. J.J. Putz pitched a scoreless ninth to notch his fourth save and help his team win the first of a four-game series against the Rockies.

"We were able to scrape across a couple of runs," Goldschmidt said. "The pitching has been doing so well lately. They've been keeping us in a lot of games."

Troy Tulowitzki had an RBI and Michael Cuddyer scored on a fielding error by Martin Prado for the Rockies. Starter Jorge De La Rosa (2-2) surrendered three runs -- two earned -- on seven hits and three walks in six innings.

"I think he was really using his pitches efficiently," Colorado outfielder Eric Young, Jr. said of Cahill. "He was able to get the sinker."

Nieves' RBI single in the second put the Diamondbacks on the board, scoring Goldschmidt, who reached first on an error by Ryan Wheeler and advanced to second on a single by Cody Ross.

In the fourth, with two outs and Cuddyer on third, Yorvit Torrealba hit a grounder that Prado was unable to get a grip on, allowing Cuddyer to reach home.

However, Prado made up for the error in the bottom of the inning by hitting an infield single to leadoff and advanced to second on a wild pitch by De La Rosa, setting up Goldschmidt's two-run smash.

With two outs in the seventh, Tulowitzki doubled to deep right, plating Young, who also doubled to leadoff the frame.

Putz came to close in the ninth. He walked Dexter Fowler with two outs, but struck out Carlos Gonzalez to end the game.

Game Notes

The Rockies placed Todd Helton (forearm) on the 15-day disabled list. To replace Helton, the team recalled Wheeler from Triple-A Colorado Springs ... The Rockies were 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position and left 10 men on base ... Nieves was a perfect 3-for-3 ... Gonzalez struck out three times ... Gerardo Parra was caught stealing for the fourth time this season, most in the league ... De La Rosa is 0-4 in six starts at Chase Field.

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Rockies edge Braves in extras

Denver, CO –  Yorvit Torrealba cracked a out-out single to left field to drive in the winning run as the Colorado Rockies avoided a three-game sweep with a 6-5 win over the Atlanta Braves in 12 innings at Coors Field.

Wilin Rosario led off the decisive frame with a double to left. Michael Cuddyer was intentionally walked, and after relief pitcher Matt Belisle struck out attempting to bunt the runners over, Torrealba came to the plate and won it for Colorado, which got back to its winning ways after a three-game losing skid.

Belisle (1-1) earned the win after tossing two perfect innings out of the pen.

Cuddyer and Josh Rutledge each homered for the Rockies while Jonathan Herrera went 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored. Dexter Fowler drove in two.

Luis Ayala (0-1) gave up the final run after Craig Kimbrel blew a two-run lead in the ninth inning for his first missed save opportunity of the season. Tim Hudson started for Atlanta and went six innings, allowing just three runs and six hits.

Trailing 5-3 in the bottom of the ninth, the Rockies managed two runs off Kimbrel, who hadn't allowed a run all season entering today. Fowler's two-out double brought Herrera and Troy Tulowitzki around to score. Kimbrel then got Rosario on strikes to end the inning and send the game into extras.

Rockies starter Tyler Chatwood, who was recalled from Triple-A Colorado Springs earlier this morning, scattered nine hits and three walks while yielding five runs -- four earned -- in six innings.

Cuddyer and Rutledge hit back-to-back homers in the second to give Colorado a 2-0 lead.

After three solid innings of work, Chatwood lost his composure in the top of the fourth. Justin Upton led off with a single to left and Freddie Freeman doubled deep to right field, bringing Upton around to score.

Following an Evan Gattis three-pitch strikeout, Juan Francisco singles to score a run and Dan Uggla followed with a hit. Jordan Schafer walked and Hudson popped a single to right, bringing in the go-ahead run.

Chatwood helped himself at the dish in the bottom of the fourth with an RBI- infield single. Hudson worked the count to 0-2 before Chatwood made contact and bounced a fastball off the dirt in front of Hudson. The ball ricocheted high in the air and Chatwood reached first base before the Braves pitcher could make a play on the ball. Chris Nelson, who tripled earlier in the stanza, came around to score and tie the game at 3-3.

Atlanta broke the tie in the sixth inning thanks to Herrera's throwing error on what should have been a routine groundout to shortstop. Gattis doubled to lead off the inning and scored on the overthrow off an Uggla grounder. Schafer knocked in another run when he took a Chatwood changeup to right field, plating Uggla.

Colorado's bullpen allowed just three baserunners in a combined six scoreless innings.

Game Notes

Hudson remained at 199 career victories ... The Braves fall to 12-1 when scoring at least four runs ... Atlanta's top two hitters in the order, Ramiro Pena and B.J. Upton, went 0-for-10 combined ... Every Rockies starter reached base at least once ... Colorado left fielder Carlos Gonzalez went 0-for-5 with a walk.

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Rockies surge past Mets in first of doubleheader

Denver, CO –  Todd Helton drove in a pair of runs and Carlos Gonzalez went 2-for-4 with a triple and a solo homer as the Colorado Rockies downed the New York Mets, 8-4, in the first game of a double-header from Coors Field.

Eric Young had three hits and drove in a pair of runs, while Michael Cuddyer, Jonathan Herrera and Wilin Rosario added one RBI apiece for the Rockies, winners in three straight.

Juan Niasco (2-0) earned the win after giving up all four runs on six hits while fanning five batters over five full frames.

David Wright went 3-for-4 with two home runs and three RBI and Ruben Tejada added an RBI single for the Mets, who had won two straight entering the contest.

Dillon Gee (0-3) was tagged for five runs on seven hits over 4 2/3 innings and absorbed the loss.

Monday's game between the two clubs was snowed-out after the Denver area was blanketed with snow. Tuesday's contest was pushed back two hours so the grounds crew could remove snow from the field. The second part of the twinbill is expected to start at 8:40 p.m.

Wright got the Mets on the board with a two-run shot in the first. Daniel Murphy walked before Wright clobbered a 2-1 pitch over the wall in right field.

The Rockies pushed one run across in both the second and third innings to knot things up.

Cuddyer opened the second with a double down the left-field line before scoring on Rosario's base hit to right field. In the third, Gonzalez crushed a solo homer to right field. It was his fourth of the season.

Tejada's base hit to right field scored John Buck to give the Mets a one-run edge. With runners on first and second, Tejada slapped a sharp grounder to the right side. Helton attempted to make a diving stab, but the ball skipped off his glove and into right field, allowing Buck to score easily.

Wright added solo shot to dead center in the fifth make it 4-2.

Colorado, though, scored three runs in the fifth to go up 5-4. Cuddyer drew a two-out, bases loaded walk to score Young. Helton followed with a base hit up the middle to push both Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki across.

Young's base hit scored Chris Nelson in the seventh to give the Rockies a two-run cushion and Colorado added two more in the eighth to account for the final margin.

Jordan Pacheco singled and scored on Young's triple off the wall in center. Herrera followed with a base hit to left to push Young across.

Game Notes

Colorado improved to 4-0 at home this season ... Nelson went 2-for-4 with a double ... Colorado's relievers allowed just two hits over four innings ... Buck went 2-for-4 ... It was the Mets first game since Saturday.

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Willin Rosario homers off Matt Cain in Rockies' 10-4 win over Giants

Published March 22, 2013

Associated Press

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. –  SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Willin Rosario hit a two-run homer off Matt Cain, and the Colorado Rockies beat the San Francisco Giants 10-4 on Thursday night.

Making his next-to-last start before he opens the season opens April 1 against the Dodgers in Los Angeles, Cain gave up four runs and seven hits, did not walk a batter and struck out eight.

Rosario's second homer of the spring came after a one-out single by Todd Helton.

Rockies left-hander Drew Pomeranz, making a bid for the No. 5 spot in the rotation, pitched five innings and gave up three runs and 10 hits. He walked two and struck out four.

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