10 takeaways from two Rockies spring training games in one day

Until the last week or so, we at BSN Denver won’t be bringing you full game recaps of Colorado Rockies spring training as that would almost certainly be an insufferable waste of your time. If you want to know all the gritty details of the box score, you can always click right here for Game 1. And here for Game 2.

Otherwise, we will try to boil down each game into a handful of interesting tidbits so we can get back to reporting on the stories inside and surrounding each game.

Game 1:

1. Charlie Blackmon, after leading the league in the category a year ago, hit his first lead-off home run of the still very young spring season.

2. Nolan Arenado hit his first home run of the season, a “no-doubter” according to the 850 KOA radio broadcast.

3. Tom Murphy picked up his first extra base hit of the spring.

4. A number of young Rockies prospects made their big league camp debuts including, Ryan McMahon, Dom Nunez and Correlle Prime, the latter two used a pair of singles to contribute a run in the seventh inning.

5. The Rockies got their second-straight day of very good pitching against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Chris Rusin, who could be vying for the fifth rotation spot but more likely mas a mortal lock on the “swing man” position, pitched two quick innings, giving up no runs on a hit, striking out one.  Yency Almonte, another young debut, pitched two scoreless innings striking out three and allowing just one hit. And Zach Jemiola, you guess it — making his big league camp debut — pitched two clean innings with two strikeouts. Jason Motte was the only pitcher to give up a run on the day.

Game 2:

1. Pat Valaika started the scoring in the second with a long home run, reminding us that despite is small frame, his bat can pack a punch. He is an intriguing player moving forward in the conversations around Rockies middle-infield depth.

2. German Marquez looked perfectly solid in his two innings of work, giving up just two hits.

3. We saw more guys playing against MLB competition for the first time with Wes Rogers and Brendan Rodgers.

4. Wes Rogers had an interesting sequence of events in the sixth where he misplayed a ball in center field which cost the Rockies a run, but in the next half inning, singled in Brendan Rodgers, then stole second and scored. He is the best pure base stealer in the Rockies system. The Rodgers with a “D” tallied an RBI double in his only at-bat.

5. Jordan Patterson notched the Rockies only other extra base hit in this one and also showed off some good speed but had an ugly, and a little bit scary, slide into third base, though appears to be fine.