CarGo shines, bullpen slams door in Rockies win

The big story coming into spring training for the Colorado Rockies in 2018 was about whether or not the lineup had enough talent to back up the stacked pitching staff.

That talking point quickly shifted once Carlos Gonzalez was brought back and concerns were suddenly that the veteran might be creating a blockade on a team with plenty of left-handed outfielders. But, for at least one game, the Rockies had to feel vindicated in their decision to bring back one of the faces of the franchise as he powered the club to a second straight road win, 2-1 over the Washington Nationals. He accounted for both RBI.

Gonzalez broke up the no-hitter and the shutout with a solo home run in the fourth that was absolutely tattooed. It was his third of the season.

Starting pitcher Kyle Freeland had another game where he looked fantastic at times and just off at others. He battled well against a talented lineup and never gave in despite some frustrating traffic. The lone run against him came in a rally that was started by a bloop hit from the opposing pitcher, Tanner Roark.

The Nationals loaded the bases in that fifth inning and Bud Black elected to leave his young lefty in to face one of the best hitters in the league in Bryce Harper. The enigmatic slugger managed to lift a sac fly to left, tying the game, but it was an impressive moment for Freeland who was approaching 100 pitches.

The other big story coming into the season was the huge amount of money the Rockies spent on their bullpen and the clear indication that they intended to rely on run prevention in order to win baseball games. The ‘pen showed up exactly as imagined in this one.

Scott Oberg came on to face Ryan Zimmerman and got him to ground out to end the threat. He stayed on through the next inning and allowed just one walk to Wilmer Difo; it was the only baserunner the Rockies bullpen allowed in their 4.1 innings of work.

The Rockies immediately took the lead back when DJ LeMahieu reached on an error, moved up to third on a Gerardo Parra single, and scored on the sac fly from Gonzalez after an uncharacteristic pop-up from Nolan Arenado.

Bryan Shaw pitched a clean seventh inning with a pair of strikeouts.

Mike Dunn was asked to get Harper and induced the weak out he needed, giving way to one of the hottest relievers in baseball. Adam Ottavino stayed true to his recent form, striking out both batters he faced.

Wade Davis recorded a pair of strikeouts in a clean inning to put the final stamp on the game and earn his sixth save of the season.

Final Stats:

Kyle Freeland: 4.2 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K

Scott Oberg: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 1 BB, 0 K

Bryan Shaw: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K

Mike Dunn: 0.1 IP

Adam Ottavino: 0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K

Wade Davis: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K

Carlos Gonzalez: 2-for-3, 1 R, 2 RBI

Gerardo Parra: 2-for-4

Trevor Story: 1-for-3

What’s Next:

Game 3 between these two teams will take place on Saturday at 11:05 Mountain Time. Nothing like morning baseball. Jon Gray aims to get back on track in a matchup with Max Scherzer.