Chatwood flirts with no-hitter again, Rockies win 7-2 in Philly

Do you all remember Jeremy Hellickson? Sure you do, he was that underachieving pitcher on the Diamondbacks a few years ago.

Wait … you mean to tell me that doesn’t narrow it down? Color me shocked.

It really doesn’t matter, anyways. Hellickson is not the same pitcher he was in Arizona. For starters, despite a 3.44 ERA, his K/9 going into tonight was 3.62.

I assure you that, yes, you read that number right. And no, it was not a mistake. Hellickson has been largely reliant on soft contact and a good defense behind him. For the first two innings of tonight’s game, it seemed as if the new and improved Hellickson is here to stay. Then the wheels fell off in the third.

Trevor Story pulled a leadoff double down the line. Tony Wolters drew a walk. Tyler Chatwood, who we will talk more about in a minute, laid down a beautiful sacrifice bunt. You know, the type of sac bunt that is successful even though the other team knows it’s coming.

Chuck knocks in both runners with a bloop single to center. LeMahieu bloops the first pitch he sees the other way. Arenado reaches very low to bloop a ball to right-center, plating Blackmon for a 3-0. Noticing a pattern here? Because you know this pattern is about to be broken. And, oh boy, broken it was.

3-RUN SHOT! ? pic.twitter.com/NExGZMLK47

— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) May 25, 2017

At 6-0, it’s now time to start coasting, right? Nope. Ian Desmond immediately triples with a sharp grounder down the right field line. Gerardo Parra hits a sac fly. NOW, we can coast.

Now hold on, I said we can coast, not that we should. Rockies bats seemed to shut down after the third inning. Hellickson, Adam Morgan, and Joaquin Benoit quietly performed very well for eight of the nine innings.

Anyway, I promised you some Chatty. Anybody who has paid any attention to Tyler Chatwood as a Rockie knows it’s a good sign that he is pitching on the road. Not only did he continue his winning ways away from Coors, Chatwood took a no-hitter into the 5th inning. That’s his third time doing so already in 2017.

Chatwood was pulled after seven masterful frames, having racked up eight strikeouts on this very night. Mike Dunn allowed a walk and a subsequent two-run shot. His night was over without having recorded an out. Ottavino had to battle through the rest of the eighth but ended the inning without a run to his ledger. Jake McGee sent the final three Phillies down in order, two by swinging strikeout. Ballgame.

11 AM! same place tomorrow. Tyler Anderson will take on Vince Velasquez. Then the Rockies come back home for five games against the Cardinals and Mariners. I’ll be there. Will you?

Other News/Notes/Innermost Thoughts

– Did you all read my article? I’m not afraid to self-promote.

-CarGo now has a 7-game hit streak. And people were worried about him…

-Rockies averaged over 7 runs per game on the road trip. Still no Dahl or Murphy.

-SPs on the road trip went 7-1 with a 3.20 ERA

-Rockies have won every road series of at least three games this year, standing tall at 7-0 in such bouts

-Mike Dunn has really been struggling lately. Can’t wait for my Marlins friends to say I told you so.

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Charlie Blackmon has 40 RBIs in 47 games. It’s the fewest games to 40 RBIs from the leadoff spot since MLB began recording RBIs in 1920!!

— Jerry Schemmel (@jschemmel6) May 24, 2017