Hilliard's mammoth home run highlights 2-2 tie

It was a day of fantastic pitching, a lot of swings and misses for both teams, and ultimately a rare baseball tie between the Chicago Cubs and Colorado Rockies on Thursday. The final score of 2-2 somehow making it feel like there was more offense than in truth.

The grand total of four combined runs came on two swings.

German Marquez pitched the first two innings for the Rockies, allowing one hit and walking one while striking out two. It was his first appearance of the spring and he looked sharp overall.

He was replaced by lefty Sam Howard who surrendered a two-run home run to Ian Happ in the third. Happ has been hot for the Cubs, it was his third homer of spring training. Howard bounced back to pitch a clean fourth.

Scott Oberg followed that clean inning with one of his own featuring a strikeout and Zac Rosscup backed that up with a third straight for Colorado fanning a pair.

Next, James Farris gave up a hit but struck out two and Jerry Vasto sat ’em down in order with one punchout.

All told, it was a great day for the Rockies pitching staff with just one mistake. They held Chicago to two runs on four hits.

Cubs pitching, despite a late scratch of Yu Darvish, dominated the Rockies early. They handed Raimel Tapia his worst day of spring training so far, going 0-for-3 with two strikeouts out of the lead-off spot. They kept David Dahl, who played centerfield in this one, hitless on the spring and only allowed a pair of singles from DJ LeMahieu and one from Ryan McMahon through the first six innings.

McMahon is now hitting .471 and has played in every game so far. It’s been an impressive showing for the player who came in with the most pressure on him after the Rockies didn’t sign a first baseman this offseason.

Sam Hilliard finally got the Rockies on the board in the eighth with a game-tying, two-run monster shot over the right-field fence. At 24-years-old, Hilliard still hasn’t played above High-A ball but has nonetheless put up some impressive numbers. Most notably, he has showcased an intriguing speed/power combo. His 6’5 frame has stolen 67 bases and hit 38 home runs over his last 260 games.

He has taken advantage of his invitation to MLB camp by collecting four hits in 11 at-bats including a double and today’s home run.

Shane Broyles allowed a single but preserved the tie in the bottom of the ninth.

Colorado takes on the Arizona Diamondbacks… again… on Friday at 1:10 MST. Chad Bettis is set to make his second appearance. Albert Suarez is the probable starter for Arizona.