Rockies offense wreaks havoc in pounding of Pirates

The Colorado Rockies played their second straight all-around complete game in a 9-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday night.

Starter Jon Gray pitched remarkably well especially considering the context of the game and how well this Pirates’ lineup had been hitting coming into the series. He mostly managed to scatter seven hits, walking only one, while striking out seven and allowing three runs in seven innings of work.

He was staked to a big lead early thanks to an offense that continues to produce despite some hand-wringing over the lineup. They produced 16 hits on the night with everyone, including Gray, getting at least one base hit and five players who tallied at least two.

The Pirates elected to try the “bullpening” route in this game and the Rockies made them pay for it by getting after each one of them.

The offense wasted no time, getting right to work in the top of the first. Trevor Story singled to center after Charlie Blackmon struck out to begin the game, and Raimel Tapia immediately rewarded the faith that granted him his first start in the three-hole by working a walk after falling behind 0-2.

But Nolan Arenado popped up to the catcher leaving it up to the struggling Daniel Murphy – one of the few hitters in the lineup not in a groove as of late – to come through. And boy did he. Murphy leaned on a fastball and launched a no-doubt home run well over the wall in center to give his club a 3-0 advantage.

But the Pirates were able to get right back into the game with a pair of runs in the second. Josh Bell, who German Marquez managed to keep quiet in the first game of the set despite him coming in as the hottest hitter in baseball, turned a fastball from Gray inside-out and blasted it for a 454-foot home run into the river.

A two-out groundball single and a double to center from Kevin Newman added another run and pulled the Pirates to within one but Colorado answered with another big shot.

Arenado got it going with a leadoff swinging bunt for a single. Murphy popped out and Ian Desmond was called out on strikes, meaning the Rockies would again need some two-out magic.

They got it on a broken bat infield single from Brendan Rodgers and an eye-popping three-run home run off the bat of Tony Wolters who continues to be the revelation of the season for Colorado.

The Rockies took a break from scoring in the fourth only to throw another three-spot up on the board in the fifth. Desmond was the instigator this time, ripping a double to left and trotting home on the first extra-base hit in Rodgers’ career, a double to right.

Rodgers moved to third on a line drive single to center from Wolters but he got picked off while Gray was trying to lay down a sac bunt. Gray eventually did get the bunt down, moving Wolters to second ahead of a Blackmon single that scored him. Story kept it going with another walk and Tapia made it a 9-2 game with a grounder through the left side.

The Pirates got one back in the bottom of the sixth after a walk, a single, and a bobble by Rodgers at second disrupted a potential double play.

Gray pitched strongly through the seventh, around a leadoff single from Diaz.

Bryan Shaw came on in the eighth and worked around a one-out single by Gregory Polanco for a solid frame, getting Bell to ground into a double play.

Jairo Diaz made his first MLB appearance in nearly two years to finish off the game in the ninth.

Stats

Jon Gray: 7 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 7 K

Bryan Shaw: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R

Jairo Diaz: 1 IP, 1 BB, 0 R

Tony Wolters: 2-for-5, 2 R, 3 RBI (HR: 1)

Daniel Murphy: 2-for-5, 1 R, 3 RBI (HR: 3)

Brendan Rodgers: 3-for-5, 1 R, 1 RBI

Ian Desmond: 2-for-5, 1 R

Nolan Arenado: 2-for-4, 1 R

Trevor Story: 1-for-3, 1 R, 3 BB

Jon Gray: 1-for-2, 1 BB