Rockies rebound in outstanding fashion, back on track with pitching, hitting and defense

Pretty much everything that went wrong during the four-game losing streak in Philadelphia ended up going incredibly well on Friday night.

A date with the worst team in baseball will have those effects sometimes.

The first thing manager Bud Black offered following the 10-4 victory over the Cincinnati Reds may not have been obvious.

“There wasn’t one thing that stood out tonight,” 

That’s usually the case when everything goes right.

The starting pitching was there, much like on the seven-game trip that included a weekend in Detroit. This time, it was a catalyst for all things positive thanks to 6.1 innings of one-run baseball from Antonio Senzatela. 

“I think that Senza kept them in check,” praised Black in the post-game press conference. “I liked his pitch count. It got us out of the wind and got us back from the dugout. That was helpful. That kept us offensively on the attack and it showed up later.”

In Philly, the lackluster defense prevented those quicker innings and, thus, prevented the offense from staying sharp.

Ryan McMahon was one of those beneficiaries on this date.

“Really clean game, right? No errors, four double plays,” McMahon acknowledged.

He started three of those, all of which ended an inning. 

In the fifth, following two consecutive strikeouts against rookie Hunter Greene, RyMac got back in his groove.

“I just ran up into the cage and practiced (hitting) like five or six balls to first base just to make sure I was getting on top of it,” the third baseman said of his adjustment to the fireballer.

The cage work paid dividends in the form of a three-run home run that busted the game open, not to mention the door to the bullpen. Reds’ relievers would allow six more runs, including four in the seventh that allowed the Rockies to send 10 batters to the plate.

All of this came despite the absence of Kris Bryant, who went on the injured list with a back strain before the game, and Brendan Rodgers, who is still day-to-day with his own back issues.

In the City of Brotherly Love, Colorado produced only nine runs while Friday brought 10 runs in eight innings against the Cincinnati Reds at home.

The run differential for the Phillies series was -23, only the 35th instance of a such a drubbing this bad over four consecutive road games. (A four-game series in Atlanta back in 2013 still stands as the worst. The Rockies scored a modest 13 runs, but surrendered 40.)

One of the other differences between game one against Cincinnati and the four in Philadelphia was the performance of the bullpen. 

The first six games of the season brought some remarkable performances – their 0.68 ERA was tops in all of MLB – aiding the Rockies to a 4-2 record, including a series win against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

But since April 15, they had given up 37 earned runs over 13 games and 44.2 innings pitched (7.46 ERA). 

Though Rockies’ relievers ranked last in ERA coming into this game, they got excellent work when it was needed most in their return to Coors Field.

Jhoulys Chacín induced an inning-ending double play off the bat of 2021 National League Rookie of the Year Award winner Jonathan India in the seventh and Alex Colomé held down the fort against the middle of Cincy’s lineup in the eighth.

Ashton Goudeau’s slip up in the ninth was inconsequential as Colorado maintained a nine-run lead with three outs remaining.  

Offensively, everyone reached base and all except Sam Hilliard recorded a base hit. Five different players notched two hits while only Hilliard and Charlie Blackmon were unable to pick up an RBI.

C.J. Cron didn’t even make an out with two hits and three walks.

The next two games feature two more of the Rockies’ finest starters in the form of Chad Kuhl (2-0, 1.10 ERA) and Kyle Freeland (0-3, 6.16 ERA). The Reds, however, offer rookies with a combined 42.2 innings pitched under their respective belts: RHP Connor Overton and LHP Reiver Sanmartin.

Two more doses of Friday’s helping would be mighty nice heading into an off-day on Monday before a three-game set against the second-worst team in the NL, the Washington Nationals.