Rockies rout Reds 11-4 as young hitters fight for MLB spots

It was the Jordan Patterson show in Game 2 of Colorado Rockies spring training 2018.

Patterson went 3-for-3 with two doubles, two runs scored, and a diving catch in an 11-4 win for the Rox over the Cincinnati Reds.

The first run of the game for Colorado came in an odd fashion in the second inning. After Patterson doubled with two outs, catcher Tom Murphy struck out swinging but sprinted for first on the dropped third strike. The throw bounced off Murphy, allowing Patterson to score when the inning should have been over.

The Rockies took the lead on Nolan Arenado’s first home run of the spring, a monster shot over the left-center field fence.

A sequence of sustained offense powered by a group of exciting young players gave Colorado some breathing room in the fourth. Ryan McMahon ripped a single to right, his second left-on-left hit in as many days and Patterson followed with a ground-rule double into the left-center field gap.

Brian Mundell, who has taken advantage of his playing time thus far, collected his third hit and second and third RBI with a single to center that scored McMahon and Patterson.

Raimel Tapia then sliced a double down the left-field line, once again showing opposite-field slugging potential and driving in his second run of the spring.

In the fifth, Daniel Castro and McMahon worked back-t0-back walks in front of Patterson who singled. Castro scored but with an error in center, Patterson was not awarded an RBI.

McMahon added a two-RBI single as part of a five-run seventh for the Rockies. He finished 2-for-3 with two runs scored and two RBI. He’s hitting .600 in the first two games of spring, coming in with perhaps more pressure than anyone else to break out this season.

Yency Almonte got his first start of MLB camp and was greeted by some immediate trouble. He gave up two hits and a run before settling down and limiting the damage. He bounced back nicely with a 1-2-3 inning featuring a pair of strikeouts.

Sam Howard issues a couple of walks, including one of the four-pitch variety that is sure to prompt a speech from coaches. Still, he gave up just one hit, zero runs, and struck out two in a solid first bid toward making his MLB debut in 2018.

Mike Dunn and Jairo Diaz both looked very good in their inning of work.

Jerry Vasto surrendered a two-run, ninth-inning home run to Rosell Hererra, a former Rockie farmhand.

For the second straight day, the Rockies saw what they wanted out of the young players hoping to make an impact in 2018. McMahon and Tapia continue to rake and David Dahl continues to exist, going 0-for-3 but making a few nice defensive plays and, most importantly, playing in a baseball game.

The pitching was excellent, allowing just four runs on six hits total. The offense put up 11 runs on 13 hits.

Colorado takes on the Texas Rangers on Sunday at 1:05 MST.