Rockies sweep NL-Champ Mets: Chatwood, Raburn spur 4-3 win

Denver — A two-run pinch-hit home run from Ryan Raburn in the bottom of the seventh powered the Colorado Rockies to a 4-3 win and a sweep over the defending NL Champion New York Mets.

Tyler Chatwood had his best home game of 2016, tossing seven strong innings and giving up only three runs on six hits. He induced weak grounders all day and a few found some holes in the third, leading to two runs. But the only bad mistake Chatwood made in the game was in the second inning on an 0-2 pitch that Yoenis Cespedes drove out of the park. Beyond that, he pitched exactly how one needs to pitch to find success at Coors Field.

It was the third consecutive Quality Start from Rockies pitching, which is remarkable considering that the storyline coming into this homestand was how bad they had been so far at Coors Field. They have now won four in a row at home after losing seven straight.

Chatwood followed Jon Gray and Eddie Butler in proving that this team can pitch at home. And the offense showed that a little timely hitting goes a long way.

Carlos Gonzalez has been slumping of late and even needed to move down into the fifth spot in the order but Sunday may have been a turning point. He went 2-for-3 with a walk and his first home run since April 16th. He was mired in the longest home run drought of his career. These are the kinds of games that historically have sent him on some torrid stretches.

Gonzalez came around to score on a DJ LeMahieu two-out single off of Jacob DeGrom in the second. He hit his solo shot in the sixth, bringing the Rockies to within one run against another great pitcher. LeMahieu then lead off the seventh with a walk after a long battle that required DeGrom to be removed from the game, setting the stage for Raburn’s game-winning blast. It was his fifth of the year, and already his second off the bench in a pinch-hit role.

Boone Logan secured his eighth Hold and Jake McGee his 12th Save completing one of the best homestands of pitching the Rockies have seen in a long time.

Turning Point

Before Ryan Raburn’s at-bat, the score was 3-2 Mets, after Ryan Raburn’s at-bat, the score was 4-3 Rockies. That was the final score. Let’s not make this complicated.

Lasting Impact

Perhaps most impressive thing about this win and sweep is that it comes against the defending National League Champion Mets who came in playing very good baseball. Not only that, but the Rockies had been struggling with their confidence at home and had both Matt Harvey and Jacob DeGrom on the docket. And yet, it was the team in purple who dominated the series.

What’s Next

The Rockies have an off day Monday then depart for a nine game roadtrip. They begin in St. Louis on Tuesday night at 7:15 MST. Chad Bettis gets the start against Jaime Garcia.