Rockies win fourth straight with blowout of Phillies

DENVER – Coming off the heels of a sweep that saw the Colorado Rockies eliminate their rivals, the Arizona Diamondbacks, from contention, it was absolutely pivotal that the club begin their final seven-game homestand with a bang.

And they did just that.

Getting some good and bad news before the game, the Rockies learned that scheduled starter Tyler Anderson would not be able to go, dealing with a shoulder issue, so they turned to Jon Gray who has struggled mightily in his last three starts to the extent that the club skipped him once through the rotation.

But they also learned that they would get injured shortstop Trevor Story back, and he made an impact in a game the Rockies were able to run away with.

With neither Wade David nor Adam Ottavino available, a blowout was in order and that’s what Colorado got with a 10-1 win.

Gray got into immediate trouble in the first with a pair of one-out singles from Carlos Santana and Odubel Herrera, both looping soft liners into left field. Rhys Hoskins hit a comebacker to the mound but Gray’s throw to second was wide. DJ LeMahieu was still able to field the ball and make the force out but unable to turn the double play. This kept the inning alive and meant a walk to Wilson Ramos loaded the bases.

In a pivotal moment that could have seen the game spiral away from him early, Gray came back with a three-pitch strikeout to Aaron Altherr to keep the scoreboard clean.

Gray picked off Herrera, who walked with one out in the second, and got Santana to ground into a double play in the third to face the minimum in those innings.

That’s when the Colorado offense. pounced.

Charlie Blackmon led off the bottom of the third with a groundball single to right, extending his hit streak out to 16 games. LeMahieu followed with a groundball through the right side. After a David Dahl strikeout, Nolan Arenado delivered a solid sinking line drive to center for the first RBI of the game.

Trevor Story, in his return to action, struck out in his second at-bat after doubling in his first but Gerardo Parra picked him up with a two-out line drive single to right. When starter Zack Eflin walked Ian Desmond in the ensuing encounter, that ended his night in favor of reliever Austin Davis.

But Davis came in wild, walking Tony Wolters (who is batting .175 on the season) and Jon Gray (who is batting .080 on the season) to bring in two more runs. He uncorked a wild pitch for another before finally getting Blackmon on strikes but the damage was done with a five-run frame.

Colorado was back at it in the fourth, beginning right where they left off with a LeMaieu walk. Dahl then went down and golfed a low pitch, driving it the other way and just barely over the wall in left as Altherr went crashing into it violently and had to leave the game.

Story’s second double of the game and Parra’s second RBI single made it 8-0 Rockies. That second two-bagger for Story made him just the fourth shortstop in National League history with 80 extra-base hits in a season.

Colorado got another in comical fashion in the sixth after Parra’s third single of the game and a ridiculous play where Desmond hit a high chopper that the Phillies threw around the diamond, allowing Parra to score all the way from first.

The Phillies got one back when Hoskins finally got to Gray with a monster home run to left field. But that is all they would get against the Wolf of Blake Street.

And Colorado even answered that with an insurance run in the eighth, getting a pinch-hit single from Ryan McMahon and a pinch-hit double from Garrett Hampson to make it 10-1.

The Rockies improve to 86-70 and await the finishes of the Dodgers and Cardinals games to find out how close they will be to a postseason spot in the morning.

Final Stats:

Jon Gray: 7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 7 K

Harrison Musgrave: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

DJ Johnson: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

Gerardo Parra: 3-for-3, 2 R, 2 RBI

Nolan Arenado: 2-for-4, 1 R, 1 RBI

David Dahl: 1-for-4, 1 R, 2 RBI (HR: 11)

DJ LeMahieu: 1-for-4, 2 R, 1 BB

Ian Desmond: 1-for-3, 1 R

Tony Wolters: 0-for-0, 1 RBI, 4 BB

What’s Next:

The second game of the series will see Vince Velasquez take the hill for the Phillies. Bud Black said before Monday’s game that Chad Bettis is likely to get the start for Colorado. First pitch at 6:40 Tuesday evening.