Rockies youth movement rallies in the ninth to walk off on the Cubs

On a beautiful afternoon at Salt River Fields in Scottsdale Arizona, the Colorado Rockies and Chicago Cubs faced off in a long and plodding contest that saw almost every flyball get lost in the perfect blue sky.

The Cubs led for most of the afternoon but a sudden burst of late energy saw the Rockies plate five runs in the bottom of the ninth to complete an impressive comeback. The big heroes were Bret Boswell, Colton Welker, and Brian Mundell who provided the walk-off single to make the final score 11-10.

Also, Nolan Arenado hit a laser beam home run. That’s always a pleasant sight.

Turning Point: 5-Run Rally in the 9th

It takes a team effort to score five runs when you are down to your final two outs. Alan Trejo got things started when he was plunked, Mike Gerber drew a nice walk, and Chris Owings provided an infield single in addition to a home run he hit in his previous at-bat.

That set the stage.

A single from the hot hitting (.529) Boswell, a double for the also cooking (.414) Colton Welker and a single from Mundell who has been no slouch at the plate either (.400) swung the game in favor of the Rockies in the blink of an eye.

Stat of the Game: Bryan Shaw struggling

Bryan Shaw, who may well be pitching for his spot on the roster, had another rough outing, giving up two runs on two singles and three walks while only recording two outs in the fourth. His Spring ERA now sits at 16.88.

Player of the Game: Boswell/Welker/Mundell

You could give it just to Mundell if you wanted, but it truly took them all doing there thing to get this win.

These young guys came to play.

Runner Up: Tyler Kinley

Other than Zac Rosscup, who threw one pitch in the game, Tyler Kinley was the only member of the Rockies pitching staff to take the mound and not give up any base runners. In fact, Kinley has not allowed a base runner yet in his four innings of Spring work and has struck out three.

Play of the Game: Nolan Arenado HR

In the first frame, Nolan Arenado was taking what appeared to be an uncomfortable at-bat, jumping out of the way of a pitch that ended up in the strike zone and taking an ugly check swing for strike two. But lefty Jose Quintanilla tried to come inside with a fastball to put him away and that did not work. Arenado blasted it nearly onto the concourse in left for his second home run of the spring.

Diamond Details

• Trevor Story went 1-for-2 with a double and a run scored and is hitting .357 so far
• Jose Mujica got knocked around in the fifth for four runs on four hits lowering his ERA to 15.00
• James Pazos gave up his first run of the Spring on a pair of his in the seventh, dropping his ERA to 1.93
• Jairo Diaz surrendered his first run of the Spring as well in a three-hit inning for the Cubs in the eighth.
• Starter Ashton Goudeau went two innings and gave up two runs on five hits. He walked one and did not record a strikeout. His Spring ERA sits at 4.50.

Final Thoughts

The battle for the bullpen is heating up and going to be an interesting one. Kinley is emerging as a strong contender to take a spot. Mujica looks like he may need a bit more seasoning but the stuff is there.

No matter the stakes, ninth-inning rallies are awesome. When they are done entirely by guys trying to show that they have what it takes to make it to The Show, they can even feel special.

Spring in Arizona is nice.

Up Next

The Rockies face the Texas Rangers on Wednesday at 1:05.