Miami, Fla – The Colorado Rockies had won six of their their last eight games entering Saturday’s contest in Miami. Looking for their first win of the year against the Florida based franchise the Rockies briefly looked like they had it in the bank but the Miami Marlins came back and put the Rockies to bed early on South Beach, losing 9-6.
Outhit 17-8 the Rockies poor performance was sad on all fronts as Tyler Chatwood left the game early due to an injury and Eddie Butler‘s relief efforts resulted in a loss.
The Marlins strung together a few hits in the bottom of the 1st inning, and scored the games’ first run.
Tyler Chatwood left the game after 1.2 innings pitched with back spasms, with Eddie Butler entering in relief. With Chatwood exiting with the bases loaded, Butler gave up a single to the first batter he faced, scoring two runs. Chatwood clearly was not 100% and it will be interesting to see if he is able to make his next scheduled start on Thursday against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Down three runs to start the 3rd inning, the Rockies needed to score some runs if the did not want a repeat of Friday’s 5-1 loss to the Marlins.
Dj LeMahieu legged out a triple to get the Rockies rally started in the 3rd inning, attempting his best Dee Gordon impression. Carlos Gonzalez notched his second single of the game, scoring LeMahieu. Nolan Arenado hit a screaming liner that shot off the top of the left field wall. Unfortunately, the ball was hit so hard that Carlos Gonzalez only had time to reach 3rd. Luckily, it would not matter, as two batters later, Ryan Raburn singled and drove in Cargo. With the bases loaded, Mark Reynolds walked to tie the game at 3. The very next at bat, Nick Hundley squared up a three run double, giving the Rockies a 6-3 lead.
This was one of the strongest innings the Rockies have put together all season long. Unfortunately, the three-run lead would not last long.
Eddie Butler ran into some trouble in the bottom of the 3rd, giving up three consecutive hits to start the inning, including a two-run bomb to Justin Bour.
The next inning, Butler again surrendered three straight hits to start the inning, including a stinging three-run blast from J.T. Realmuto. He was able to get through the 5th inning, but ended up surrendering four runs and earning the loss in the process.
Lasting Impact
This outing was a great opportunity for Eddie Butler, who was in line for the victory after the Rockies offense got him the lead in the 3rd, but he was leaving his pitches over the plate far to often, and the Marlins offense took advantage.
The Rockies offense had a fairly strong night, with contributions from several role players as well as Nolan and Cargo both notching multiple hits in the heart of the order. While it was a solid outing from the Rockies offense, they still were outhit 17-8 and failed to score in all but one inning.
Hopefully, the injury to Tyler Chatwood is not very serious. If Chatwood is unable to make his next start, in will be interesting to see who the Rockies elect too start after Eddie Butler’s most recent performance.
What’s Next
The Rockies face off against the Marlins in game three of four tomorrow, first pitch is at 11:10 MST. In his second career big league start Tyler Anderson looks to earn his first Major League victory facing Tom Koehler and Miami offense.
