Carlos Gonzalez drilled a 1st inning homer to get the Colorado Rockies on the board, then he blooped a 9th inning base hit to win the game in walk-off style. The Rockies won their afternoon affair with the Braves 3-2.
The two hits accounted for three RBIs, which was the total number of runs the Rockies scored on Saturday afternoon. Gonzalez punctuated a great all around day for the Rockies, but specifically their pitching staff.
One thing that seems to go largely unnoticed by Rockies fans is the teams ability to win games without scoring a ton of runs every time Jorge De La Rosa takes the mound. That was the case on Saturday as well. Still dealing with a cut on his finger that is going to need weeks of inactivity to heal, De La Rosa got the Rockies through six innings, giving up just two runs.
As always, De La Rosa wiggled off the hook on an occasion, yet, he did what an ace does. He kept his team in the game and gave them a chance to win. De La Rosa didn’t walk away with the win, but his ability to keep the Braves at bay is a huge reason why the team even had a chance to win it in the 9th inning. De La Rosa went six innings, giving up two runs on four hits. He struck out seven and walked two.
On top of De La Rosa’s performance, the bullpen was surprisingly sound. They picked up the final three frames, keeping the Braves off of the board the whole time and buying the offense more time to win the game. In the 8th inning, Christian Friedrich stepped into a messy situation. Rafael Betancourt allowed the Braves to get runners on first and third base with just one out, then handed the ball to Friedrich. It seemed like a classic moment for the Rockies to give the game away. However, the former first-round draft pick kept his focus. Friedrich got Jonny Gomes to ground to Ben Paulsen at first base. Paulsen wisely threw to third base, trying to get Nick Markakis off third base. Markakis made it back in time, however, leaving the bases loaded with one out.
With the game on the line, Friedrich answered the call. He got a shallow pop-out to centerfield from Andrelton Simmons, then get struck out Lavarnway to end the inning.
That is when CarGo came through with his heroics. The Rockies on the game and are ensured of a series victory before the much-needed All-Star break. With a chance for a four-game sweep on Sunday, the Rockies have a chance to build some momentum as they get a few days off. It would be a great way to end a disappointing first half of the season.
Beyond the win, the Rockies also had a great day off of the field. With an injury to Dee Gordon, the Miami Marlins second baseman, Troy Tulowitzki was selected as a replacement player for him on the National League All-Star roster. In addition, to fill Gordon’s spot in the starting lineup, DJ LeMahieu went from being a reserve, to being the starter at second base.
In all, it was three big wins for the Rockies on Saturday. In a season without a ton of positive news to celebrate, the Rockies had a great day on Saturday.
