DENVER – Coming into Wednesday afternoon’s contest between the Colorado Rockies and San Diego Padres at Coors Field, there were two main concerns for the home team; a general lack of fire (urgency) and an offense that seemed entirely dependant upon the home run ball in order to score runs.
But in a 6-4 victory that salvaged a game in the series, Colorado scored five runs on eight singles, recorded just one extra-base hit, and showed plenty of fire. They won the baseball game and the fight.
The Rockies started the game with a pair of singles from DJ LeMahieu and Gerardo Parra, and would load the bases in the inning after Trevor Story was hit by a pitch. But a strikeout by Nolan Arenado, a fielder’s choice off the bat of Carlos Gonzalez, and another K from Mike Tauchman left ’em loaded in the first.
Ryan McMahon grabbed hit first hit of the young season and LeMahieu notched his second straight with the pitcher Marquez getting in on the action with a single of his own but again Colorado stranded the runners, though this time Parra put a strong charge into a line drive that just happened to be aimed right at the center fielder.
The third inning would go differently. Way, way, differently.
Arenado nearly became the third hit batsmen of the game on a pitch thrown behind him and immediately charged the mound. A benches-clearing brawl ensued which saw Arenado, Parra, and German Marquez ejected from the game. The Padres battery of Luis Perdomo and AJ Ellis was also tossed.
After a long delay, Ian Desmond finished the at-bat by hitting a grounder to third but reaching via a (forced) error on Cory Spangenberg. Desmond stole second and scored the first run of the game on a single up the middle from Gonzalez.
Story followed with a walk, the Padres clearly seeing him as one of the bigger current threats in the lineup, and he and CarGo were moved up on a perfect sac bunt from Mike Tauchman. McMahon walked to load the bases in his second consecutive good at-bat and Tony Wolters came through with the big hit, lining a single up the middle that was misplayed in center field, clearing the bases.
Wolters ended up at third and scored on Pat Valaika’s first hit of the season; a single to left. By the time the dust had settled from the brawl, Colorado had taken a 5-0 lead.
Marquez had been sharp through the first three innings, throwing 31 of his 38 pitches for strikes, collecting four punchouts with no walks and giving up just one unlucky hit to his opposite number. But his role in the fracas necessitated an early appearance from Antonio Senzatela.
Senza cruised through his first two innings, giving up just one single to Eric Hosmer, but ran into some trouble in the third. Franchy Cordero greeted him with a deep fly over the wall in center and Hosmer struck again with a line drive double to left. Jose Pirela reached on a swinging bunt and Carlos Asuaje walked to load the bases. Senzatela got a groundball from Hunter Renfroe but it wasn’t hit hard enough to turn the double play, so a run scored.
Then, in an unfortunate sequence, Wolter’s whiffed on a fastball, perhaps distracted by Spangenberg squaring to bunt, and another run scored on a passed ball. But Senzatela struck him out to end the frame and prevent the disaster inning. Still, the game was now a close one at 5-3.
The Rockies were able to strike right back in the bottom of the sixth, getting a double from LeMahieu—his third hit in the game—another great sac bunt from Senzatela and a sac fly from Desmond to make it 6-3.
LeMahieu had exactly the kind of game he needed to with Charlie Blackmon still out of the lineup and Arenado’s early ejection.
Adam Ottavino came on for Senzatela in the seventh and continued his stretch of pure domination, collecting another pair of strikeouts and inducing one weak groundout. In his eight innings so far in 2018, Ottavino has struck out 16 batters, walked one, and has still yet to allow a run.
Jake McGee took over in the eighth and surrendered an opposite-field homer to Hosmer who obliterated a pitch right down the middle of the zone. He had an otherwise uneventful inning.
Wade Davis worked a clean final inning with two strikeouts to earn his fifth save of the season.
Final Stats:
Rockies:
German Marquez: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
Antonio Senzatela: 3 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
Adam Ottavino: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Jake McGee: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
DJ LeMahieu: 3-for-5, 1 R
Ian Desmond: 0-for-2, 1 R, 1 RBI, SB
Tony Wolters: 1-for-3, 1 R, 2 RBI
Carlos Gonzalez: 1-for-3, 1 R, 1 RBI, BB
Ryan McMahon: 1-for-3, 1 R, BB
Padres:
Eric Hosmer: 2-for-4, 2 R, 1 RBI, HR
Jose Pirela: 2-for-4, 1 R
Franchy Cordero: 1-for-4, 1 RBI, HR
What’s Next:
The Rockies take the show on the road for a four-game set in Washington followed by three in Pittsburgh. Chad Bettis will face Gio Gonzalez on Thursday. First pitch at 5:05 Mountain Time.
