Boston, MA — Jorge De La Rosa‘s return to the mound was unceremonious. Really it was just straight up ugly. He ran into a little bit of tough luck but there is no escaping how many barrels he was finding on his way to giving up seven runs on nine hits while walking three and only striking out one.
He gave up two runs in the first two innings, leaving the Rockies in a 4-1 deficit out of the gate despite getting an out call overturned at home plate. De La Rosa’s fastball just isn’t fooling anyone again. He deserves a few more shots to see if he just needs to shake off more rust, but the signs at this point with him are simply dreadful. Be gentle to him Rockies fans, he has given Denver much.
Monday’s bad decision to start Jordan Lyles over Chris Rusin continued to have consequences, leaving the Rockies without a long man in the bullpen. So, Eddie Butler, who has found his rhythm and confidence as a starter was forced into the game after just 3 1/3 innings from De La Rosa.
Butler pitched admirably, going 2 2/3 and giving up just one hit but hopefully he can return to the rotation without any negative side effects. Either way, it’s worth pointing out that he continues to look like a whole new person in 2016.
The Rockies were able to notch three runs on five hits against ace David Price, but he still looked mostly in control for each of the seven innings he pitched. DJ LeMahieu was the only Rockie to tally more than one hit. Gerardo Parra hit a triple and grabbed two RBI and Carlos Gonzales smashed a triple of his own on one of his better swings in a while.
Mark Reynolds‘ single in the fourth inning was the 1,000th hit of his career. Charlie Blackmon hit his third home run of the season, only the sixth time Price has allowed a home run against a left-handed hitter in his career.
Trevor Story had a night to forget, striking out four times for the first time in his career.
Ultimately, the Rockies were probably in line for a “schedule loss” here from the get-go with a returning, maybe not fully healthy, aging Jorge De La Rosa, and the biggest catch of the offseason David Price. It shouldn’t come as much of a shock that they lost, but the offense is going to have to start showing more spirit soon or RockieTown will begin to worry.
Turning Point
In the bottom of the second, Christian Vazquez tripled just out of the reach of Blackmon who might have slightly misplayed the ball but it was still hammered. That scored the third run and put Vazquez at third, ready to score easily on a Mookie Betts sac fly. Four runs on the board for David Price is like blood in the water for a shark.
Lasting Impact
There isn’t much lasting impact from this game except that it may be the beginning of the end for Jorge De La Rosa. Given what he has done for the franchise, everyone around here is hoping that he has just one more burst of good baseball left in him.
What’s Next
Chad Bettis vs. Steven Wright (I assume not the comedian) Wednesday at 5:10 MST.
