We may only be three games into the season, but the Colorado Rockies have delivered something exciting to their faithful fans.
On Sunday, Colorado won a lopsided affair, 9-4, over Los Angeles to secure the series victory, a first at home against the Dodgers since 2018.
“They’re good, but I think we can play with anybody,” Bud Black said of the team’s troubles against LA in the recent past.
Starter Antonio Senzatela wasn’t his sharpest, going just 3.1 innings and surrendering nine hits. All but one were singles and two double plays helped limit the damage early.
Were it not for the whirling winds, a Kris Bryant error that allowed three runs to be scored would have surely altered Senzatela’s afternoon.
With a sizable lead in the early going thanks to RBI-singles from Randal Grichuk and Elias Díaz, not to mention C.J. Cron’s first home run of the season, Senza kept his composure despite not having his best stuff.
“When the guys are hitting really good like today, you feel supported. Especially when they play nice defense, too,” the Rockies no. 3 starter said of his teammates.
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Ryan McMahon as well as outfielders Yonathan Daza and Grichuk made sliding catches as they combatted the environment in one of the windier games in Denver on record.
Following a scoreless outing from Jhoulys Chacín in his 2022 debut, a wonderful story emerged from out Colorado’s bullpen.
Ty Blach, a non-roster invite to Spring Training and graduate of Regis Jesuit High School in Aurora, came on for the final 12 outs of the ballgame to earn the save in his purple debut.
“That’s one of those lifelong dreams as a kid,” he confessed about pitching for his hometown nine. “It’s a dream come true. It’s one of the most wonderful things that’s ever happened to me.”
Even better, he was able to share the day with family who attended the game, including parents Randy and Karen, who are also native Coloradans hailing from Yuma and Julesburg, respectively.
Blach joins a special group of only seven Colorado natives to ever play for the Rockies: Mark Knudson (1993), John Burke (1996-97), Scott Elarton (2001-04), Nate Field (2006), Kyle Freeland (2017-present) and Lucas Gilbreath (2021-present).
While Blach was seen post-game with the MVP chain as the player of the game, he wasn’t the only one showered in beer after the big win.
Black, now in his sixth season with Colorado, earned his 1,000th career victory as a manager. In doing so, he became only the 66th in Major League history to reach the milestone.
True to form, Black did not want to make this historic moment about himself.
“It shows that I’ve had some longevity, but that’s a tribute to the players that I’ve had and the two teams that I’ve managed who’ve had faith in me to manage the club,” the 64-year-old skipper shared. “But the players, the coaches, the front office – people behind the scenes – they’re all part of this.”
Win 999 was a seven-inning gem by Germán Márquez on Saturday night that required the All-Star’s precision throughout the low-scoring contest.
On Friday, Colorado held an early lead before a wonky inning by Opening Day starter Kyle Freeland tipped the scales the wrong way. Otherwise, it could have been an even more electric start to the year for the club.
Altogether, it was 137,539 fans that packed into the building on the corner of 20th and Blake during Opening Weekend and countless more that continue to carry excitement about the potential for the Rockies season ahead due to the positive start.
Only 159 games left…
