The Colorado Rockies kept the offense hot and while the bullpen still had a shaky moment late, finally got the pitching they needed to hold up in a 9-6 win that really should have been more comfortable for the visitors than it was.
The nine runs came on 12 hits and backed another strong outing from starting pitcher Kyle Freeland who has settled into a consistent rhythm, pitching at nearly an elite level.
DJ LeMahieu got things started with a line drive single to left-center field in the first at-bat of the game. Charlie Blackmon followed that up with a triple down the right-field line. Nolan Arenado walked and Carlos Gonzalez took advantage of an in-between hop and some indecision from Joey Votto to record an RBI infield hit.
Right away, Colorado had plated two runs and had two aboard with nobody out but a pop out from Trevor Story and an unusual and rare mental mistake by Arenado on a fly out from Gerardo Parra—getting doubled off at second after having apparently forgotten how many outs there were in the inning—meant the two runs is all they would get.
That is, until the second inning.
Ian Desmond led off that frame with a solid single to left and came around to score on Chris Iannetta’s fifth home run of the season, an opposite-field shot over the wall in right.
The Reds got on the board in the fifth via a solo home run from Scott Schebler.
But the Rockies didn’t ease up, plating another pair of runs in the sixth thanks to singles from Arenado, Gonzalez, and Parra and a bases-loaded walk for Freeland.
And they still weren’t done as Gonzalez delivered a dagger in the seventh, smashing a three-run home run, his sixth of the season. It was a left-on-left laser line drive that landed 473 feet from home plate over the wall in right-center field. That’s the longest home run of the season for Colorado.
The Reds were finally able to break through with a bit of a rally against Freeland in the seventh, getting back-to-back one-out singles from Schebler and Jose Peraza. After striking out Alex Blandino, though, Freeland walked Jesse Winker which set up a seeing-eye single off the bat of Tucker Barnhart.
Mike Dunn then entered the game, looking for the final out of the seventh. He jammed Joey Votto with a fastball but the hitting legend lifted it to left for a single. For some reason, down by six runs, Winker tried to score from second on the play and was thrown out at home by Gerardo Parra, the second outfield assist of the game for the Rockies. CarGo had the other one, gunning down Barnhart who tried to turn a single into a double in the fourth.
In the eighth, Jake McGee looked like he was about to begin the bullpen collapse that the Rockies have seen the last few games, allowing the first two hitters to reach on soft singles. But, in what may end up being a bit of a turning point, he struck out the next two and got some help on a nice sliding catch from game-MVP Carlos Gonzalez down the right-field line, escaping the frame with no damage done.
Bryan Shaw’s struggles continued in the ninth. He was greeted with a double off the bat of Curt Casali, then tossed another wild pitch, allowing the runner to advance and then score on a groundout from Winker. Barnhart and Votto followed with a pair of soft singles, and after Eugenio Suarez flew out to center, got two more from Scooter Gennett and Adam Duvall, plating a pair of runs.
Suddenly, after being down 9-1 at one point, the Reds had the tying run at the plate in the form of Scott Schebler.
Bud Black called upon Wade Davis to try to restore some sanity to the proceedings, and after he experienced a rough outing his last time out, took just three pitches to strike out the lefty, secure his 19th save of the season, and put the win in the books for the Rockies.
Colorado improved to 31-29, 20-13 on the road, pulling to within a half-game of the Diamondbacks for first place in the NL West.
Final Stats:
Kyle Freeland: 6.2 IP, 9 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 7 K
Mike Dunn: 0.1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER
Jake McGee: 1 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 K
Carlos Gonzalez: 3-for-4, 2 R, 4 RBI, HR (6)
Charlie Blackmon: 3-for-5, 2 R, 1 RBI
Nolan Arenado: 1-for-3, 2 R, 2 BB
Gerardo Parra: 2-for-4, RBI
Chris Iannetta: 1-for-3, 1 R, 2 RBI, BB
What’s Next:
The Rockies try to keep in going in Game 2 on Wednesday night. Jon Gray looks to right his own course in a showdown with Sal Romano. First pitch at 5:10 Mountain Time.
