Recap: Rockies 10, Diamondbacks 4
Turning point: The Rockies scored their fifth run in the seventh after managers Jim Tracy and A.J. Hinch matched wits and Tracy won. Carlos Gonzalez doubled to open the inning against left-hander Clay Zavada and was sacrificed to third by switch-hitting Dexter Fowler, who pinch hit for Seth Smith. Zavada hit Todd Helton with a 2-2 pitch, and Hinch left Zavada in to face right-handed hitting Troy Tulowitzki, who struck out, flailing at a high pitch. Tracy pinch hit right-handed hitting Ryan Spilborghs for left-handed hitting Brad Hawpe, who is hitless in his past nine at-bats and without an RBI in September, in a telling bit of strategy. Hinch stuck with Zavada and Spilborghs doubled, scoring Gonzalez.
At the plate: Tulowitzki homered for the fourth straight game, hitting his 29th of the season three batters after Gonzalez led off the game with his 12th homer. …Ian Stewart‘s sacrifice fly netted two runs in the fourth. Batting with the bases loaded and no out, Stewart hit a fly to left fielder Gerardo Para, whose throw to the plate sailed into the stands, and Hawpe, who was tagging to go from second to third was awarded an extra base on the throwing error and scored. …Spilborghs picked up his second RBI when he doubled again to drive in the first run in the ninth when the Rockies broke the game open with a five-run uprising. …Yorvit Torrealba’s infield single in the ninth scored the Rockies seventh run, giving him 16 hits in his past 22 at-bats with runners in scoring position. …Pinch hitter Jason Giambi hit a three-run homer on the first pitch from left-hander Scott Schoeneweis. It was Giambi’s first homer with the Rockies and No. 408 in his career, moving him into sole possession of 43rd place all-time, past Duke Snider and Vladimir Guerrero. …Giambi pinch hit for Clint Barmes, who went 0-for-4, leaving him 2-for-20 on the road trip and with a .238 batting average, the lowest it has been since he was at .235 on May 29 after Tracy’s first game as Rockies manager. …Justin Upton hit a three-run homer in the third and drove in his fourth run in the eighth with a sacrifice fly after Stephen Drew greeted Rafael Betancourt with a triple.
On the mound: Jason Hammel gave up four hits and three runs in seven innings, the runs coming on one swing by Upton. He hit a three-run homer with one out in the third to give the Diamondbacks a 3-2 lead. Pitcher Max Scherzer, who led off with a single, and Chris Young, who followed Scherzer with a single, scored. Upton’s homer was the last hit off Hammel, who won for the first time in six starts since Aug. 20. …Scherzer gave up three hits, four runs, three earned, five walks and hit a batter in 5 1/3 innings. …Esmerling Vasquez was roughed up for three hits and four runs in two-thirds of an inning in the ninth and was charged with three of the runs that scored on Giambi’s homer.
Numbers game: 15 hitless at-bats for Helton, including two Saturday, before he ended the drought with a single in the ninth on his third at-bat and fifth plate appearance. That was the first hit for Helton, who is 2-for-23 (.087) on the road trip, since a first-inning single Sept. 13 at San Diego.
Professional at-bats in that 9th inning by Spilborghs and Torrealba. While it seems everyone else in the lineup is swinging for the fences in every count and every situation, these two men brought a professional approach to their at-bats.
Spilborghs hit the ball where it was pitched for both of his clutch doubles. And Torrealba, with the runner on third and less than two outs, adjusted his swing with two strikes just to get the ball in play. Not only does he get an RBI, but he got an infield hit out of it, opening the door for a huge inning.
If everyone in the lineup could work themselves back into that mindset with their ABs, this team could be playing for quite a while longer.
Any word on when Cook will come back? Rockies really need him to get healthy and have at least one start before the post-season.
Nice to win won like that now lets steal one tommorrow.
This has been a scary road trip on the whole but tonight showed the positives of this team. Good clutch hitting in the later innings. Continued nice defense as a whole. Hammel looked solid. I think it was Frazier tonight who made the point Hammel has #3 stuff but is pitching in the 5 hole. A nice luxery. But this line-up is going to get eaten up in the playoffs if key guys dont start swinging. Helton broke out of his slump, and you have to figure he will get things turned around. But Hawpe and Barmes need to hit and soon. Barmes’ defense is his key, but .238? No RBIs for Hawpe in September? The good news is that Fowler is looking healthier, CarGo is simply a stud, and Tulo has been hitting the ball as hard as at anypoint this season. Its been a nerve racking trip but…if we find a way to beat Haren tommorow its a 4-5 trip, which is nothing to sneeze at.
Lets go Rockies!
Prediction: Ubaldo will be super focused after a rough start. All aces have bad starts, Ubaldo will work his way into true “acedom” if he can come out and dominate tomorrow. You could see it in his face when FSN panned over the duggout. He wants the ball tomorrow and he loves that the dbacks bumped Haren up for this start. Rocks win 2-0 behind a brilliant start by the pitching future of this franchise!
Wow, I loved when Spillborghs entered as a pich-hitter for Hawpe, I really don’t know what’s going on with him, but sure we need him If the team gets a ticket for the post-season.
I really can’t watch Rockies games, so someone pease tell me: How is Cargo. Tonight he went 2-5 with a double and a HR, but during this week: has he been taking good AB in general?
GO ROCKIES!!!
CarGo has come quite a long was since first being called up. Sometimes he looks hopeless at the plate, swinging at terrible pitches, but he seems to find a way to correct himself quickly. Also, it seems like he has a pretty short term memory in regards to at bats, and it seems like his mindset is in the right place.
Hammel is frustrating. He has a devastating curveball, it is basically unhittable when he’s on. (see the mid seasons rockies/dodgers game)
He’s still got to get some more control with his fastball, and I’d personally like to see a few more MPH. He’d be really tough then.
Also, if anyone has any question as to Todd Helton’s worth to this team, it should be put to rest now.
Look back over the season, when he struggles, the team struggles. When Todd is hitting, not necessarily driving in runs, but purely taking good at bats, good things happen with the team.
Townie,
I have to agree with your statement. I have a DVR and was moving back and forth some after the game. The swing Tulo struck out with in the ninth inning was the exact same swing on which he hit the home run in the first. Tulo is a good player, but he likes to swing for the fences. I’d love to see him adjust his AB’s for the situation. In the ninth, with a runner at third, we just needed another run or two (at the time of his AB) and not necessarily a home run. A single would work just as well for the teams need.
Somehow a lot of these hitters have gotten the mindset they are home run hitters, or that the team needs a home run at that point in time.
They all need to take a depth breath and relax. They know they should be in the playoffs this year and they are protecting it instead of going out and having fun.
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