Game Recap: Rockies 4, Padres 2
Key to the Game
Despite putting in seven innings of work in Saturday’s 14-inning loss to the San Diego Padres, the Colorado Rockies bullpen still had enough steam to close out a 4-2 win in the series finale Sunday.
Ubaldo Jimenez dominated for five-plus innings, but began to labor with two outs in the top of the sixth inning. The Padres scored two runs with a double, two singles and a walk before Jimenez struck out Tony Gwynn Jr. to end the inning.
Manny Corpas, Randy Flores, Matt Daley and Franklin Morales combined for three scoreless innings. Three runners reached base after Jimenez left the game — one hit batsman, one walk and one on an error by Melvin Mora. Jimenez picked up his second win and Morales his second save.
Other Highlights
– Miguel Olivo hit his second home run of the season when Tony Gwynn Jr. nearly caught a fly ball at the wall only to have the momentum carry his glove and the ball over the wall. It turned out to be the winning run in the game.
– Carlos Gonzalez left the game with tightness in his hamstring after scoring the Rockies second run in the third inning.
– Troy Tulowitzki drove into two runs with a bases-loaded single in the third.
– Jason Giambi is still hitless this season, but walked twice and has a .500 on-base percentage.
– Dexter Fowler, who replaced Gonzalez in the outfield, tripled with one out in the fifth inning and scored on a Seth Smith single.
nice win. I was at this game and glad to see a winner, but sorta a long and slow game lots of throws back to first, the ump didn’t seem to be in much of a hurry either…I saw him personally walk the ball to the pitchers multiple times which I thought was unusual.
Believe the reason he was walking the ball to UJ was because Olivo was hit a couple of times and he was trying to give him some time recover. Game was slow, both pitchers were just battling and were laboring. Seems that we are getting a lot of home run swings that are just being long outs right now. Hope the liners come back more frequently. Giambi hit a couple well and his first walk really set up Tulo’s hit well. All in all important thing was to win the series. Good to have the day off tomorrow and then back at it Tuesday.
Good win. Two more errors, however. That’s not going to hack it against a better team. Tulo seems jumpy at the plate — flinching more than I remember on pitches that don’t seem that tight. What’s the deal with that?
Tony Benjamin,
Loveland
You’re right Steve. Ubaldo did get the win but he definitely looked out of gas in the 6th. Maybe it was because today was his 1st sunny, hot day at altitude on the mound? Definitely felt hotter than Friday.
Seemed like Olivo took a beating today. It’s nice to see the bullpen getting up to speed. It’s not so nice to see the errors continue.
Jimenez’ pitch count crossed 100 right around that time, so it’s likely just a matter of it still being early in the season and not being fully stretched out. His second start this season was certainly far better than in 2009.
Steve, thanks for the flashback. It was way better!
I am wondering about Tracy sitting Helton out again on Sunday. I understand and agree with his philosophy of resting him more this year, but he has sat out two games already and had an off-day on Monday. I know Giambi needs at-bats, but Todd needs to get into a rythmn, too.
I’m sure Helton would have started yesterday but when Saturday’s game went 14 Tracy decided to rest him. I like Jim Tracy a great deal but think he made two mistakes in Saturday’s game that may have cost us the game. One was hitting the two lefthanders back to back which bit us late in the game when the Padres only lefthander struck them both out. The other was allowing Hammel to pitch to the 8th place hitter after Venerble hit the bases loaded triple instead of walking him and making Bud Black either pinch hit for the pitcher or send up the pitcher. I was yelling at the TV but Tracy ignored me as usual.
By the way isn’t it funny how are expectations have changed. Ubaldo gives up 2 runs in 6 innings (and it should have been one run but they took away an error from Tulo to give a hit to Yorvit who is slower than molasses) and we think he had a bad game. In years past if our starter went 5 innings and gave up only 3 or 4 runs we would say he pitched pretty good.
Anybody have any idea what the Rocks will do if Smith can’t get it done as a starter? I would think Francis is still weeks away from starting at the best. I would think that eventually they should, at the very least, juggle the rotation so that their two best pitchers, Jimenez and De La Rosa, are #1 and #2 in rotation.
I’m happy they got the win, but I thought it was kind of a sloppy game. Maybe it’s not as bad as I think, but I have to believe we’re one of the worst clubs in the league this early at outs made on the base paths. That could have been a monster inning if Mora isn’t thrown out at third and Tulo picked off with a red hot Hawpe at the plate.
I also was wondering, why didn’t Betancourt throw the 8th? Is Tracy just worried about using him too much this early? It seemed like an obvious choice yesterday but he went with Daley instead.
That run down with Tulo at 1st and Giambi at 3rd was horribly coached and played.
The third baseman was playing Hawpe FAR off the line and Giambi was taking the tinyest of a lead. Then Tulo gets caught in a run down and Giambi for the longest time was still standing near third unguarded.
If the chances are you’re going to get caught on the base paths might as well send the man on third home and make the other team throw a longer throw. I don’t know what Dauer and Giambi were doing.
Betancourt already had appeared in four of the Rockies’ first five games before Sunday, including the three previous games, and that was after getting a late start to the spring. He wasn’t available, nor was Matt Belisle, who pitched two innings in the Rockies’ 14-inning loss the night before. Daley’s 2/3 of an inning Saturday night was his first appearance since last Tuesday, so he was fresher than most Rockies relievers on Sunday.