MLB 15 The Show: Smooth Pancakes' Colorado Rockies Franchise

[SmoothPancakes]

While the Rockies wouldn’t be able to claim a series win over the Astros, they also wouldn’t have to claim a series loss as a ninth inning comeback would let Colorado split a two game road series in Houston.

The first game of the series would see the Rockies claim the first lead, the Astros take control, and then a ninth inning rally for a surprise victory. The first score of the game wouldn’t come until the fourth inning when Troy Tulowitzki, making his first start since May 26th and Carlos Gonzalez hit back to back solo home runs for a 2-0 lead. The fifth inning would be a disaster as both second baseman Daniel Descalso and starting pitcher David Hale were forced to leave the game due to injury on consecutive plays. A very unprepared Boone Logan was forced to take over, and that allowed the Astros to rally. Jon Singleton started it with a single and came home to score on a triple by Luis Valbuena. Valbuena would score on a single by Jake Marisnick. Jose Altuve would get on base with a single and George Springer would wipe them clean with a three run home run off of the train itself in center to take a 5-2 lead. Back to back doubles by Corey Dickerson and Michael McKenry would score one run in the sixth inning, while the Astros would add a run in the seventh off of a Jonathan Villar double and an RBI single by Altuve to go up 6-3. Then the ninth inning would happen. McKenry would lead off with a double, coming home to score on a single by Charlie Blackmon, who would advance to second on the throw home from the outfield. Justin Morneau would single to center and Blackmon would come around to score. Cristhian Adames would smack a double to leave runners at second and third, where the Astros would intentionally walk Nolan Arenado to load the bases with no outs. D.J. LeMahieu would hit a sacrifice fly to right to score Morneau from third. Tulowitzki would hit a single to drive in Adames to give the Rockies a 7-6 lead, followed by both Tulowitzki and Arenado stealing on a successful double steal. That would lead to Gonzalez being intentionally walked to again load the bases, but despite only having one out, the Rockies would be unable to add to their score as Dickerson would fly out and McKenry would ground out to second. It wouldn’t matter however as Rafael Betancourt would shut the door in the bottom of the ninth as the Rockies held on a for a surprising 7-6 victory.

Player of the game was Troy Tulowitzki, who was making his first start since May 26th. Tulowitzki went 3-5 with two singles and a solo home run, scoring one run and driving in two RBI in his return to action. Top hitter for the Astros was Luis Valbuena, going 3-4 with two singles and a triple, scoring one run and one RBI. Another top hitter was George Springer, though only going 1-4, that one hit came on a three run home run, scoring one run and driving in three RBI to cap a five run fifth inning. Winning pitcher was Rex Brothers to improve to 1-1, going 3.0 innings pitched, giving up 4 hits, 1 run, 1 earned run, no walks and 2 strikeouts for a 3.73 ERA. Rafael Betancourt earned his first save with a hitless ninth inning. Starting pitcher David Hale went 4.0 innings pitched, giving up 5 hits, 2 runs, 2 earned runs, no walks and 2 strikeouts for a 4.52 ERA before leaving in the fifth due to injury. Losing pitcher was Luke Gregerson to drop to 1-3, going 0.1 innings pitched, giving up 4 hits, 4 runs, 4 earned runs, 1 walk and no strikeouts for a 6.16 ERA in the ninth inning meltdown. Jose Veras picked up his seventh hold. Starting pitcher Brett Oberholtzer went 7.0 innings pitched, giving up 7 hits, 3 runs, 3 earned runs, no walks and 4 strikeouts for a 5.79 ERA.



The second game would see the Rockies again take an early lead, only to end up blowing it the next inning and never quite recover. The Rockies would score first in the third inning as a ground rule double by Nolan Arenado would be followed by an RBI single by Troy Tulowitzki for a 1-0 lead. The Astros would answer in the bottom of the fourth as Colby Rasmus opened with a single, coming home to score on an RBI double by Jon Singleton, who would advance to third on the throw home from the outfield. Singleton would then cross the plate on a ground out by Luis Valbuena to put the Astros up 2-1. In the fifth inning, Arenado would reach base on a fielder’s choice and eventually come home to score on a single by Tulowitzki, but the tie would be broken in the bottom of the fifth as George Springer would get on base via a hit by pitch, eventually coming around to score on a fielder’s choice by Singleton to give the Astros a 3-2 lead. Houston would add to their lead in the sixth inning as Springer would blast a two run home run to center for a 5-2 advantage. The Rockies would cut the lead to one in the seventh inning as Arenado launched a one out triple and would score on a ground out by D.J. LeMahieu, followed by a solo home run by Tulowitzki to close within 5-4. The Rockies had a chance to tie it or take the lead as they would manage to load the bases after Tulo’s home run, but would be unable to drive another run home. The same would happen in the eighth after a one out triple by Cristhian Adames as back to back strikeouts would end the threat and go on to seal the loss.

Player of the game was George Springer, going 1-3 with a two run home run, scoring one run and driving in two RBI. Top hitter for the Rockies was Troy Tulowitzki, going 3-5 with two singles and a solo home run, scoring one run and driving in three RBI. Winning pitcher was Collin McHugh to improve to 5-5, going 6.2 innings pitched, giving up 10 hits, 4 runs, 4 earned runs, no walks and 6 strikeouts for a 3.98 ERA. Chad Qualls (4th) and Pat Neshek (14th) both got credit for holds, while Luke Gregerson picked up his eighteenth save. Losing pitcher was Eddie Butler to drop to 2-7, going 5.0 innings pitched, giving up 9 hits, 4 runs, 4 earned runs, 1 walk and 6 strikeouts for a 7.88 ERA.


Colorado – 7-13-0
Houston – 6-12-0

Colorado – 4-12-0
Houston – 5-11-2


And so the Rockies would hang on just one game above the .500 mark as they returned home for 8 games over the next 9 days with series again the Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers and Arizona Diamondbacks.

[SmoothPancakes]

Houston Astros (28-38) vs Colorado Rockies (33-32)
June 17-18, 2015
Coors Field - Denver, Colorado

Probable Starters:

Game One - Wednesday 6:40 PM
Dallas Keuchel (4-5, 3.03 ERA) vs Tyler Chatwood (6-4, 3.76 ERA)

Game Two - Thursday 1:10 PM
Asher Wojciechowski (2-3, 1.21 ERA) vs Kyle Kendrick (6-1, 2.54 ERA)

Upcoming Opponents:
vs Milwaukee (3 games), vs Arizona (3 games), at San Francisco (3 games)


The Rockies would neither lose ground nor make up ground as they split a two game series in Houston. Now the team would return home to the friendly confines of Coors Field for another two game set against the Astros.

[steelerfan]

2 games down, 2 to go. Come on, Astros!

[SmoothPancakes]

After the sixth inning of the second game in Colorado, I hate the Astros. Damn I needed lube, even despite what the final score would end up being. I'm lucky it wasn't worse.

[SmoothPancakes]

The Rockies would again split a two game series against the Astros, this time at home, winning via blowout and losing on a comeback that would see the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth, only to come up short thanks to a game ending double play.

The first game of the series would see the Rockies jump out early and often as the game turned into a blowout by the sixth inning. The Rockies would open the scoring in the third inning with a two run home run by Troy Tulowitzki. They’d add three more runs in the fourth as Nick Hundley and Charlie Blackmon both reached on singles and would score on a two RBI triple by Justin Morneau. Morneau would then score on a single to right by pitcher Tyler Chatwood. Tulowitzki would hit his second home run of the game, a solo shot, in the fifth inning to build a 6-0 lead. The Astros would plate one run in the sixth as a sacrifice fly by Evan Gattis would score Luis Valbuena from first for a 6-1 score. The Rockies would respond in the bottom of the sixth with a solo home run by Blackmon and a three run home run by Hundley in the seventh inning to go up 10-1. The scoring would close out in the eighth inning with a Michael McKenry leadoff single to center, an RBI triple by Nolan Arenado to score McKenry, and a sacrifice fly by D.J. LeMahieu to bring across Arenado for a 12-1 win.

Player of the game was Troy Tulowitzki, going 3-5 with a single and two home runs, one a two run shot and the other a solo blast, finishing with three runs scored and three RBI. Another top hitter was Charlie Blackmon who would end perfect, going 4-4 with three singles and a solo home run, scoring one run and one RBI. Top hitter for the Astros was Jose Altuve, going 3-4 with three singles. Winning pitcher was Tyler Chatwood to improve to 7-4, going 8.0 innings pitched, giving up 7 hits, 1 run, 1 earned run, 1 walk and 5 strikeouts for a 3.51 ERA. Losing pitcher was Dallas Keuchel to drop to 4-6, going 4.0 innings pitched, giving up 9 hits, 5 runs, 5 earned runs, no walks and 2 strikeouts for a 3.43 ERA.



The second game would see a low scoring affair early on, turn into a blowout, that would then turn into a near comeback that would fall just short. The first score wouldn’t come until the fifth inning, when Charlie Blackmon led off with a solo home run to right. Everything would fall apart in the sixth. Despite getting a quick first out, the second two would be near impossible. Jose Altuve would start with a one out triple, coming home to score on an infield since by Georgie Springer. Springer would steal second and advance to third on a Evan Gattis single. Colby Rasmus would double to center to score Springer and move Gattis to third, followed by an infield single by Jon Singleton to load the bases. After a strikeout for the merciful second out, pitcher Asher Wojciechowski would clear the bases as he would hit a double to center to score Gattis, Rasmus and Singleton all. Wojciechowski would then score on a line drive by Jed Lowrie that would also turn into a fielding error on Carlos Gonzalez for a 6 run inning to go up 6-1. Two more runs would cross in the seventh inning as Singleton smoked an RBI double to center and would come around to score on a line drive single to left by Jason Castro and then one more run in the eighth inning as Altuve would get on by way of a double, coming home to score on a fielding error by first baseman Justin Morneau on a hit by Springer, giving Houston a 9-1 lead.

But the Rockies wouldn’t give up. D.J. LeMahieu and Troy Tulowitzki would lead off with back to back singles, both runners advancing to second and third during the throw in from the outfield to third base. Gonzalez would then double to left to score both runners. Gonzalez would score on a Corey Dickerson triple, who would then score on a Michael McKenry double, who would advance to third on a ground out by Blackmon. McKenry would cross the plate on a line drive single to left by Justin Morneau, capping off a 5 run eighth inning to close the gap to 9-6. The bottom of the ninth inning would see LeMahieu and Tulowitzki both lead off with singles again, followed by a strikeout by Gonzalez. Dickerson would ground a single to left field to score LeMahieu and move Tulowitzki up to second. The Rockies would load the bases when McKenry reached first based on a throwing error by Lowrie, but with the bases loaded, Blackmon would end up hitting into a double play to the shortstop, killing the rally and ending the game in a 9-7 defeat.

Player of the game was Jose Altuve, going 3-5 with two doubles and a triple and scoring two runs. Another top hitter, by way of most RBIs, was pitcher Asher Wojciechowski, going 1-4 with his first double of the year, scoring one run and driving in three RBI. Top hitter for the Rockies was Corey Dickerson, going 2-5 with a single and a triple, scoring one run and driving in two RBI. Winning pitcher was Asher Wojciechowski to improve to 3-3, going 7.0 innings pitched, giving up 11 hits, 4 runs, 4 earned runs, no walks and 7 strikeouts for a 1.74 ERA. Luke Gregerson picked up his nineteenth save. Losing pitcher was Kyle Kendrick to drop to 6-2, going 5.2 innings pitched, giving up 9 hits, 6 runs, 6 earned runs, no walks and 6 strikeouts for a 3.04 ERA, as well as two hit batters.


Houston – 1-8-1
Colorado – 12-17-1

Houston – 9-15-1
Colorado – 7-17-2


And so the Rockies would split the second two game series with the Astros, and would remain just a lone game above .500, heading into a three game series with the much improved Milwaukee Brewers. The loss, and two consecutive wins by the Los Angeles Dodgers, would drop now to three full games back of the Dodgers for first place in the NL West, and leave the Rockies just one game ahead of the Arizona Diamondbacks for third place in the division. Amazingly, the Rockies would still be left holding on to the second Wild Card spot with a one game advantage over the Arizona Diamondbacks, a 1.5 game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals and Miami Marlins and a 2.5 game lead over the Chicago Cubs and San Francisco Giants.

[SmoothPancakes]

Milwaukee Brewers (35-33) vs Colorado Rockies (34-33)
June 19-21, 2015
Coors Field - Denver, Colorado

Probable Starters:

Game One - Friday 6:40 PM
Wily Peralta (2-6, 3.18 ERA) vs Jordan Lyles (4-4, 3.16 ERA)

Game Two - Saturday 2:10 PM
Jimmy Nelson (5-5, 4.40 ERA) vs David Hale (3-4, 4.52 ERA)

Game Three - Sunday 2:10 PM
Kyle Lohse (6-1, 2.67 ERA) vs Eddie Butler (2-7, 7.88 ERA)

Upcoming Opponents:
vs Arizona (3 games), at San Francisco (3 games), at Oakland (3 games)


The Rockies would again neither lose ground nor make up ground as they split a two game series this time in Denver. The Rockies would now be left trying to make up ground against a much improved Milwaukee Brewers club, a different team than they faced on Opening Day.

[steelerfan]

2-2. A split. I guess we'll both just have to live with it.

[SmoothPancakes]

2-2. A split. I guess we'll both just have to live with it.

I'm happy I guess. It could have been 4-0. Bases loaded with a chance to tie or win in game two in Houston. And that comeback to pull within two runs in game two in Denver. I suppose a split's not terrible.

[SmoothPancakes]

Some breaking news on Friday night. Following the completion of their game against Milwaukee, the Rockies announced a trade had been completed with the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals had approached the Rockies back on Tuesday inquiring about first baseman Justin Morneau. It would turn out both front offices were able to find a deal they could be happy with, with the Rockies shipping starting first baseman Justin Morneau (33 years old, 81, B) to St. Louis in return for backup center fielder Randal Grichuk (23 years old, 75, C) and prospect first baseman Jonathan Rodriguez (25 years old, 65, C).

1B Justin Morneau
Age 33, B/T L/R
81 OVR, B POT
.246, 4 HR, 27 RBI in 203 AB with Colorado
Assigned as starting first baseman for the Cardinals, replacing Matt Adams (26 years old, 75. C)


CF Randal Grichuk
Age 23, B/T R/R
75 OVR, C POT
.210, 4 HR, 22 RBI in 238 AB with St. Louis
Assigned as backup outfielder for the Rockies, taking the place of the injured Drew Stubbs due to his stint on the 60 day DL.

1B Jonathan Rodriguez
Age 25, B/T R/R
63 OVR, C POT
.231, 4 HR, 12 RBI in 65 AB with St. Louis AA affiliate Springfield Cardinals
Assigned to AA New Britain


In related roster news, the Rockies would name Wilin Rosario the new starting first baseman in Morneau's absence. Grichuk, who was a backup center fielder to Peter Bourjos in St. Louis, would remain a backup in Colorado, although he will be given a fair chance to challenge current starting center fielder Charlie Blackmon for the job. It has been undecided if LF Kyle Parker will be sent back to AAA Albuquerque to make room for a backup first baseman or if he will remain in the majors as a second backup outfielder with Grichuk. Parker has first base as a secondary position, so for now he will be considered the backup at first base until it is decided whether or not to bring a full time first baseman up from AAA Albuquerque, which would result in Parker being sent back down to AAA.

[SmoothPancakes]

The Rockies would start the Milwaukee series in good fashion, then firmly faceplant themselves in games two and three on their way to a series loss that would leave them sitting exactly .500 on the season.

The first game of the series would see a blowout as the Rockies would jump on top instantly. First inning singles by Daniel Descalso and Cristhian Adames would be followed by a two run single to left by Corey Dickerson to score both runners. After a single by Michael McKenry to get on base, Charlie Blackmon would bring both McKenry and Dickerson home on a two out triple to give Colorado a quick 4-0 lead. The Rockies would add two more runs in the third inning as McKenry launched a two run home run, while a fourth inning single by Adames would score Arenado from second for a 7-0 lead. Milwaukee would get on board in the seventh inning as an RBI single by Hernan Perez and an RBI single by Luis Sardinas would score two runs, but the Rockies would respond in the bottom of the seventh with a line drive single by Dickerson to driving in Adames for an 8-2 win.

Player of the game was also the winning pitcher was Jordan Lyles improve to 5-4, going 7.0 innings pitched, giving up 5 hits, two runs, one earned run, two walks and 9 strikeouts for a 3.01 ERA. Losing pitcher was Wily Peralta to drop to 2-7, going 3.0 innings pitched, giving up 9 hits, 6 runs, 6 earned runs, no walks and no strikeouts for a 3.79 ERA. Top hitter for the Rockies was Cristhian Adames, going 3-4 with three singles, scoring two runs and driving in one RBI. Another top hitter was Corey Dickerson, going 2-4 with two singles, scoring one run and driving in three RBI. Another top hitter was Michael McKenry, going 2-4 with a single and a home run, scoring two runs and driving in two RBI. Top hitter for the Brewers was Gerardo Parra, going 2-4 with two singles and a run scored.



The second game would see most runs come in a flurry in the fourth inning. The Brewers would break the tie first as Jonathan Lucroy got on with a single and would be driven home on a Khris Davis triple. Davis would then score on a double by Adam Lind. Gomez would smack a double to shallow left to put runners on second and third for Aramis Ramirez, who would hit a sacrifice fly to the right field wall to score both Lind and Gomez to give the Brewers a 4-0 lead. The Rockies would answer with back to back singles by D.J. LeMahieu to lead off the bottom of the fourth, with both coming home to score on a hit to center by Carlos Gonzalez. A fielding error on the center fielder would allow Gonzalez to reach second base and both runners to head home. Gonzalez would eventually come around to score on a sacrifice fly by Nick Hundley to trail 4-3. The Brewers would put the game away in the eighth inning as Luis Sardinas and Lucroy led off with singles, followed by a double to right by Davis to score both Sardinas and Lucroy. A ground single to left by Carlos Gomez would score Davis to give the Brewers the 7-3 win.

Player of the game was Khris Davis, going 2-4 with a double and a triple, scoring two runs and driving in three RBI. Another top hitter was Carlos Gomez, going 3-4 with two singles and a double, scoring one run and one RBI. Top hitter for the Rockies was Troy Tulowitzki, going 2-4 with a run scored. Carlos Gonzalez would go 0-4, but due to a fielding error, he would score one run and drive in two RBI. Winning pitcher was Jimmy Nelson to improve to 6-5, going 8.0 innings pitched, giving up 3 hits, 3 runs, 2 earned runs, no walks and 3 strikeouts for a 4.19 ERA. Losing pitcher was David Hale to drop to 3-5, going 5.0 innings pitched, giving up 7 hits, 4 runs, 4 earned runs, no walks and 4 strikeouts for a 4.70 ERA.



The third game of the series would see everything go to hell in the first inning. To say starter Eddie Butler had a bad day would be the understatement of all understatements. It would all start with a leadoff Jean Segura single to left, who would score on a triple by Luis Sardinas. Sardinas would score on a single to right by Jonathan Lucroy. Carlos Gomez and Aramis Ramirez would follow with singles to load the bases. Lucroy would come home to score on a ground out to Arenado, followed by a single to center by Jason Rogers to score both Gomez and Ramirez to put the Brewers up 5-0 and only one out. After a ground out for out number two, pitcher Kyle Lohse would ground a single to right to score Rogers, followed by a two run home run by Segura to cap off an 8 run first inning. The Rockies would answer with a solo home run by Troy Tulowitzki. The Brewers would add another run in the second inning off a sacrifice fly by Gerardo Parra and in the third inning from a Sardinas ground out to first base to score Segura from third for a 10-1 lead.

The Rockies would find a little life in the bottom of the third as Cristhian Adames would lead off with a triple and come home to score on an Arenado single. After a double play, Tulowitzki would reach on a single and come home on a two run home run by Carlos Gonzalez. The Brewers would add one more run in the fifth inning thanks to a solo home run by starting pitcher Lohse, in the sixth inning thanks to a solo home run by Gomez, and in the seventh inning on an RBI ground out by Lohse to score Rogers from third to put Milwaukee up 13-4. The Rockies would manage two more runs in the seventh inning as Wilin Rosario led off with a single to right and would score on a pinch hit triple by Randal Grichuk. Grichuk would then score on a sacrifice fly to center by Arenado. The final run of the game would come in the eighth inning as Corey Dickerson launched a solo home run to right field for a 13-7 final score.

Player of the game was Jean Segura, going 3-5 with a single, a triple and a home run, scoring three runs and driving in two RBI. Another top hitter was Luis Sardinas, going 3-5 with a single, a double and a triple, scoring one run and driving in two RBI. Another top hitter was Carlos Gomez, going 3-5 with two singles and a solo home run, scoring three runs and driving in one RBI. And another top hitter was starting pitcher Kyle Lohse, going 2-4 with a single and a solo home run, scoring two rusn and driving in three RBI. Top hitter for the Rockies was Troy Tulowitzki, going 3-4 with two singles and a home run, scoring one run and one RBI. Winning pitcher was Kyle Lohse to improve to 7-1, going 6.0 innings pitched, giving up 12 hits, 6 runs, 6 earned runs, no walks and 2 strikeouts for a 3.07 ERA. Jonathan Broxton picked up his eleventh hold. Losing pitcher was Eddie Butler to drop to 2-8, going 1.0 inning pitched, by far the shortest outing of a Rockies starting pitcher this season, giving up 7 hits, 8 runs, 8 earned runs, no walks and no strikeouts for a 8.86 ERA.


Milwaukee – 2-6-1
Colorado – 8-15-1

Milwaukee – 7-13-1
Colorado – 3-3-0

Milwaukee – 13-15-0
Colorado – 7-13-0


And so the Rockies would go right back to losing series and falling further and further into a potentially irrecoverable hole, as they would now be left sitting at .500 for the 2015 season with a record of 35-35, this after at one point having a near the top of the Majors record of 27-18 back on May 25th. Since then, the Rockies have tail spun their way to an 8-17 mark that has them slowly fading out of contention for the NL West, now trailing the Los Angeles Dodgers by four games.

[SmoothPancakes]

With Monday being a scheduled off day, the Rockies have announced a press conference for 10 AM Monday morning.

[SmoothPancakes]

On Monday morning the Colorado Rockies held a press conference to announce changes that had been made in the last 24 hours, and would still be coming, to the Rockies organization.

While having one of the top hitting teams in the majors, the losses have started racking up, and it has been because of a major letdown by the team's starting pitchers. As of Monday, June 23rd, the Rockies as a team ranks 29th in ERA in the Majors with a 4.21 ERA, second worst only to the Cleveland Indians, who own a 4.27 ERA. The club is also 29th in saves with a mere 13, tied for 21st with 11 blown saves, is tied for 26th with 663 hits allowed, dead last with 343 runs allowed, dead last with 302 earned runs allowed. The only saving grace, if you want to call it that, is that the Rockies are tied for 7th with only 54 home runs allowed. They are also first in strikeouts with 678 so far, also joined by the Cleveland Indians (dead last brothers in ERA, fighting for first in strikeouts) who sit second with 659.

Clearly changes are necessary if the Rockies have any hope of overcoming this rough stretch in the season and climbing back to the top of the NL West. The first change was announced by Colorado Rockies General Manger Jeff Bridich, who stated that 48-year old pitching coach Walt Stuart had been relieved of duties, paying out the remaining $1.7 million left on his contract.

After doing a candidate search over the weekend in advance of an expected change, Bridich announced the hiring of 45-year old Bryan Bates to take over pitching coach duties for the club. Bates and club officials agreed to a three year, $3.5 million contract that will pay roughly $1.2 million a year.

Walt Stuart
-1 Break
-1 H/9
-2 Clutch
-1 Velocity

Bryan Bates
+3 Stamina
+1 Break
+3 K/9
-2 BB/9


In organizational news, the Rockies announced that starting pitcher Eddie Butler was being optioned to AAA Albuquerque. In 14 starts, Eddie Butler has a record of 2-8 with a 8.86 ERA in 65.0 innings pitched while a starting pitcher for the Rockies.

To take Butler's spot in the starting rotation, the Rockies recalled starting pitcher Tyler Matzek from AAA, making Matzek the new #5 pitcher in the starting rotation. Matzek has gone 3-2 with a 2.77 ERA in 52.0 innings pitched for AAA Albuquerque. He also has a season record of 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA in Colorado when he made a spot start for Jordan Lyles and got the victory over Cincinnati at the end of May.

In AAA, Jon Gray will become the new #1 starter, taking over the top role from Matzek.

Elsewhere, the Rockies made a decision to option left fielder Kyle Parker back to AAA Albuquerque after Parker's struggles at the plate in Colorado, managing just three hits and one RBI off the bench since being called up. With the acquisition of Randal Grichuk from St. Louis, Parker is no longer a necessity on the bench. Parker will return to Albuquerque where he was batting .308 with 6 home runs and 44 RBI for the Isotopes before he was brought up to fill in for the injured Drew Stubbs.

To replace Kyle Parker on the Rockies bench, the Rockies purchased the contract of first baseman Matt McBride from AAA Albuquerque and added him to the 40-man roster, immediately promoting him to Colorado. McBride will fill in as a backup to starting first baseman Wilin Rosario and will also help fill in as needed on a fatigue basis in the outfield with secondary positions of left and right field. McBride has been averaging .272 at the plate with 8 HR and 33 RBI in 202 at-bats for the AAA Isotopes this season.

[SmoothPancakes]

Arizona Diamondbacks (34-36) vs Colorado Rockies (35-35)
June 23-25, 2015
Coors Field - Denver, Colorado

Probable Starters:

Game One - Tuesday 6:40 PM
Jeremy Hellickson (2-7, 4.21 ERA) vs Tyler Chatwood (7-4, 3.51 ERA)

Game Two - Wednesday 6:40 PM
Archie Bradley (4-5, 5.80 ERA) vs Kyle Kendrick (6-2, 3.04 ERA)

Game Three - Thursday 1:10 PM
Josh Collmenter (6-5, 3.40 ERA) vs Jordan Lyles (5-4, 3.01 ERA)

Upcoming Opponents:
at San Francisco (3 games), at Oakland (3 games), at Arizona (4 games)


The Rockies would be left standing on the edge of the cliff, as losing the weekend series against Milwaukee left them sitting with a .500 record of 35-35. A series win over the Diamondbacks would get the Rockies back above .500 and hopefully back in the race to catch up to the Los Angeles Dodgers. A series loss to the Diamondbacks would leave the Rockies sitting 1 or 3 games under .500 and likely in third place behind both the Dodgers and the Diamondbacks, at that point, just trying to keep the head above water in an attempt to keep from sinking all the way to the NL West basement.

[SmoothPancakes]

The organization received bad news on Thursday, when word was released that J.R. Graham, who the Rockies obtained in a trade from Minnesota back in early May, suffered a dislocated shoulder during relief work in AAA Albuquerque's game that evening. The injury was expected to leave him sidelined for 2-3 months, landing him straight onto the 60 day DL and likely ending his season.

In a related move, the Rockies announced the promotion of AA New Britain relief pitcher Chad Bettis (25 years old, 59, C) to AAA Albuquerque. In 44 games and 53.0 innings pitched for AA New Britain, Bettis holds a record of 5-2 with a 3.06 ERA, giving up 60 hits and 5 home runs with 47 strikeouts.

[SmoothPancakes]

The Rockies would use a couple displays of offensive firepower and a tenth inning walk off to earn only their third series sweep of the season in three wins against Arizona.

The first game of the series would see an early Arizona lead turn into a colossal Colorado blowout. Arizona jumped out quickly in the first inning with a solo home run by Chris Owings, an RBI single by David Peralta to score Mark Trumbo from second, and a single by Jarrod Saltalamacchia to drive in Peralta for a 3-0 lead. The Rockies would answer in the bottom of the second as Carlos Gonzalez led off with a single to left, coming in to score on a triple by Corey Dickerson. Dickerson would then score on a sacrifice fly by Charlie Blackmon to cut the score to 3-2. After a solo home run by Peralta to give Arizona a 4-2 advantage, the Rockies would take the lead on a three run home run by Troy Tulowitzki and an RBI triple by Dickerson to put the Rockies up 6-4. From there it would turn into a blowout as the Rockies put up 3 runs in the fourth, 1 in the fifth, 6 in the sixth, 1 in the seventh and a huge 7 runs in the eighth inning, all seven RBIs coming on singles, the Arizona managing 2 runs in the fifth inning for a 24-6 destruction of the Diamondbacks.

Player of the game was Troy Tulowitzki, going 4-5 with a single, a triple and two home runs, scoring five runs and driving in seven RBI. Another top hitter was Carlos Gonzalez who went a perfect 6-6 with six singles, four runs scored and one RBI. Another was Charlie Blackmon, going 3-5 with a single, a double and a triple, scoring three runs and driving in three RBI. Top hitter for the Diamondbacks was Chris Owings, going 2-4 with two home runs, two runs and three RBIs driven in. Winning pitcher was Tyler Chatwood to improve to 8-4, going 5.0 innings pitched, giving up 8 hits, 6 runs, 6 earned runs, no walks and 6 strikeouts for a 3.91 ERA. Tommy Kahnle (9th) and Christian Friedrich (3rd) both received credit for holds. Losing pitcher was Jeremy Hellickson to drop to 2-8, going 3.0 innings pitched, giving up 9 hits, 7 runs, 7 earned runs, no walks and no strikeouts for a 4.84 ERA.



The second game would see a close game early turn into a cakewalk. The Rockies scored first in the second inning on a leadoff triple by Corey Dickerson, followed by a sacrifice fly by Michael McKenry to take a 1-0 lead. The Diamondbacks would tie it in the fourth when Mark Trumbo scored from second on a Jarrod Saltalamacchia fly out at the center field wall. The Rockies would answer in the bottom of the fourth with a two run home run by Dickerson and a two RBI triple by Nolan Arenado to score both Charlie Blackmon and rookie Matt McBride to take a 5-1 lead. A two RBI double by Trumbo in the fifth inning would cut the lead to two, but a solo home run by Tulowitzki in the bottom of the fifth, an RBI triple by Cristhian Adames and a sacrifice fly by Arenado to score Adames in the sixth inning and a pinch hit solo home run by Randal Grichuk in the eighth inning would propel the Rockies to a 9-3 win.

Player of the game was Corey Dickerson, going 2-4 with a triple and a two run home run, scoring two runs and driving in two RBI. Top hitter for the Diamondbacks was Mark Trumbo, going 2-4 with a single and a double, scoring one run and driving in two RBI. Winning pitcher was Kyle Kendrick to improve to 7-2, going 6.0 innings pitched, giving up 9 hits, 3 runs, 3 earned runs, no walks and 5 strikeouts for a 3.14 ERA. Tommy Kahnle picked up his tenth hold. Losing pitcher was Archie Bradley to drop to 4-6, going 4.0 innings pitched, giving up 9 hits, 5 runs, 5 earned runs, no walks and a 2 strikeouts for a 6.09 ERA.



The third game of the series would see both teams struggled to score until the ninth inning, followed by a walk off home run in extras. Neither team would find the scoreboard for eight innings, both teams struggling just to get runners on base. The Rockies would come the closest to scoring in the seventh inning as D.J. LeMahieu smoked a one out triple, but a ground out to third base and a strikeout would kill the scoring chance. The Diamondbacks would break the scoreless tie in the top of the ninth inning as Ender Inciarte reached base on a single to left, coming home to score on a sacrifice hit and a single to center by Paul Goldschmidt for a 1-0 lead. The Rockies would answer in the bottom of the ninth as pinch hitter Randal Grichuk hit a single to center, stole second and would come home to score the tying run on a single by Nolan Arenado to send the game to extra innings. The game would come to an end in the bottom of the tenth inning when Carlos Gonzalez hit a one out single to left, followed by a two out walk off home run to right by Nick Hundley for a 3-1 victory and the series sweep.

Player of the game was Nick Hundley, going 1-4 with a two run home run, scoring one run and driving in two RBI. Top hitter for the Diamondbacks was Paul Goldschmidt, going 1-4 with a single and one RBI driven in. Winning pitcher was John Axford to improve to 2-3, going 1.0 inning pitched, giving up no hits, no runs, no walks and 1 strikeout for a 4.06 ERA in the tenth inning. Starting pitcher Jordan Lyles went 7.0 innings pitched, giving up 4 hits, no runs, no walks and 6 strikeouts for a 2.79 ERA. Losing pitcher was Oliver Perez to drop to 2-3, going 0.2 innings pitched, giving up 2 hits, 2 runs, 2 earned runs, no walks and no strikeouts for a 3.66 ERA. Addison Reed was tagged with his fourth blown save. Starting pitcher Josh Collmenter went 8.1 innings pitched, giving up 3 hits, 1 run, 1 earned run, no walks and 6 strikeouts for a 3.19 ERA.


Arizona – 6-9-1
Colorado – 24-29-1

Arizona – 3-9-0
Colorado – 9-14-1

Arizona – 1-6-0
Colorado – 3-6-0


And so the Rockies would pull out a surprising series sweep and start again showing signs of life and a possibility of turning the season around before it became irrecoverable.

[SmoothPancakes]

Colorado Rockies (38-35) vs San Francisco Giants (35-39)
June 26-28, 2015
AT&T Park - San Francisco, California

Probable Starters:

Game One - Friday 7:15 PM
David Hale (3-5, 4.70 ERA) vs Madison Bumgarner (5-4, 2.07 ERA)

Game Two - Saturday 1:05 PM
Tyler Matzek (1-0, 1.50 ERA) vs Jake Peavy (7-3, 1.60 ERA)

Game Three - Sunday 1:05 PM
Tyler Chatwood (8-4, 3.91 ERA) vs Tommy Hanson (3-2, 4.01 ERA)

Upcoming Opponents:
at Oakland (3 games), at Arizona (4 games), vs Los Angeles Angels (2 games)


A three game sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks would pull the Rockies back from the brink of a sub-.500 record, and get them back within striking distance of the Los Angeles Dodgers for first place in the NL West, a timely three game losing streak by the Dodgers allowing Colorado to pull within 1.5 games of first place, as well as gain breathing from the third place team, now taken over by the San Francisco Giants, 3.5 games behind the Rockies. The sweep would also pull the Rockies a half game ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers for the top Wild Card spot in the National League.

[SmoothPancakes]

Colorado's pitching corps would continue to be ravaged by injuries on Friday evening, this time AA New Britain starting pitcher Peter Lambert, who was just called up from A Modesto in recent weeks, suffering a fractured hand during his start. The injury would leave him sidelined for 1-2 months, landing him a spot on the 60 day DL.

As if one more pitcher being injured wasn't already bad news, AAA Albuquerque starting pitcher Yohan Flande also left with injury on Friday, though thankfully for a less severe reason, simply suffering lower back pain that would leave him day to day.

[SmoothPancakes]

The Rockies would show signs of life at the plate, but the pitching would again become a letdown, leading to another lost series on the schedule.

The first game of the series would see a back and forth affair with the Rockies in punching distance, until a disastrous eighth inning would give the Giants a rout. The Rockies would get on the board in the top of the first, as D.J. LeMahieu came home from third on a bases loaded fielder’s choice. The Giants would answer back with a two run single by Buster Posey to give the Giants a 2-1 lead. A third inning home run by Hunter Pence and a fourth inning home run by Corey Dickerson would up the score to 3-2. The Rockies would manage to tie it in the sixth inning with a solo home run by Michael McKenry, the Giants would retake the lead with a seventh inning sacrifice fly by Angel Pagan, and the Rockies would slug right back with a solo home run by Randal Grichuk to leave the game deadlocked at 4-4. Then the wheels would fall off in the eighth inning with Adam Ottavino on the mound. A leadoff triple by Brandon Belt followed with a RBI double by Pence. Pence would score on a RBI double by Gregor Blanco, who would score on a RBI single by Brandon Crawford, who advanced to second on the throw to home. After a strikeout and a ground out, Crawford would score on a double to right by Nori Aoki, who would then sore on a double to right by Pagan to cap off a 5 run eighth inning for the Giants, turning a 4-4 tied game into a 9-4 landslide victory for the home crowd.

Player of the game was Hunter Pence, going 2-4 with a double and a solo home run, scoring two runs and driving in two RBI. Another top hitter was Angel Pagan, going 2-4 with a single and a double, scoring one run and driving in two RBI. Top hitter for the Rockies was Michael McKenry, going 2-4 with a single and a solo home run, scoring one run and one RBI. Another top hitter was Randal Grichuk, going 2-4 with a single and a solo home run, scoring one run and one RBI. Winning pitcher was Javier Lopez to improve to 2-3, going 0.2 innings pitched, giving up 1 hit and no runs, walks or strikeouts for a 2.39 ERA. George Kontos got tagged with his first blown save. Starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner went 6.0 innings pitched, giving up 7 hits, 3 runs, 3 earned runs, no walks and 6 strikeouts for a 2.21 ERA. Losing pitcher was Adam Ottavino to drop to 2-5, going 0.2 innings pitched, giving up 6 hits, 5 runs, 5 earned runs, no walks and 1 strikeout for a 3.15 ERA. Starting pitcher David Hale went 6.0 innings pitched, giving up 7 hits, 3 runs, 3 earned runs, no walks and 5 strikeouts for a 4.68 ERA.



The second game would see Tyler Matzek get off to a rough start in just his second MLB game, but eventually settle down and help pitch the Rockies to a two run victory. The Giants would light up Matzek in the bottom of the first inning for three hits and two runs with a Nori Aoki solo home run, a Buster Posey triple to center and a RBI ground out by Brandon Belt to score Posey for a 2-0 lead. The Rockies would answer in the fourth inning on a double by Carlos Gonzalez, a RBI triple by Michael McKenry and a RBI single by Randal Grichuk to tie the game 2-2. Colorado would seize the lead in the seventh inning for good on a leadoff single by Grichuk, a RBI triple by Charlie Blackmon and a RBI single by Nolan Arenado to grab a 4-2 lead and eventually the win.

Player of the game was Carlos Gonzalez going 2-4 with two doubles and a run scored. Top hitter for the Giants was Nori Aoki, going 2-4 with a single, a solo home run, one run scored and one RBI. Winning pitcher was Tyler Matzek to improve to 2-0, going 6.0 innings pitched, giving up 6 hits, 2 runs, 2 earned runs, 1 walk and 5 strikeouts for a 2.25 ERA. Tommy Kahnle (11th) and Boone Logan (2nd) both received credit for holds, while John Axford picked up his tenth save of the year (not a good sign to only have ten saves by the end of June). Losing pitcher was Jake Peavy to drop to 7-4, going 6.0 innings pitched, giving up 8 hits, 3 runs, 3 earned runs, no walks and 3 strikeouts for a 1.78 ERA.



The third game of the series would see both teams score early as the Rockies jumped out in the first inning with a two RBI double by Randal Grichuk for a 2-0 lead, followed by a two run home run by Brandon Belt to pull the Giants even 2-2. The Rockies would add a run in the second inning on a RBI single by Nolan Arenado and again in the fifth inning on a line drive RBI single by Corey Dickerson to take a 4-2 lead. Colorado would seemingly put the game away in the eighth inning when Troy Tulowitzki drove in Charlie Blackmon on a RBI single, Arenado tripled to right to score Tulowitzki, and D.J. LeMahieu grounded a single to right to score Arenado for a three run inning and a 7-2 lead. Then the wheels fell off in the bottom of the eighth. Nori Aoki led off with a double and would score on a Buster Posey single to left. Posey would score on a Belt double to center, Hunter Pence smacked a double to right to leave runners at second and third, and Brandon Crawford would drill a two RBI single to center to score both Belt and Pence for a four run inning, pulling the Giants within one run, 7-6. San Francisco would finish the comeback in the ninth inning with Aoki scoring from third on a wild pitch, Belt reaching base on a walk, and Pence lining a double to center to score Belt and giving the Giants an 8-7 come from behind victory.

Player of the game was Brandon Belt, going 2-4 with a double and a home run, scoring three runs and driving in three RBI. Another top hitter was Hunter Pence, going 3-4 with a single and two doubles, scoring one run and one RBI. Top hitter for the Rockies was Nolan Arenado, going 2-5 with a single and a triple, scoring one run and driving in two RBI. Winning pitcher was Santiago Casilla to improve to 1-3, going 1.0 innings pitched, giving up no hits, runs or walks while striking out 1 for a 3.23 ERA. Starting pitcher Chris Heston went 4.2 innings pitched, giving up 12 hits, 4 runs, 4 earned runs, no walks and no strikeouts for a 3.71 ERA. Losing pitcher was John Axford to drop to 2-4, going 0.2 innings pitched, giving up 2 hits, 2 runs, 2 earned runs, 1 walk and 1 strikeout for a 4.41 ERA. Rex Brothers picked up his fourth hold. Starting pitcher Tyler Chatwood went 7.0 innings pitched, giving up 5 hits, 2 runs, 2 earned runs, 2 walks and 6 strikeouts for a 3.82 ERA.


Colorado – 4-11-1
San Francisco – 9-14-0

Colorado – 4-13-0
San Francisco – 2-8-0

Colorado – 7-18-0
San Francisco – 8-13-0


While the Rockies would again lose another series, restarting another disturbing trend this close to the All-Star break, the Rockies would pull within a half game of first place in the NL West, courtesy of a three game losing streak by the Los Angeles Dodgers, who have lost 7 of their last 9 games.

[SmoothPancakes]

Colorado Rockies (39-37) vs Oakland Athletics (45-33)
June 29-July 1, 2015
O.co Coliseum - Oakland, California

Probable Starters:

Game One - Monday 7:05 PM
Kyle Kendrick (7-2, 3.14 ERA) vs Drew Pomeranz (7-4, 2.74 ERA)

Game Two - Tuesday 7:05 PM
Jordan Lyles (5-4, 2.79 ERA) vs Scott Kazmir (3-3, 3.86 ERA)

Game Three - Wednesday 12:35 PM
David Hale (3-5, 4.68 ERA) vs Sonny Gray (4-6, 2.85 ERA)

Upcoming Opponents:
at Arizona (4 games), vs Los Angeles Angels (2 games), vs Atlanta Braves (4 games)


Another series loss would surprisingly not hurt the Rockies too badly, thanks to the first place Los Angeles Dodgers losing 7 of their last 9 games, leaving the Rockies just a mere half game out of first place in the NL West. To reclaim first place in the division, the Rockies would have to battle and defeat the first place team in the AL West, the Oakland Athletics. It would likely not be an easy task as the Athletics themselves are in a battle to hold onto first place in the AL West, leading both the Seattle Mariners and the Texas Rangers by just a single game.

[SmoothPancakes]

In other news, the Rockies announced the contract signings of a number of their picks from the 2015 MLB Draft.

The Rockies and the #2 overall draft pick 1B Beau Brunson (22 years old, 75, A) agreed to a one-year minor league contract valued at $130,000. They agreed to a contract with their second round selection, SP Justin Brown (19 years old, 57, A) for a one-year minor league deal worth $100,000. Third round draft pick SP Josh Aguero (20 years old, 66, B) and the Rockies agreed to a one-year minor league contract worth $80,000. Fourth round draft pick CP Peter Childs (19 years old, 66, B) and the club agreed to a one-year minor league deal worth $80,000. Fifth round draft pick Henry Sheldon (22 years old, 53, B) and the Rockies agreed to a one-year minor league deal worth $70,000. And the Rockies reached a one-year minor league deal with sixth round draft pick SP Chris Fabregas (19 years old, 64, C) worth $70,000.

The only draft pick not signed to a contract was seventh round pick RP Bradley Bolton (21 years old, 48, D).