Colorado Rockies Win A Wild Walk-Off Thanks To Troy Tulowitzki, Ben Paulsen

Jul 20, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki (2) reacts during the fourth inning against the Texas Rangers at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

The Colorado Rockies returned home Monday night for another interleague series — this one with the Texas Rangers.

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The Colorado Rockies took a 7-0 lead after two innings, lost the entire thing thanks to defensive miscues and a furious Texas Rangers rally, and then won 8-7 in the bottom of the ninth inning on a walk-off from Ben Paulsen, to get the first game of the series.

The Rockies jumped out with three runs in the first inning, thanks to a Nolan Arenado 2-RBI double followed by Paulsen’s first RBI single of the game, and they had Texas starter Nick Martinez on the ropes early.

Then, in the bottom of the second, the Rockies put up four more runs, first thanks to a Charlie Blackmon RBI single, and then followed by DJ LeMahieu’s RBI triple, and a two-run home run from Troy Tulowitzki to put the club up 7-0 after two frames.

They’d need every single one of those runs, and then some, after Chris Rusin was the victim of bad defense, giving up five runs — three of them unearned — on RBI singles and a bizarre RBI groundout over the next three innings.

The highlight (lowlight) of the Rangers’ early rally was a ground out by Prince Fielder — for the second out of the fifth inning — that Paulsen fielded cleanly at first base, stepped on the bag, and walked off the field, completely forgetting there were now only two outs in the inning.

Rougned Odor scored, and when the dust settled on the whole rally, the Rangers had cut a seven-run deficit down to just two, at 7-5 through five innings.

Rusin ended up going six innings, giving up seven hits and a walk, with just two earned runs on the night while striking out five Rangers.

The Rangers got one more in the seventh on an RBI double from Adrian Beltre — meanwhile, the Rockies hadn’t gotten a hit since the second inning up until that point — and another Beltre RBI double in the top of the ninth off John Axford tied the game and blew the save for the Rockies.

In the bottom of the ninth, though, Paulsen redeemed his boneheaded play by singling home Drew Stubbs of Rangers’ reliever Tanner Scheppers to win the game on a walk-off.

With the win, the Rockies now have an even 40 on the season, and have won their last five home games. Both Tulo and Paulsen led the way offensively for the Rockies, each going 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs.

The Colorado Rockies and Texas Rangers continue their series on Tuesday night at Coors Field before wrapping up the series on Wednesday afternoon. The Rockies host the Cincinnati Reds beginning Friday; this is the Rangers’ only trip to Denver this season.

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