July 23, 2014: Colorado Rockies 6, Washington Nationals 4

Jul 23, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Rockies pitcher J. De La Rosa (29) delivers a pitch during the first inning against the Washington Nationals at Coors Field.Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

One year ago today, a very familiar face threw a gem for a club worse than the one we see in 2015, and the Rockies beat the Nationals at Coors Field.

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I know, I know, Wayback Wednesday on a Thursday, forgive me. But more importantly than that, is this: one year ago, the Colorado Rockies relied on a starting pitcher to toss a gem, and they won a home game against a good ball club. What a concept.

The pitcher was Jorge De La Rosa, and the game was the Rockies’ 102nd on the season, a 6-4 victory over the Washington Nationals that gave the Rox a whopping 41-61 (.402) record through July 23, 2014. The 2015 Rockies, at 40-53 (.430) are significantly better than they were last year, even though they’ve had several rain-postponed games to this point.

Nevertheless, De La Rosa lasted into the eighth inning, allowed two runs, struck out eleven hitters, and did what De La Rosa does: win at home. The win last year was his 11th in just the team’s 102nd game — a number he hasn’t yet eclipsed this year after suffering a groin injury for the first several weeks of the 2015 season.

On offense, the Colorado Rockies got to Stephen Strasburg for four runs on nine hits in 5.1 innings, handing Strasburg the loss. Every Rockies’ starter — including De La Rosa — with the exception of Drew Stubbs got a hit in the game, as the Rockies pounded out 11 of them on the day.

Uncharacteristically, the Rox made three errors on the evening, including one that led to an unearned run off De La Rosa. And, because of course, LaTroy Hawkins allowed two runs in the ninth inning of a 6-2 game to make it 6-4, though he’d get the final out after scaring everyone at Coors Field for an inning.

Either way, the point of this wayback exercise is, I suppose, be careful what you complain about: the Colorado Rockies of 2014 were much worse than the club this year (at least as of July 23), so maybe 40-53 isn’t so bad? (Ehhhh…..)

BOX SCORE: July 23, 2014 — Colorado Rockies 6, Washington Nationals 4

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