Colorado Rockies Offense Has Record Night in San Francisco

On Thursday in San Francisco, Colorado Rockies hitters exploded for an historic night, leading to a 17-7 win.

If you’re a fan of old-fashioned pitching duels, then Thursday night’s game wasn’t for you. A struggling Matt Cain faced off against a red hot Chris Rusin, and neither pitcher brought their A game to AT&T Park.

The scoring got started by, who else but the Rockies’ own Nolan Arenado, who hit a two-run shot in the top of the first, increasing his home run tally to a league-leading 12. Already at four runs by the third inning, the Rockies were apparently annoyed that the Giants were keeping pace, so the club turned it up a few notches in the fifth.

Rockies hitters exploded for an AT&T record 13-run fifth inning. Rockies’ rookie sensation Trevor Story started the onslaught by launching a solo shot off of Cain, and then adding a RBI single later in the inning. Giants pitcher Vin Mazzaro took most of the abuse, allowing nine runs while recording only one out. It didn’t help that San Francisco committed two very sloppy errors in the inning. The Rockies wouldn’t score after the fifth, but they didn’t need to as the game was all but put away by that point.

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Overall, it was not a good night at all for starter Chris Rusin, who had been compiling an impressive scoreless inning streak before landing in northern California. It wouldn’t be surprising if Rusin is sporting a neck brace today because of the laser show Giants batters put on. It’s easy to dismiss Rusin’s start because of the lopsided score, but he couldn’t even go the length to qualify for a win while sporting a double-digit lead.

Manager Walt Weiss came to the mound in an attempt to inspire Rusin to get through the fifth inning to earn a victory for the pitcher but after coughing up four runs in the inning, Walt had no choice but to pull the plug. Things could of been far worse for Rusin. In the bottom of the third, Rusin gave up three straight singles without recording an out, only to get bailed out when baseball got weird. Buster Posey got thrown out at the plate, and then Rusin got made a pitch to induce a double play ball. That’s the thing about Rusin … what he lacks in overpowering talent he makes up for in moxie. The dude is a gamer most of the time. He’s calculating and he gives his team a chance to win even if its a high-scoring affair.

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For example, by the fourth inning, Denard Span was 2-for-2 off Rusin with two doubles. With two outs in the fourth and a guy on third, Rusin and Span met again. Rusin got two quick strikes and then fished around the zone. With a 3-2 count, Rusin and Tony Wolters couldn’t appear to get on the same page (as was the case all night) as Rusin shook off the catcher for a solid minute. After calling a mound meeting, Rusin then reached back and made the best pitch of the night, striking out Span on a slider. It might not be sexy, but Rusin finds just enough to compete even if it was a sloppy night overall.

Obviously it was an amazing night of offense for the Colorado Rockies. Before the game, Charlie Blackmon shared his distaste for San Francisco and stated that it would “be nice to get ’em,” and oh did they get ’em. Gerardo Parra, Story, and DJ LeMahieu were the catalysts as they each collected three hits and combined for seven RBIs and seven runs scored.

Next: Tony Wolters on the Art and Feel of Catching

NOTES
⇒ Rockies catcher Tony Wolters broke out of a funk by launching a two-run double in that historic fifth inning.
⇒ Rockies relievers Christian Bergman and Scott Oberg combined for 4.2 innings of scoreless relief after Rusin was chased from the game.
⇒ Rockies starter Chad Bettis (3-1, 3.89 ERA) faces off against Madison Bumgarner (3-2, 3.03 ERA) on Friday at 8:15 p.m. (MST).

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