Colorado Rockies Start Road Trip Right With Win

Needing to start a nine-game road trip off on the right foot, the Colorado Rockies followed a recent familiar blueprint: Get a quality start out of the starter and let the bullpen finish the job.

Chad Bettis scattered five hits over 6.2 innings of work and also had an RBI groundout to help his own cause as the Rockies notched a 3-1 decision over the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday night at Busch Stadium.

The win was the fifth consecutive for the Rockies, their longest streak since a six-game skein in September of 2014. It also improved them to 20-18 on the season, including 12-8 on the road.

Bettis struck out four in his fourth solid start in six road outings, keeping a recent trend going for the Colorado Rockies rotation. In their last 12 starts away from Coors Field, Colorado starters have a 3.21 ERA. Additionally, Rockies starters have allowed just one run on 10 hits in 19.2 innings over their last three road games.

“That’s the goal every time,” Bettis told reporters after the game about working deeper into the contest with each outing. “I wanted to work off the first six innings I took from the last start. I felt like I am progressing the right way.”

The Cardinals looked like they might rally in the seventh, chasing Bettis after knocking three two-out singles and recording their only run of the night. However, Boone Logan continued his lights-out ways of late on the mound by getting Matt Carpenter to ground out to second with runners on first and second to end the inning.

Logan has allowed just one run and six hits over his last 11 innings of work, dropping his ERA to 1.93 on the season.

Carlos Estevez worked a perfect eighth for his sixth hold of the season and Jake McGee wriggled his way out of a jam in the ninth to record his 13th save.

Offensively, the Rockies managed just seven hits but took advantage of situations when needed, including a hit-and-run from Dustin Garneau that plated Mark Reynolds during a two-run fourth inning that would eventually account for the winning run.

Garneau was the only Colorado player to have more than one hit on the night, going 2-for-4 with an RBI.

Next: Who We Think the Rockies Will Take in the Draft

The Rockies and Cardinals clash in the second game of their three-game set on Wednesday night with Colorado’s Chris Rusin (1-1, 4.85 ERA) squaring off against Adam Wainwright (3-3, 6.80 ERA).