Colorado Rockies: Home Cooking the Perfect Recipe in Win

Coming off a poor 1-5 road trip, the Colorado Rockies needed a boost from the return to the friendly confines of Coors Field. The team responded, getting a terrific pitching performance from Chad Bettis and the bats woke up, leading to a 11-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.

On the recent trip to Los Angeles and San Francisco, apart from one game where they scored seven runs, the Rockies struggled to score. Indeed, in the trip to LA the bats struck out a whopping 41 times, which was one shy of the club record.

However, tonight was a nice improvement and a total team win. The first three batters (Charlie Blackmon, DJ LeMahieu and Nolan Arenado went a combined 6-15.

The real stars were shortstop Trevor Story and first baseman Mark Reynolds. Story Time was in full force as he smashed two home runs over 440 feet and Reynolds joined in the party with a HR of his own, and both combined for eight RBIs to lead the offense.

Additionally, starting pitcher Chad Bettis returned to form, looking like the guy we saw in April and May, and not the guy we saw struggle in June. Bettis had his longest outing since May 17, going 6 2/3 innings, with 7 hits, 2 ER, 1 BB and 5 Ks, and throwing 90 pitches (57 for strikes).

Now with the all-star break approaching, the Rockies need to finish this half of the season on a high. Tonight was a step in the right direction, and now the team stands at 39-46, and 19-20 at home.

So what did we learn from this game?

Trevor Story is a deserving all-star candidate

Story was fantastic tonight, hitting HR numbers 20 and 21. He went 2-3 at the plate and looked as comfortable at the plate as we have seen in many weeks.

He tied the National League record by most HRs by a rookie before the all-star break with HR No. 21, tying Albert Pujols (2001) and Dave Kingman (1972). Each NL candidate is deserving, but when you consider Story has tied a NL record, his candidacy seems higher at this moment.

We just need to keep voting for Story Time! N5! N5! N5!

Bats returned to form tonight

The whole lineup had at least 1 hit, excluding Bettis. With 11 runs and 14 hits, the players agreed with the return home.

This team just looks like a whole different animal when they play at home. Despite the home record, the players exude much more confidence when at Coors. The issue is the consistency – we see one or two good games in a row, and then a clunker.

The Rockies need to focus on their consistency after the break. But before then, they should be shooting for a sweep against the Phillies, who stand with a similar record of 40-47.

Defense was back tonight

The Rockies typically play good defense. There has been a few hiccups here and there, but tonight was special.

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Arenado, Lemahieu and Reynolds all made highlight reel defensive stops, which led to several Phillies batters frustrations. You can see when the Rockies are on mentally – the defense is crisp and above par. When the concentration lacks, the defense slips as a result and errors occur.

Tonight was one of the most satisfying wins of the season for the Rockies.

The team needs to maintain this focus going into tomorrow night’s game.

Story Time!

Next: Gonzalez Denies Report of Demand

All statistics, records and accolades courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and ESPN.com unless otherwise indicated.