On the bright side, this was the right night to start Garland. He’s always going to give some form of mediocre start, back end of the rotation guy that he is. His 5.19 ERA is a little high, but not far off from what I’d expect. Since he’s going to give up runs, we might as well throw him out there when the other team is giving the ball to their future Hall-of-Famer.

Watch out. That slider’s coming for you.

I don’t actually know if Corbin will find himself in the Hall, but I know this: he’s a phenom so far this season. Going into this start, he was 6-0 with a 1.52 ERA and 41 K’s. He’s been the D-backs best starter by quite a lot, as Ian Kennedy‘s star fades and Trevor Cahill underperforms. And he totally baffled the Rockies last night. I’m not sure that I’ve ever seen quite so many check swings, pop-ups, and infield dribblers in the same game. They had no idea where his pitches would cross the plate, and they couldn’t figure it out despite 3 1/2 chances each. Corbin’s slider fooled them every single time, and he mixed his pitches so well they never knew when it was coming. I’d have been embarrassed for my team, but this was not a Barry Zito no-hitter. This guy was not getting lucky; he knew exactly what he was doing.

The only hitter who swung the bat with any kind of authority was Jordan Pacheco, who pinch-hit for Adam Ottavino in the 8th and hit an RBI double. Pacheco was the only one who manufactured a hit out of that slider, and he did it swinging at the first pitch. Since it worked, here’s my strategy for the next time we face Corbin: swing hard, swing early, and don’t second guess. And start Pacheco.

With the National League West being what it is this season, which is to say featuring no visible frontrunners, there is really no better time for the Rockies to step into the vacuum and make a run. Obviously it’s only May, and there are still plenty of games to go, so I could be hanging my head and accepting defeat yet again come August. But there is a lack of serious obstacles in the Rockies’ way this year. Sometimes, that’s all it takes.

Of course, we will also have to continue to see performances like Juan Nicasio‘s yesterday. After a less than stellar start to the season, Nicasio was brilliant, going 6 innings and allowing only 3 hits while fanning 5. The key to his success was keeping the ball down, as it always is at Coors. Only two Giants managed to get the ball out of the infield during his entire outing. Also, I think it’s wise for Yorvit Torrealba to be calling Nicasio’s games for now. Of course we want Wilin Rosario in the lineup as often as possible, but he has a ways to go before he will be the kind of veteran catcher our young pitchers need, and Torrealba has the requisite experience. A solid outing starts with the guy behind the dish calling the right pitches, and Torrealba deserves recognition for Nicasio’s accomplishment yesterday.

Juan Nicasio doing his thing. Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Offensively, there were a few too many runners left on base for my taste, and I always cringe when an inning ends with the bases loaded – because how often does that not come back to haunt us? Rarely. Still, there were some good clutch hitting performances. Eric Young led off the bottom of the 1st with a single, then stole 2nd and advanced to 3rd on a wild pitch. Carlos Gonzalez singled him home.  That’s the kind of aggressive, heads-up play we need early in the game, especially when the opposing pitcher is Barry Zito. When we don’t hit off Zito early, we don’t hit off him at all.

It wasn’t till the 5th inning that the Rockies got anything going again, but Cargo and Jordan Pacheco each managed to drive in a run in that inning. There would have been more if not for Troy Tulowitzki catching a tough break in between those two. He attempted a bunt that rolled foul (Cargo did the same later in the game, but the element of surprise they were apparently going for only works if you can aim a bunt properly), then took a curveball and fouled off a fastball. Then Zito threw a cutter that finished much higher than Tulo thought it would, and he swung right through.

Luckily, once Zito was out of the game, Tulo figured out how to hit again, lining a Jose Mijares pitch into left center for a 2-run single. That would be more than enough for the win. Good thing, too, because the defense is still not what it needs to be. Despite a very fine diving stop, Josh Rutledge let another ball roll right through his legs. Jonathan Herrera airmailed a throw to 1st for his third error in 12 games. Still, when you have a pitching performance like Nicasio’s, all these other things seem not to matter as much. When they will matter is in those postseason games the Rockies will hopefully appear in. That they can get there, I’m starting to believe. That they can perform once there, that’s yet to be determined.