Saturday’s First Pitch

Remember that offensive breakout everyone said was coming?

The Rockies did away with Friday the 13th fears on Friday night to the tune of 12 Rockies runs and 16 hits against the struggling Padres. This should be just the thing to get the Rockies back on track. We all knew it was coming, and though we in the media were being hard on the team, we knew that in the end, this team had way too much talent not to hit like they did Friday night.

If they continue to hit, things are going to look significantly brighter for the Rockies, though they still do have a few issues to work out.

Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez looked like the Tulo and Cargo of old, including a home run from Tulo and a triple from Cargo, on which he advanced home on a throwing error by Jason Bartlett. However, it was Ryan Spilborghs who stole the show. Spilly went 3-for-5 wih an RBI and two runs scored, including one on a balk by San Diego pitcher Ernesto Frieri. The pesky Padres wouldn’t go away, getting to within two runs of the Rockies at one point before a 3-run eighth inning put the Rockies up for good.

This can’t be anything but a good sign for the Rockies, who look to take two of three from the struggling Padres tomorrow, and go for the sweep on Sunday with a win today. Going into two difficult series against the Giants and the Phillies, this was just what the doctor ordered.

Speaking of the Giants, the defending world champs lost in Chicago today, so the Rockies are officially back in a tie for first place. The can retake sole possession of the top spot in the West with a win coupled with another Giants loss tomorrow. Watch for the weekend preview coming later this afternoon.

Some transactions for you as well – on Friday, the Rockies sent down struggling Ian Stewart to Triple-A Colorado Springs for the forseeable future. Rockies brass noted that they most likely weren’t going to bring Stewart back up for a while. Unfortunate for Stewie, but obviously the few weeks he spent down there last month didn’t do the trick. The Rockies activated Ty Wigginton off the 15-day DL Friday. Look for him to get the bulk of the starts at third base as he had a double right out of the gates tonight, and third base has been a thorn in the side of the Rockies of late.

By the way, the Rockies aren’t afraid of opposing pitching, but they are afraid of certain things. Outfielder Dexter Fowler admitted he was afraid of his mom (jokingly, of course), Spilly said he was very scared of spiders (can’t blame him there), and Cargo was Cargo by saying he wasn’t afraid of anything. Guess he proved that Friday night.