Wednesday’s First Pitch

Leading Off
The Rockies got a nice win yesterday, to improve to 32-35 and 16-18 at home. Not bad, but certainly not great either. They’ll go for the series win today before welcoming in the AL Central-leading Tigers in for a three-game set to open up the Rockies’ 2011 Interleague play.

The Good
I’m going to go out on a limb and say while Juan Nicasio may not be the ace, he certainly will be an anchor of the rotation in a few years. How do we know that? Look at his line from last night – 6 ip, 2h, 2r, 2er, 1bb, 9so. Look at that again – NINE strikeouts. That’s by far the best mark in that category by Rockies pitchers this year. His only bad blemish? A leadoff home run to Chris Denorfia to open up the game.

Chris Iannetta also launched a three-run home run that put the Rockies up for good in last night’s game. I’m not sure that ball’s landed yet, but it certainly made a statement that Chris Iannetta is here to stay as the Rockies catcher of the future.

The Bad
The bullpen still wasn’t great. They allowed a ninth-inning run to cross the plate, and though it didn’t cost the team the game, the job of the bullpen is to come in and get outs, and that’s not what they did last night.

The Ugly
Matt Lindstrom. I never thought I’d put his name under this category since Lindstrom has been one of the most effective relievers the Rockies have had, but he allowed two hits and a walk to load the bases before Rex Brothers came in to retire Anthony Rizzo to end the threat.

Game MVP
Juan Nicasio – 6ip, 2h, 2r, 2er, 1bb, 9so.
Chris Iannetta – 1-3, 1r, 3rbi, 1bb.

On Deck
Day game today, so expect your daily matchup coming soon.