Monday’s First Pitch

Leading off

Going into the All-Star break the Rockies are five games under .500 after a 2-0 loss to end the series against the Nationals. Even though the Rockies won the series, with a 43-48 record, the Rockies need to do some serious ground work after the break if they want to keep any hope alive of a post-season appearance. Last night’s game is an example of a team in need of finding the momentum to make a difference in their record.

The Good

Despite the loss, the pitching was impressive with Jhoulys Chacin at the mound. Chacin allowed one run and four hits in seven innings. Also the infield, as it has been most of the season, was top notch, including Ian Stewart reaching into the dugout and flipping over to catch a foul ball in the third inning.

The Bad

When it came to batting, the Rockies were dominated by Jordan Zimmerman. Out of 88 pitches, Zimmerman only threw 24 balls in 6.1 innings, allowing no walks. The Rockies only had four hits while Zimmerman was on the mound with no one making it past first.

The Ugly

In the eighth inning the Rockies had their first runner in scoring position. After a single by Stewart and a sacrifice bunt by Matt Pagnozzi, Stewart was on two with only one out. However, neither of the next three batters were able to even advance Stewart to third with Ty Wigginton’s walk, Jason Giambi’s strikeout, and Mark Ellis’s fly out. The Rockies were unable to make any advances after Seth Smith’s double in the bottom of the ninth either with two outs. Cole Garner struck out for the final out of the game.

The Rockies inability to take advantage of runners on base, let alone in scoring position, has hurt them immensely this season. Hopefully this can be fixed after the Rockies come back home for an eight game stretch.