Rockies Topple Dodgers, Look Good in Division Play

Rockies 5, Dodgers 2

Things are looking up out in Arizona. Not counting the split squad loss on Sunday, the Rockies have now won three games in a row. Maybe this is the start of a new trend!

Dazzling

Drew Pomeranz can do no wrong, it seems. He has yet to surrender an earned run this spring, and he is looking as good as and better than he did in his major league debut last September. At this point I see him no lower than third in the rotation come opening day, and he’s inspired so much confidence, maybe he’ll come in even higher. This most recent outing consisted of 2 innings, no baserunners, and a pair of swinging strikeouts. He would have stayed in the game longer, but one of his hip muscles was feeling tight. It’s not a serious problem. I’ve got a good feeling about this guy.

Matt Belisle continues to impress as a steady middle reliever, and as long as Jim Tracy doesn’t overuse him in the event that starters can’t go deep, he will be a key piece in the bullpen again this season. In today’s game, he pitched 2 innings and allowed no runs and 1 hit. Just like (almost) always.

Jonathan Herrera is hitting .438 this spring, and I wish we had a more permanent place for him. I think he’s hit his ceiling and he’s never going to be an elite ballplayer, but he’s a workhorse, and his approach at the plate is intelligent and quality. It’s nice to see him getting a few at-bats and making good use of them. Today he went 2-for-3 and drove in a pair of runs.

Rex Brothers and Joe Gardner both pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout. Nothing flashy, but some solid work from those guys.

Disappointing

The only pitcher who struggled today was Rob Scahill. He pitched the 6th-8th innings and gave up 2 runs on 5 his and a walk. Not a terrible outing, but not his best work either. Some good news is that in the 7th inning he allowed 2 men on with 1 out and got out of it without a run scoring. So not really a disappointing performance so much as one that fell short of dazzling.

Brandon Wood must have heard us all buzzing about him, because he buckled under the pressure today. As the designated hitter (who, let’s review, is designated to hit), he went 0-for-3 with 2 K’s and he struck out to end the 1st with two men on base. Nothing to be alarmed about, everybody has those days. I’m sure we’ll still see great things from him as the spring goes on.

A little bit of a head-scratcher at the plate this spring is Nolan Arenado, who is hitting .111 and was 0-for-4 today. He was the man in the Arizona Fall League, hitting .388 and walking away with the league MVP. So what has happened? I dunno. It sure is looking like he’s just not ready to face major league pitchers though. At this point I’ll be very surprised to see him make the final roster. He needs some more time.

Another pair of split squad games coming up tomorrow, at home against Arizona and away against Texas. At least they aren’t being played at the same time, which will make them much easier to follow along with.

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