Helton, Rockies Dominate Reds in Series Opener

Rockies 6, Reds 3

So the same team that got swept by the Mariners (the Mariners!) at home last weekend just beat the Reds (the Reds!) on the road. I wish I could make sense of this team. Mostly I wish I could get them to stop racking up 13 hits in one game and then only managing 2 in the next. That would be super awesome.

I am proud of the offense, though, because Johnny Cueto has been a tough customer this season, and the Rockies added more than half a run to his ERA last night. That’s mostly due to the 3 runs Todd Helton drove in, including a 2-run homer he hit on the second pitch he saw from Cueto. Helton also reached base 3 times and scored once. Don’t start looking to the farm system for a first baseman just yet. The Toddfather’s still got it.

Offensive honorable mention goes to Troy Tulowitzki, whose 2nd-inning double allowed him to be on base when Helton homered. Tulo also singled in the 5th and then scored on a Jordan Pacheco double. I hesitate to get too excited about what Tulo’s been doing the past week or so, because I want to see him get into a groove before I allow myself that, but I think he’s taking markedly better at-bats of late. Again, consistency in this is key, but it seems like he’s starting to understand that he needs to do everything he can to drive in any runners that get on base in front of him and to get on base himself, trusting the guys behind him in the order to get him home. In other words, he doesn’t have to go yard every single time because it’s not all up to him. If he could really get that and start to act on it, we might see a lot more runners scoring and a lot fewer getting left on base.

Speaking of getting left on base, there was plenty of that, too: 9 altogether, which is far too many. Pitcher Christian Friedrich is off the hook for striking out to end the 2nd and the 5th, but everybody else is not off the hook even a little bit. Especially not Tyler Colvin, who had yet to really disappoint me until last night. He grounded out with the bases loaded to end the 3rd (swinging at the first pitch and everything) and struck out with a man on to end the 9th. He also grounded into a double play in the 5th. That’s a lot of missed opportunities for Colvin. Let’s hope it was just an off night for him, and that Carney Lansford will get around to the HOW NOT TO SWING AT THE FIRST PITCH lesson he seems to have left off his clipboard in spring training.

By the 9th, the Rockies were up by 2, but an insurance run never hurts. Carlos Gonzalez, who has been far more patient of late, walked, advanced to 2nd on a balk, stole 3rd, and then scored on a Tulo single. That’s how you get around the bases. Cargo also doubled and scored in the 5th, and should have been safe on a “groundout” in the 3rd, so he gets credit for last night too.

Let’s not forget to notice the work of Friedrich, who was not 100% on point but who did best Cueto. Friedrich lasted 5 innings and gave up 3 runs on 7 hits, but struck out 6 and only walked 1. Since it was the walks that killed him in his last start, that’s an important improvement. The jury is still out on how much the altitude affects his command, but that’s something he ought to be able to adjust for. Patience will hopefully yield some results in that area. And let’s tip our cap to the bullpen, who did a very fine job holding onto the win for Friedrich. Josh Roenicke started off the 6th by allowing a single, but then he got a strikeout and a double play. Neither Adam Ottavino nor Josh Outman were perfect, but neither allowed a run to score. Matt Belisle, who came into a high-pressure situation in Miami and struck out Hanley Ramirez to end the inning, came in with 2 runners in scoring position and struck out Brandon Phillips to end the inning. I’m starting to rethink what I’ve said in the past about him not being good with inherited runners. He’s been far better this year than he was last year. Let’s hope that keeps up.

And then of course, Rafael Betancourt recorded his 8th save with a perfect 9th inning. All around a well-played game in which everyone more or less did his job. I would like some more of these, if that’s not too much to ask.

Jeremy Guthrie, so much better on the road than at Coors this season, will be on the mound for the Rockies at Great American Ballpark tonight.