Colorado Rockies 2 San Diego Padres 4, NL West Is Hard

Colorado Rockies center fielder Charlie Blackmon Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Before the first pitch was thrown tonight, I delivered a guarantee that the Rockies would win tonight’s game.  Well, for the most part the Rockies pitchers did their part.  Jorge De La Rosa played 5 innings including a stretch of 10 consecutive outs.  The bullpen sent three pitchers to the mound with only Brooks Brown giving up a run.  The Rockies batters aside from Charlie Blackmon (double and a homerun) and Troy Tulowitzki (double, infield single) struggled.  The Rockies are not going to win many games when the threesome of Corey Dickerson, Justin Morneau, and Nolan Arenado all go 0-for-the-night.

9th inning

Not even a whimper in the final frame.  Nolan Arenado flies out, Carlos Gonzalez and Nick Hundley both strikeout.

8th inning

Rafael Betancourt is now your pitcher. A 3-up-3-down inning.

The Rockies have not hit a ball out of the infield since the 4th inning.  3-up-3-down.

7th inning

 Scott Oberg takes the mound for our Rockies.  With 5 total pitches Oberg retires Matt Kemp and Justin Upton, then the wheels fell off.  A single and what feels like 3,786th hit batsmen puts Oberg in trouble but he escapes the inning on a Will Middlebrooks groundout.

2 groundouts, including one from pinch hitter Daniel Descalso, plus a strikeout by Charlie Blackmon.  Uh oh! I’m staring at the picture of me in a banana suit and getting worried.

6th inning

Brooks Brown into the game for our Rockies.  After easily retiring Jedd Gyorko and Will Middlebrooks, the wheels fell off.  Former Rockie Clint Barmes with a single, Wil Venable with a walk (#$%^), then Wil Myers with a single plating Barmes. #facepalm Padres 4 Rockies 2

Leadoff infield single by Troy Tulowitzki.  With 2 outs, Carlos Gonzalez with an infield single of his own.  Nick Hundley has the chance to truly play the villain in his return to Petco Park and his groundball is eaten up by Petco’s infield grass allowing the Padres to throw him out.

5th inning

Leadoff walk…translation…guaranteed run for opposing team.  So it is said, so it is done.  Wil Myers earns a leadoff walk, Derek Norris joins him with a double and Justin Upton knocks them home with a single.  Happy part of this inning is that Upton gets caught trying to stretch his single into a double.  De La Rosa has 101 pitches to his name, only 53 of them strikes despite having 9 strikeouts to his credit.  Padres lead 3-2.

3-up-3-down.  Heart of the order coming up in the 6th for our Rox, the bats need to come back to life!

4th inning

With one out, Jedd Gyorko collects a double.  The first Padres hit since Matt Kemp in the first inning.  A strikeout of Will Middlebrooks, an intentional walk to Clint Barmes to get Padres pitcher Brandon Morrow up to bat.  The plan actually goes according to plan and De La Rosa collects his 7th strikeout of the evening!

I only like doubleplays when our defense turns them.  Off to the bottom of the 4th leading 2-1.

3rd inning

Jorge De La Rosa strikes out Derek Norris and Matt Kemp en route to a 3-up-3-down inning.  Not including the runner that reached on an E5, De La Rosa has retired 9 in a row.

Charlie Blackmon drove the 2nd pitch of the inning out of Petco Park giving our Rockies a 2-1 lead.  Corey Dickerson strikes out but that’s okay, it took Brandon Morrow 10 pitches to K him.  Troy Tulowitzki hit a double, his 12th of the season, but is left standing at second base.  Rockies lead 2-1.

"Click here to watch the Blackmon homerun."

2nd inning

It should have been a 3-up-3-down inning for Jorge De La Rosa.  A Nolan Arenado error goes unpunished as De La Rosa is dealing!

Nolan Arenado out on first pitch of the inning.  Carlos Gonzalez with a walk.  A wonderfully executed hit-and-run with Nick Hundley at back puts CarGo at 3rd.  DJ LeMahieu grounds out and the major league base running I just described allows CarGo to score tying the game at 1.

A note from the Colorado Rockies PR Twitter Account:

"Nick Hundley’s single gives him a nine-game hitting streak, tying a career high."

1st inning

Leadoff walk (not a sigh, a trip to the fridge for a gluten free), back-to-back singles putting the Padres up 1-0.  A little late but Jorge De La Rosa goes 3-up-3-down.

Charlie Blackmon leads the game off with a double.  Rockies can’t bring him home. SIGH