Colorado Rockies morning after: 3 things we learned from the Marlins sweep

Courtesy of the Colorado Rockies, this was not the weekend to be a starting pitcher for the Miami Marlins.

Colorado battered three Marlins starters for a combined 23 hits and 24 runs (all earned), capping a series sweep of Miami with a 13-8 victory Sunday afternoon at Coors Field.

The victory was the Rockies’ fourth straight and capped a 5-1 homestand that included two wins in three games against the Chicago Cubs.

No Marlins starter made it through five innings in any of the contests in the series, the Rockies’ sixth sweep of the 2021 campaign.

The Colorado Rockies clobbered the Miami Marlins’ pitching staff

On Sunday, Miami hurler David Hess, who was not announced as the team’s starting pitcher until game day, lasted just one inning (he faced four batters in the second, all of whom reached base and scored).

By the time Hess departed, the Rockies had already slammed three of what would end up being six home runs for the home team on the day and led 7-1.

C.J. Cron started the homer parade with a three-run shot in the first inning, his 17th of the season. Cron’s blast was followed by two-run shots by catcher Dom Nunez and Connor Joe.

For Joe, who was batting for starting left fielder Raimel Tapia, the pinch-hit home run was the first of his career. Joe, however, was not done with his long ball day. After his two-run homer to left field in the second inning, he added his second roundtripper of the day—this one to right field—in the eighth inning.

Like Joe, Cron also was not done with his home run swing. The first baseman rocketed a grand slam in the fourth inning—his third of the season—on his way to a career-high seven runs batted in.

He becomes the first player in franchise history to sock three grand slams in a single campaign.

And while he might not have slugged a home run, shortstop Trevor Story extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a fourth-inning single—one of his two hits on the day.

For good measure, Sam Hilliard joined the home run party with a solo blast—his eighth of the year—in the seventh inning.

The offensive onslaught, which included eight different Rockies getting at least one hit and 12 hits on the day, was more than enough for starting pitcher Kyle Freeland to pick up his third win of the year. Freeland completed five innings, departing after surrendering three runs in his final inning. He permitted seven hits and whiffed six.

In all, the Rox tallied 34 runs on 41 hits with 11 home runs in the series with the Marlins. In 27 innings, Colorado trailed only once when Miami opened Sunday’s game with a first-inning run.

Here are 3 things we learned from the Marlins series.

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2. Cron contributing all-around offensive play

Cron is showing his value to the Rockies offense in a variety of ways. With his two tape-measure blasts (456 feet and 430 feet) in Friday night’s 14-2 Rockies romp, Cron notched his 12th career multi-homer game and his first since May 2019.

Two days later, he tacked on another multi-homer feat with homers covering 390 feet and 413 feet.

Cron now has 18 home runs this season, the sixth time in his Major League career that he has amassed at least 15 in a campaign.

For the Miami series, he went 6-for-10 at the plate (.600) with eight runs scored, four homers, and 13 RBIs. Cron also reached base three times against the Marlins via a walk and two hit by pitches.

3. Austin Gomber returns to form with four-pitch mix in dominating performance

The left-hander lowered his earned average to 3.79 for the season following his career-high nine-strikeout performance Saturday night.

Relying on his mix of four pitches (fastball, curveball, slider, changeup), Gomber tallied his 11th quality start of the year allowing just five hits in six shutout innings while issuing no walks. Opponents are now hitting just .172 against him at Coors Field this season.

His performance Saturday was a far cry from his previous start August 1 when he surrendered four hits and four earned runs in a 40-pitch, one-inning outing at San Diego.

Following a day off from action Monday, Colorado embarks on a six-game road swing with two contests in Houston and four games in San Francisco.

First up will be a matchup at 6:10 p.m. (Mountain time) Tuesday against the Astros. Jon Gray (7-7, 3.67) is slated to take the mound for the Rockies. The two-game set will conclude with a 12:10 p.m. (Mountain time) first pitch Wednesday.