Colorado Rockies morning after: 3 things we learned from Dodgers series

To open the 2022 regular season, the Colorado Rockies accomplished something that the club had not done in four years.

And, in the process, the Colorado Rockies might just have discovered a shutdown relief pitcher for the middle innings.

Left-hander Ty Blach tossed four innings of shutout relief for the Colorado Rockies, allowing just one hit, and C.J. Cron and Elias Díaz each cracked two-run homers on the way to a 9-4 victory against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday afternoon before a crowd of 40,825 at Coors Field.

Colorado’s second straight victory against the Dodgers after a season-opening setback to the 2020 World Series champions on Friday allowed them to capture the three-game set for its first home series win against Los Angeles since winning three of four games against the Dodgers Aug. 9-12, 2018.

Until Sunday’s series clincher, the Rox had dropped eight consecutive home series to the team in blue.

Blach, who signed a Minor League contract with the Rockies in December, played a big role in Sunday’s win.

Making his first Major League appearance since 2019 after undergoing Tommy John surgery on his left elbow in 2020, Blach entered the game in the sixth inning with the Rockies leading 7-4.

The first two batters for Los Angeles reached base on a walk and a single, but from there, the Denver native retired the final 12 Dodgers he faced to pick up his first professional save.

“I think, for me, the most satisfying thing was getting that series win for us,” said Blach, who needed just 47 pitches for his four-inning effort with 35 of those pitches going for strikes.

“That was really cool. To come out here after a tough one (on) Opening Day. For us to be able to bounce back and get these last two, it shows the character of our team and shows how poised we are. So that was really great.”