Sunny Sunday: Three takes as the Rockies win in Chase Dollander's MLB debut

The sun came out in Denver finally. And the Colorado Rockies’ bats came out with it.

After losing six straight games, including their first two home games of 2025, the Rockies gave Chase Dollander a win in his major league debut with an offensive explosion they desperately needed. Colorado broke out for 12 runs in a 12-5 win over the Athletics on a sun-splashed Sunday at Coors Field.

While Dollander was the story after being called up from AAA, perhaps more importantly, the Rockies finally produced some runs. Brenton Doyle led off the game with a homer, and Kris Bryant drove in his first run of 2025, as the Rockies got two runs in the first. Doyle and Ezequiel Tovar had a huge day for the Rockies as Colorado blasted 14 hits and scored 12 runs.

Dollander meanwhile, did scatter seven hits and four runs, but he struck out six in five innings as he won his big league debut. For a change, the Colorado bullpen also hung in there as Jake Bird, Luis Peralta and Victor Vodnik held down the fort for the last four innings as Colorado won for the second time this season.

The Rockies (2-7) will now look to build some momentum as they enter a three-game homestead with the Milwaukee Brewers starting on Tuesday night.

But before fans can turn their attention to the Brewers, they can also rest easy for a day. Sunday was a great day to be at Coors Field as the weather took a turn for the better, and the Rockies, led by Dollander, took a turn for the better as well.

Here’s the top three takeaways from Colorado’s sunny Sunday win.

3. Dollander can do this.

Hopes were high when Dollander took the mound for his big-league debut on Sunday. And while it was far from perfect, he didn’t disappoint. The Rockies needed Dollander to have a good day, not only because they needed a win, but for morale as well. And he came through It also showed that Dollander is a major league pitcher. He has the stuff to be dominant, as that was on full display. And while his future in Denver isn’t set just yet, it would be nice to see the Rockies ride Dollander this season as he’s clearly ready.

2. RISP was so much better

The Rockies have had a hell of a time driving in runs this season. Not on Saturday though. They were 7-for-13 with men in scoring position, and they had six extra base hits. So it was good to see the Rockies start hitting, and hopefully that’s the start of a trend.

1. Doyle, Tovar, Toglia and Bryant all break out

It’s just one game, but, Rockies’ fans must have been delighted to see Michael Toglia get a hit and see Bryant deliver in the clutch. Both have been mired in a season-opening slump, but on Sunday, they, along with Tovar and Doyle, combined for 10 of Colorado’s hits, and between them, they had five doubles. That’s the heart of the Rockies’ order right there, and they need to do more of what they did on Sunday.