Trip jacks, Chatwood's gem lift Rockies to win

Trip jacks, Chatwood's gem lift Rockies to win

May 7th, 2017

DENVER -- allowed two hits through seven-plus dominant innings Sunday afternoon as the Rockies beat the D-backs, 5-2, at Coors Field in a game that was delayed by rain for one hour and 22 minutes in the eighth inning. With the win, the Rockies captured two of three in the series between the two top teams in the National League West.
Chatwood (3-4) was backed by home runs from , his 11th of the season, and Charlie Blackmon, and the righty held the D-backs to just one hit through seven innings. His day finally came to an end with the Rockies holding a 5-0 advantage when led off the eighth with a grounder that deflected off Chatwood's pitching hand.
"I felt good today," Chatwood said. "I got a lot of weak contact. I think [Paul] Goldschmidt's ball that he lined out to short was one of the only hard-hit balls. I felt good, and I was missing barrels."

The D-backs wound up scoring a pair of runs in that inning, but it was too little, too late. (3-2) was the tough-luck loser as the right-hander allowed just one earned run over 5 2/3 innings.
"Overall I thought Taijuan threw the ball extremely well," D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said. "He was attacking with his fastball, put us in position to win the game. He did a nice job of controlling a very aggressive lineup. He kept us in the ballgame. We just couldn't execute in certain areas to help us win the game."

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Miscues costly: D-backs right fielder tripped over his own feet, fell down and then lost 's fly ball in the sun in the sixth for an RBI double on a play that will no doubt make the blooper reels. But Story would not have come to bat had Chris Owings not misplayed Reynolds' two-out grounder to second one batter beforehand. The play opened the door for the Rockies to score three unearned runs. More >

"I was about to fall down anyway, so I might as well try to miss the tag," Reynolds said of his elusive headfirst slide into home to score from first on the Story double. "Crazy things happen in baseball sometimes."

Stranded him: Leadoff walks are supposed to come back to hurt a pitcher, but Chatwood didn't let that happen after walking Chris Herrmann to open the third an inning after Reynolds had given the Rockies a 1-0 lead with his homer. Herrmann went to second on a wild pitch and to third on a groundout. Chatwood then struck out Walker and got to ground to short to end the threat. More >
"Offensively, we're in a rut right now," Lovullo said of his team, which scored three runs in its last two games at Coors Field. "We're grinding. I think Chatwood deserves some credit. He threw the ball very, very well, but I think we're a better offensive team. It's just we're in a little bit of a rut right now and we'll find our way out of it."

QUOTABLE
"Mark's playing, man. He's hitting homers, he's playing good defense, timely hits, he's getting his RBIs. It's been that way since Opening Day -- from the two-run homer in Milwaukee until now, he's been a major contributor to our early-season success." -- Rockies manager Bud Black, on Reynolds' third homer in three days

SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
The Rockies' 20-12 record is their second-best start through 32 games in club history, following a 21-11 start in 1997, when they finished the season four games over .500.

Sunday marked just the second time that Goldschmidt has gone hitless in his last 60 games against the Rockies. He is hitting .371 (86-for-232) over that stretch.
WHAT'S NEXT
D-backs: The D-backs will take Monday off before opening up a nine-game homestand Tuesday night at 6:40 p.m. MST against the Tigers. Robbie Ray (2-2, 3.47 ERA) will get the start against (2-2, 4.21 ERA).
Rockies: April's NL Rookie of the Month, , makes his seventh career start Monday at 6:40 p.m. MT to open a three-game set with the World Series champion Cubs. Senzatela has four quality starts on the season, and boasts a 2-1 record with a 3.15 ERA at Coors Field.
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