DENVER -- Charlie Blackmon called the location of the pitch his "where I hit balls far" zone.
He did, too -- all the way into the second deck for a big momentum swing.
Blackmon lined a two-out, two-run homer in the seventh, Colorado's lights-out bullpen threw three-plus scoreless innings and the Rockies beat Washington 8-4 on Monday night, ending the Nationals' seven-game winning streak.
Trailing 4-3, Blackmon sent a hanging slider from lefty Enny Romero (1-1) deep into the right-field stands. It was Blackmon's sixth homer of the season and followed a pinch-hit double from Pat Valaika -- his first hit of the season.
"Right when (Blackmon) hit it, the dugout collectively, there was just a huge, `Yeah!" manager Bud Black said. "It was great -- a great swing."
On a pitch Romero would like to have back.
"Didn't get it in enough," Romero explained.
The Rockies' relievers came through once again after starter Tyler Anderson wore down. Carlos Estevez (2-0) got four outs and Adam Ottavino threw an effective eighth. Greg Holland pitched the ninth in a non-save situation after the Rockies added three insurance runs in the eighth. He got pinch-hitter Bryce Harper to ground out to end the game.
The Rockies' bullpen is now 6-0 with a 2.62 ERA, which is tops in the NL.
"We've been a weakness on the team for a couple of years. This year, we really don't want to be like that," Ottavino said. "We want to be a strength of the team. We take that to heart. I know I do.
"I've been here for too many losing years, too many years where the bullpen felt like we were letting everybody down. It's nice to be on the other side of that."
Facing their first lefty starter of the season, the Nationals struggled early against Anderson, who features a quirky leg kick. They finally solved Anderson in the sixth, with Ryan Zimmerman providing the big blow -- a two-run homer to center as part of a four-run inning.
Washington arrived in Denver around 4:30 a.m. after sweeping the Mets in New York on Sunday. Harper and Matt Wieters both were out of the starting lineup.
"We were tired," Adam Eaton said. "But that's not a valid excuse."
Spot starter Jacob Turner was cruising along until the bottom of the sixth, when he surrendered a two-run homer to Mark Reynolds. Turner was called up from Triple-A Syracuse before the game. The Nationals juggled around their rotation with Stephen Strasburg going on the paternity list.
"(Turner) gave us all we needed. That was a quality start," Nationals manager Dusty Baker said. "He gave us all he had. He threw quality strikes, all except to Reynolds."
At 14-6, the Rockies are off to one of their best starts in franchise history. It may only be April, but they viewed this four-game series against the Nationals as a mini measuring stick.
"Why not?" said Nolan Arenado, whose team was coming off a weekend sweep of San Francisco. "I don't know if I can sit here and say it's a big series. But we have to take care of business at home, no matter who it is. It could be them or the worst team in the league."
TRAINER'S ROOM
Nationals: Baker said INF Stephen Drew (strained hamstring) is "making pretty good progress."
Rockies: First baseman Ian Desmond (broken left hand) took 25 swings during batting practice, ran the bases and took some grounders. "My hand felt good," Desmond said. There remains no timetable for Desmond's return.
THIS & THAT
Rockies catcher Tony Wolters had three hits, including a pair of run-scoring singles. ... Nationals 3B Anthony Rendon had three singles.
YOUNG ROTATION
Righty German Marquez will be recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque to start Tuesday. He will be the third rookie pitcher in the Rockies' rotation, joining lefty Kyle Freeland and righty Antonio Senzatela.
"I like young players. I like young pitchers. I like these guys," Black said.
FONDNESS FOR DUSTY
Black counts Baker as one of his managerial mentors. He pitched in 1993 and `94 for Baker when they were with the San Francisco Giants.
"He's a good manager, and a good guy, and a good friend," Black said.
UP NEXT
Nationals: Joe Ross (1-0, 3.86 ERA) had his start pushed back a day to Tuesday. This will be the right-hander's first start against the Rockies.
---
More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball
Washington Nationals
He did, too -- all the way into the second deck for a big momentum swing.
Blackmon lined a two-out, two-run homer in the seventh, Colorado's lights-out bullpen threw three-plus scoreless innings and the Rockies beat Washington 8-4 on Monday night, ending the Nationals' seven-game winning streak.
Trailing 4-3, Blackmon sent a hanging slider from lefty Enny Romero (1-1) deep into the right-field stands. It was Blackmon's sixth homer of the season and followed a pinch-hit double from Pat Valaika -- his first hit of the season.
"Right when (Blackmon) hit it, the dugout collectively, there was just a huge, `Yeah!" manager Bud Black said. "It was great -- a great swing."
On a pitch Romero would like to have back.
"Didn't get it in enough," Romero explained.
The Rockies' relievers came through once again after starter Tyler Anderson wore down. Carlos Estevez (2-0) got four outs and Adam Ottavino threw an effective eighth. Greg Holland pitched the ninth in a non-save situation after the Rockies added three insurance runs in the eighth. He got pinch-hitter Bryce Harper to ground out to end the game.
The Rockies' bullpen is now 6-0 with a 2.62 ERA, which is tops in the NL.
"We've been a weakness on the team for a couple of years. This year, we really don't want to be like that," Ottavino said. "We want to be a strength of the team. We take that to heart. I know I do.
"I've been here for too many losing years, too many years where the bullpen felt like we were letting everybody down. It's nice to be on the other side of that."
Facing their first lefty starter of the season, the Nationals struggled early against Anderson, who features a quirky leg kick. They finally solved Anderson in the sixth, with Ryan Zimmerman providing the big blow -- a two-run homer to center as part of a four-run inning.
Washington arrived in Denver around 4:30 a.m. after sweeping the Mets in New York on Sunday. Harper and Matt Wieters both were out of the starting lineup.
"We were tired," Adam Eaton said. "But that's not a valid excuse."
Spot starter Jacob Turner was cruising along until the bottom of the sixth, when he surrendered a two-run homer to Mark Reynolds. Turner was called up from Triple-A Syracuse before the game. The Nationals juggled around their rotation with Stephen Strasburg going on the paternity list.
"(Turner) gave us all we needed. That was a quality start," Nationals manager Dusty Baker said. "He gave us all he had. He threw quality strikes, all except to Reynolds."
At 14-6, the Rockies are off to one of their best starts in franchise history. It may only be April, but they viewed this four-game series against the Nationals as a mini measuring stick.
"Why not?" said Nolan Arenado, whose team was coming off a weekend sweep of San Francisco. "I don't know if I can sit here and say it's a big series. But we have to take care of business at home, no matter who it is. It could be them or the worst team in the league."
TRAINER'S ROOM
Nationals: Baker said INF Stephen Drew (strained hamstring) is "making pretty good progress."
Rockies: First baseman Ian Desmond (broken left hand) took 25 swings during batting practice, ran the bases and took some grounders. "My hand felt good," Desmond said. There remains no timetable for Desmond's return.
THIS & THAT
Rockies catcher Tony Wolters had three hits, including a pair of run-scoring singles. ... Nationals 3B Anthony Rendon had three singles.
YOUNG ROTATION
Righty German Marquez will be recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque to start Tuesday. He will be the third rookie pitcher in the Rockies' rotation, joining lefty Kyle Freeland and righty Antonio Senzatela.
"I like young players. I like young pitchers. I like these guys," Black said.
FONDNESS FOR DUSTY
Black counts Baker as one of his managerial mentors. He pitched in 1993 and `94 for Baker when they were with the San Francisco Giants.
"He's a good manager, and a good guy, and a good friend," Black said.
UP NEXT
Nationals: Joe Ross (1-0, 3.86 ERA) had his start pushed back a day to Tuesday. This will be the right-hander's first start against the Rockies.
---
More AP baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball
| View: Play-By-Play | Pitch-By-Pitch | Inning: All | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| Washington - Top of 1st | SCORE | |
|---|---|---|
| Tyler Anderson pitching for Colorado | WSH | COL |
| T. Turner grounded out to pitcher. | 0 | 0 |
| Eaton struck out looking. | 0 | 0 |
| Rendon struck out swinging. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Colorado - Bottom of 1st | SCORE | |
| Jacob Turner pitching for Washington | WSH | COL |
| Blackmon fouled out to shortstop. | 0 | 0 |
| LeMahieu struck out swinging. | 0 | 0 |
| Arenado flied out to right. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Washington - Top of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Tyler Anderson pitching for Colorado | WSH | COL |
| Murphy struck out swinging. | 0 | 0 |
| Zimmerman flied out to right. | 0 | 0 |
| Werth lined out to left. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Colorado - Bottom of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Jacob Turner pitching for Washington | WSH | COL |
| González singled to center. | 0 | 0 |
| Reynolds lined out to center. | 0 | 0 |
| Parra lined out to shortstop. | 0 | 0 |
| Story singled to left, González to second. | 0 | 0 |
| Wolters singled to left, González scored, Story to third. | 0 | 1 |
| Anderson grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, Wolters out at second. | 0 | 1 |
| 1 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Washington - Top of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Tyler Anderson pitching for Colorado | WSH | COL |
| Taylor struck out swinging. | 0 | 1 |
| Lobatón singled to right center. | 0 | 1 |
| J. Turner sacrificed to first, Lobatón to second. | 0 | 1 |
| T. Turner struck out swinging. | 0 | 1 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Colorado - Bottom of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Jacob Turner pitching for Washington | WSH | COL |
| Blackmon lined out to right. | 0 | 1 |
| LeMahieu grounded out to second. | 0 | 1 |
| Arenado struck out swinging. | 0 | 1 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Washington - Top of 4th | SCORE | |
| Tyler Anderson pitching for Colorado | WSH | COL |
| Eaton grounded out to second. | 0 | 1 |
| Rendon singled to right center. | 0 | 1 |
| Murphy grounded into double play, pitcher to shortstop to first, Rendon out at second. | 0 | 1 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Colorado - Bottom of 4th | SCORE | |
| Jacob Turner pitching for Washington | WSH | COL |
| González lined out to third. | 0 | 1 |
| Reynolds flied out to right. | 0 | 1 |
| Parra struck out swinging. | 0 | 1 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Washington - Top of 5th | SCORE | |
| Tyler Anderson pitching for Colorado | WSH | COL |
| Zimmerman flied out to right. | 0 | 1 |
| Werth walked. | 0 | 1 |
| Taylor grounded into fielder's choice to pitcher, Werth out at second. | 0 | 1 |
| Lobatón grounded out to third. | 0 | 1 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Colorado - Bottom of 5th | SCORE | |
| Jacob Turner pitching for Washington | WSH | COL |
| Story flied out to right. | 0 | 1 |
| Wolters singled to right. | 0 | 1 |
| Anderson struck out bunting foul. | 0 | 1 |
| Blackmon lined out to first. | 0 | 1 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Washington - Top of 6th | SCORE | |
| Tyler Anderson pitching for Colorado | WSH | COL |
| J. Turner grounded out to second. | 0 | 1 |
| T. Turner doubled to deep center. | 0 | 1 |
| Eaton tripled to deep center, T. Turner scored. | 1 | 1 |
| Rendon singled to right, Eaton scored. | 2 | 1 |
| Murphy lined out to left. | 2 | 1 |
| Zimmerman homered to center (426 feet), Rendon scored. | 4 | 1 |
| Estévez relieved Anderson. | 4 | 1 |
| Werth grounded out to shortstop. | 4 | 1 |
| 4 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Colorado - Bottom of 6th | SCORE | |
| Jacob Turner pitching for Washington | WSH | COL |
| LeMahieu struck out looking. | 4 | 1 |
| Arenado tripled to deep center. | 4 | 1 |
| González struck out swinging. | 4 | 1 |
| Reynolds homered to left (370 feet), Arenado scored. | 4 | 3 |
| Parra flied out to left. | 4 | 3 |
| 2 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Washington - Top of 7th | SCORE | |
| Carlos Estevez pitching for Colorado | WSH | COL |
| Taylor struck out swinging. | 4 | 3 |
| Lobatón grounded out to third. | 4 | 3 |
| Lind hit for J. Turner. | 4 | 3 |
| Lind struck out swinging. | 4 | 3 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Colorado - Bottom of 7th | SCORE | |
| Enny Romero pitching for Washington | WSH | COL |
| Romero relieved J. Turner. | 4 | 3 |
| Story popped out to third. | 4 | 3 |
| Wolters struck out swinging. | 4 | 3 |
| Valaika hit for Estévez. | 4 | 3 |
| Valaika doubled to deep left. | 4 | 3 |
| Blackmon homered to right (415 feet), Valaika scored. | 4 | 5 |
| Treinen relieved Romero. | 4 | 5 |
| LeMahieu singled to right. | 4 | 5 |
| Arenado grounded out to shortstop. | 4 | 5 |
| 2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Washington - Top of 8th | SCORE | |
| Adam Ottavino pitching for Colorado | WSH | COL |
| Ottavino relieved Estévez. | 4 | 5 |
| T. Turner grounded out to pitcher. | 4 | 5 |
| Eaton lined out to pitcher. | 4 | 5 |
| Rendon reached on infield single to pitcher. | 4 | 5 |
| Murphy grounded out to catcher. | 4 | 5 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Colorado - Bottom of 8th | SCORE | |
| Blake Treinen pitching for Washington | WSH | COL |
| González singled to center. | 4 | 5 |
| Reynolds singled to center, González to second. | 4 | 5 |
| Parra singled to left, González to third, Reynolds to second. | 4 | 5 |
| Story singled to left, González scored, Reynolds to third, Parra to second. | 4 | 6 |
| Wolters singled to left, Reynolds scored, Parra to third, Story to second. | 4 | 7 |
| Amarista hit for Ottavino. | 4 | 7 |
| Albers relieved Treinen. | 4 | 7 |
| Amarista struck out swinging. | 4 | 7 |
| Blackmon grounded into fielder's choice to second, Parra scored, Wolters out at second, Story to third. | 4 | 8 |
| LeMahieu grounded out to second. | 4 | 8 |
| 3 Runs, 5 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Washington - Top of 9th | SCORE | |
| Greg Holland pitching for Colorado | WSH | COL |
| Holland relieved Ottavino. | 4 | 8 |
| Zimmerman grounded out to shortstop. | 4 | 8 |
| Werth doubled to deep left. | 4 | 8 |
| Taylor walked. | 4 | 8 |
| Lobatón flied out to center. | 4 | 8 |
| Harper hit for Albers. | 4 | 8 |
| Harper grounded out to first. | 4 | 8 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
Washington Nationals
| Hitters | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | #P | AVG | OBP | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T. Turner SS | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 14 | .219 | .242 | .313 |
| Eaton RF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 17 | .282 | .388 | .437 |
| Rendon 3B | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 20 | .246 | .325 | .275 |
| Murphy 2B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 14 | .308 | .341 | .513 |
| Zimmerman 1B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | .379 | .431 | .788 |
| Werth LF | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 15 | .275 | .339 | .471 |
| Taylor CF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 21 | .059 | .105 | .059 |
| Lobatón C | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | .143 | .200 | .357 |
| J. Turner P | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
a-Lind PH
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | .300 | .364 | .550 |
Romero P
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
Treinen P
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
Albers P
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
b-Harper PH
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .394 | .518 | .803 |
| Totals | 33 | 4 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 135 | |||
| a-struck out swinging for J Turner in the 7th b-grounded to first for M Albers in the 9th | ||||||||||
| BATTING 2B: T. Turner (3, Anderson); Werth (1, Holland) 3B: Eaton (1, Anderson) HR: Zimmerman (7, 6th inning off Anderson 1 on, 2 Out) RBI: Eaton (8), Rendon (5), Zimmerman 2 (18) S: J. Turner 2-out RBI: Zimmerman 2 GIDP: Murphy Nationals RISP: 2-5 (T. Turner 0-1, Lobatón 0-1, Rendon 1-1, Eaton 1-1, Harper 0-1) Team LOB: 5 | ||||||||||
Game Information
| Stadium | Coors Field, Denver, CO |
| Attendance | 23,019 (45.7% full) - % is based on regular season capacity |
| Game Time | 3:00 |
| Weather | 62 degrees, cloudy |
| Wind | 5 mph |
| Umpires | Home Plate - Mark Wegner, First Base - Ben May, Second Base - Marty Foster, Third Base - Mike Winters |
No comments:
Post a Comment