ATLANTA -- Trevor Story felt some relief after doubling in two runs in the fifth inning, especially since the Colorado Rockies have been struggling at the plate for most of the month.
"We've put ourselves in good spots, but just haven't gotten big hits or gotten the job done," Story said. "It was good to do that for sure."
Charlie Blackmon hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer in the ninth inning and D.J. LeMahieu added two solo shots to help Colorado hold off the Atlanta Braves 7-6 on Saturday night.
LeMahieu's second homer made it a three-run game and chased Braves closer Arodys Vizcaino as the Rockies improved to 6-12 since Aug. 6. Colorado began the day with a 3 1/2-game lead for the second NL wild-card spot, but they had lost 24 of 31 on the road.
Blackmon showed no aftereffects from leaving Friday's game early with a left hamstring cramp. He ran the bases and played the field with no apparent issues before facing Vizcaino. Pinch-hitter Carlos Gonzalez led off with a single to set the stage for Blackmon's opposite-field shot.
"We've been talking about big hits for a couple of weeks now," Rockies manager Bud Black said. "Trevor gave us one. Charlie gave us one. We've talked about stringing hits together and we did that in couple of different innings."
The Rockies began the night hitting .209 with runners in scoring position over their last 17 games.
Vizcaino (3-3), who had a 1.42 ERA in his last 41 games, was not in a save situation, but he allowed three runs and three hits while failing to record an out. He was pulled after LeMahieu's sixth homer made it 7-4.
Pat Neshek (4-3) pitched a perfect eighth to get the win. Rockies closer Greg Holland was pulled in the ninth after giving up Matt Adams' pinch-hit, two-run homer and Ender Inciarte's single, but Jake McGee earned his second save in five chances when Brandon Phillips grounded into a double play.
The Rockies took a 4-2 lead in the fifth when LeMahieu homered and Story doubled to chase Braves starter Sean Newcomb.
Newcomb gave up four runs, seven hits and two walks with five strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings. The left-hander has a 5.76 ERA in his last 10 starts.
"They were fouling a lot of stuff off with two strikes," he said. "I felt like they did a good job fouling off good pitches and staying alive and making something out of it."
Colorado starter Kyle Freeland allowed four runs, 10 hits, one walk and struck out five in six innings.
Atlanta went up 2-1 in the third on Brandon Phillips' RBI single and Freddie Freeman's sacrifice fly. The Rockies led 1-0 in the second on Pat Valaika's RBI single.
GOOD BUZZ
Ozzie Albies went 3 for 4, flashed exceptional speed on a triple that easily beat the cutoff throw in the fourth. His RBI double in the sixth cut the lead to 4-3. Albies is hitting .412 over his last nine games. He has four triples and is the first Braves player to have that many in his first 23 games since Chet Ross had four in 1939-40. Dansby Swanson, who went 2 for 3 with a walk, singled in the second run of the inning to make it 4-all. Swanson is hitting .400 in his last 40 at-bats.
INJURY REPORT
Rockies: INF-OF Ian Desmond, on the disabled for the second time this year with a strained right calf, is rehabbing at Albuquerque and will be re-evaluated Sunday. Black indicated he could return to the lineup Monday at home against Detroit.
Braves: Manager Brian Snitker said INF Johan Camargo (right knee bruise) and 3B Adonis Garcia (finger surgery) are at least a week away from returning to the majors.
TAKE A BREAK
Black said RHP Jeff Hoffman is getting shut down until next week after struggling in his first start since getting demoted to Triple-A Albuquerque last week. Hoffman, who lasted just two-thirds of an inning and gave up six runs, will not pitch for five or six days and then will pitch just one inning in his next appearance, after which he will rejoin Albuquerque's rotation. In 16 starts and one relief appearance with Colorado, Hoffman went 6-5 with a 5.30 ERA.
UP NEXT
Rockies: RHP Jon Gray (5-3, 4.54 ERA) will make his 14th start. He beat the Braves on Aug. 16 in Denver, but he's 1/3 with a 5.72 ERA in eight road starts.
Braves: RHP Mike Foltynewicz (10-9, 4.95 ERA) will make his 25th start and is 1-4 with a 10.64 ERA in his last five starts. He is 0-3 with a 5.87 ERA in four career starts against Colorado.
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"We've put ourselves in good spots, but just haven't gotten big hits or gotten the job done," Story said. "It was good to do that for sure."
Charlie Blackmon hit a tiebreaking, two-run homer in the ninth inning and D.J. LeMahieu added two solo shots to help Colorado hold off the Atlanta Braves 7-6 on Saturday night.
LeMahieu's second homer made it a three-run game and chased Braves closer Arodys Vizcaino as the Rockies improved to 6-12 since Aug. 6. Colorado began the day with a 3 1/2-game lead for the second NL wild-card spot, but they had lost 24 of 31 on the road.
Blackmon showed no aftereffects from leaving Friday's game early with a left hamstring cramp. He ran the bases and played the field with no apparent issues before facing Vizcaino. Pinch-hitter Carlos Gonzalez led off with a single to set the stage for Blackmon's opposite-field shot.
"We've been talking about big hits for a couple of weeks now," Rockies manager Bud Black said. "Trevor gave us one. Charlie gave us one. We've talked about stringing hits together and we did that in couple of different innings."
The Rockies began the night hitting .209 with runners in scoring position over their last 17 games.
Vizcaino (3-3), who had a 1.42 ERA in his last 41 games, was not in a save situation, but he allowed three runs and three hits while failing to record an out. He was pulled after LeMahieu's sixth homer made it 7-4.
Pat Neshek (4-3) pitched a perfect eighth to get the win. Rockies closer Greg Holland was pulled in the ninth after giving up Matt Adams' pinch-hit, two-run homer and Ender Inciarte's single, but Jake McGee earned his second save in five chances when Brandon Phillips grounded into a double play.
The Rockies took a 4-2 lead in the fifth when LeMahieu homered and Story doubled to chase Braves starter Sean Newcomb.
Newcomb gave up four runs, seven hits and two walks with five strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings. The left-hander has a 5.76 ERA in his last 10 starts.
"They were fouling a lot of stuff off with two strikes," he said. "I felt like they did a good job fouling off good pitches and staying alive and making something out of it."
Colorado starter Kyle Freeland allowed four runs, 10 hits, one walk and struck out five in six innings.
Atlanta went up 2-1 in the third on Brandon Phillips' RBI single and Freddie Freeman's sacrifice fly. The Rockies led 1-0 in the second on Pat Valaika's RBI single.
GOOD BUZZ
Ozzie Albies went 3 for 4, flashed exceptional speed on a triple that easily beat the cutoff throw in the fourth. His RBI double in the sixth cut the lead to 4-3. Albies is hitting .412 over his last nine games. He has four triples and is the first Braves player to have that many in his first 23 games since Chet Ross had four in 1939-40. Dansby Swanson, who went 2 for 3 with a walk, singled in the second run of the inning to make it 4-all. Swanson is hitting .400 in his last 40 at-bats.
INJURY REPORT
Rockies: INF-OF Ian Desmond, on the disabled for the second time this year with a strained right calf, is rehabbing at Albuquerque and will be re-evaluated Sunday. Black indicated he could return to the lineup Monday at home against Detroit.
Braves: Manager Brian Snitker said INF Johan Camargo (right knee bruise) and 3B Adonis Garcia (finger surgery) are at least a week away from returning to the majors.
TAKE A BREAK
Black said RHP Jeff Hoffman is getting shut down until next week after struggling in his first start since getting demoted to Triple-A Albuquerque last week. Hoffman, who lasted just two-thirds of an inning and gave up six runs, will not pitch for five or six days and then will pitch just one inning in his next appearance, after which he will rejoin Albuquerque's rotation. In 16 starts and one relief appearance with Colorado, Hoffman went 6-5 with a 5.30 ERA.
UP NEXT
Rockies: RHP Jon Gray (5-3, 4.54 ERA) will make his 14th start. He beat the Braves on Aug. 16 in Denver, but he's 1/3 with a 5.72 ERA in eight road starts.
Braves: RHP Mike Foltynewicz (10-9, 4.95 ERA) will make his 25th start and is 1-4 with a 10.64 ERA in his last five starts. He is 0-3 with a 5.87 ERA in four career starts against Colorado.
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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 |
| Colorado - Top of 1st | SCORE | |
|---|---|---|
| Sean Newcomb pitching for Atlanta | COL | ATL |
| Blackmon struck out swinging. | 0 | 0 |
| LeMahieu grounded out to shortstop. | 0 | 0 |
| Arenado doubled to right. | 0 | 0 |
| Reynolds popped out to first. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Atlanta - Bottom of 1st | SCORE | |
| Kyle Freeland pitching for Colorado | COL | ATL |
| Inciarte grounded out to pitcher. | 0 | 0 |
| Phillips singled to left. | 0 | 0 |
| F. Freeman lined into double play, to first, Phillips doubled off first. | 0 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Colorado - Top of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Sean Newcomb pitching for Atlanta | COL | ATL |
| Parra hit by pitch. | 0 | 0 |
| Story flied out to right, Parra to second. | 0 | 0 |
| Lucroy walked. | 0 | 0 |
| Valaika singled to center, Parra scored, Lucroy to second. | 1 | 0 |
| Freeland struck out swinging. | 1 | 0 |
| Blackmon grounded out to second. | 1 | 0 |
| 1 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Atlanta - Bottom of 2nd | SCORE | |
| Kyle Freeland pitching for Colorado | COL | ATL |
| Kemp singled to left. | 1 | 0 |
| Markakis singled to left, Kemp to second. | 1 | 0 |
| Flowers grounded into double play, third to first, Kemp out at third, Markakis to second. | 1 | 0 |
| Albies grounded out to shortstop. | 1 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Colorado - Top of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Sean Newcomb pitching for Atlanta | COL | ATL |
| LeMahieu grounded out to second. | 1 | 0 |
| Arenado singled to center. | 1 | 0 |
| Reynolds reached on infield single to third, Arenado to second. | 1 | 0 |
| Parra flied out to center. | 1 | 0 |
| Story struck out swinging. | 1 | 0 |
| 0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Atlanta - Bottom of 3rd | SCORE | |
| Kyle Freeland pitching for Colorado | COL | ATL |
| Swanson singled to shallow left. | 1 | 0 |
| Newcomb sacrificed to third, Swanson to second. | 1 | 0 |
| Inciarte reached on infield single to second, Swanson to third. | 1 | 0 |
| Phillips singled to right, Swanson scored, Inciarte to third. | 1 | 1 |
| F. Freeman hit sacrifice fly to left, Inciarte scored. | 1 | 2 |
| Kemp lined out to center. | 1 | 2 |
| 2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Colorado - Top of 4th | SCORE | |
| Sean Newcomb pitching for Atlanta | COL | ATL |
| Lucroy struck out swinging. | 1 | 2 |
| Valaika flied out to left. | 1 | 2 |
| Freeland struck out looking. | 1 | 2 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Atlanta - Bottom of 4th | SCORE | |
| Kyle Freeland pitching for Colorado | COL | ATL |
| Markakis struck out swinging. | 1 | 2 |
| Flowers flied out to right. | 1 | 2 |
| Albies tripled to deep right. | 1 | 2 |
| Swanson intentionally walked. | 1 | 2 |
| Newcomb struck out swinging. | 1 | 2 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Colorado - Top of 5th | SCORE | |
| Sean Newcomb pitching for Atlanta | COL | ATL |
| Blackmon grounded out to shortstop. | 1 | 2 |
| LeMahieu homered to right center (351 feet). | 2 | 2 |
| Arenado grounded out to pitcher. | 2 | 2 |
| Reynolds walked. | 2 | 2 |
| Parra singled to center, Reynolds to second. | 2 | 2 |
| Story doubled to deep center, Reynolds and Parra scored. | 4 | 2 |
| Wisler relieved Newcomb. | 4 | 2 |
| Lucroy grounded out to third. | 4 | 2 |
| 3 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Atlanta - Bottom of 5th | SCORE | |
| Kyle Freeland pitching for Colorado | COL | ATL |
| Inciarte flied out to right. | 4 | 2 |
| Phillips struck out swinging. | 4 | 2 |
| F. Freeman struck out swinging. | 4 | 2 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Colorado - Top of 6th | SCORE | |
| Matt Wisler pitching for Atlanta | COL | ATL |
| Valaika bunt grounded out to pitcher. | 4 | 2 |
| Freeland struck out swinging. | 4 | 2 |
| Blackmon struck out swinging. | 4 | 2 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Atlanta - Bottom of 6th | SCORE | |
| Kyle Freeland pitching for Colorado | COL | ATL |
| Tapia in left field. | 4 | 2 |
| Kemp grounded out to third. | 4 | 2 |
| Markakis singled to center. | 4 | 2 |
| Flowers lined out to center. | 4 | 2 |
| Albies doubled to deep right, Markakis scored. | 4 | 3 |
| Swanson doubled to left, Albies scored. | 4 | 4 |
| L. Adams hit for Wisler. | 4 | 4 |
| L. Adams struck out swinging. | 4 | 4 |
| 2 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Colorado - Top of 7th | SCORE | |
| Jose Ramirez pitching for Atlanta | COL | ATL |
| Ramírez relieved Wisler. | 4 | 4 |
| LeMahieu singled to right. | 4 | 4 |
| Arenado flied out to right. | 4 | 4 |
| Reynolds struck out swinging. | 4 | 4 |
| Parra struck out swinging. | 4 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 1 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Atlanta - Bottom of 7th | SCORE | |
| Chris Rusin pitching for Colorado | COL | ATL |
| Rusin relieved Freeland. | 4 | 4 |
| Inciarte bunt grounded out to first. | 4 | 4 |
| Phillips struck out swinging. | 4 | 4 |
| F. Freeman grounded out to shortstop. | 4 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 1 Errors | ||
| Colorado - Top of 8th | SCORE | |
| Dan Winkler pitching for Atlanta | COL | ATL |
| Winkler relieved Ramírez. | 4 | 4 |
| Story walked. | 4 | 4 |
| Lucroy struck out swinging. Story out at first on batter interference. | 4 | 4 |
| Tapia grounded out to second. | 4 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Atlanta - Bottom of 8th | SCORE | |
| Pat Neshek pitching for Colorado | COL | ATL |
| Neshek relieved Rusin. | 4 | 4 |
| Kemp grounded out to shortstop. | 4 | 4 |
| Markakis flied out to left. | 4 | 4 |
| Flowers fouled out to catcher. | 4 | 4 |
| 0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Colorado - Top of 9th | SCORE | |
| Arodys Vizcaino pitching for Atlanta | COL | ATL |
| Vizcaíno relieved Winkler. | 4 | 4 |
| González hit for Neshek. | 4 | 4 |
| González singled to center. | 4 | 4 |
| Blackmon homered to center (391 feet), González scored. | 6 | 4 |
| LeMahieu homered to left center (366 feet). | 7 | 4 |
| Motte relieved Vizcaíno. | 7 | 4 |
| Arenado grounded out to pitcher. | 7 | 4 |
| Reynolds struck out swinging. | 7 | 4 |
| Parra singled to right center. | 7 | 4 |
| Parra to second on wild pitch by Motte. | 7 | 4 |
| Story walked. | 7 | 4 |
| Lucroy grounded out to first. | 7 | 4 |
| 3 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors | ||
| Atlanta - Bottom of 9th | SCORE | |
| Greg Holland pitching for Colorado | COL | ATL |
| González in right field. | 7 | 4 |
| Holland relieved Neshek. | 7 | 4 |
| Albies singled to right. | 7 | 4 |
| Swanson flied out to center. | 7 | 4 |
| M. Adams hit for Motte. | 7 | 4 |
| M. Adams homered to center (388 feet), Albies scored. | 7 | 6 |
| Inciarte singled to left. | 7 | 6 |
| McGee relieved Holland. | 7 | 6 |
| Phillips grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first, Inciarte out at second. | 7 | 6 |
| Colorado Rockies | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hitters | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | #P | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| Blackmon CF | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 25 | .335 | .397 | .621 |
| LeMahieu 2B | 5 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 21 | .315 | .377 | .404 |
| Arenado 3B | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | .311 | .366 | .594 |
| Reynolds 1B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 22 | .277 | .364 | .512 |
| Parra RF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 20 | .346 | .377 | .517 |
Holland P
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
McGee P
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Story SS | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 25 | .224 | .308 | .420 |
| Lucroy C | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 22 | .259 | .397 | .379 |
| Valaika LF | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | .263 | .288 | .538 |
Tapia LF
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | .274 | .324 | .407 |
| Freeland P | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 10 | .167 | .184 | .250 |
Rusin P
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .429 | .429 | .429 |
Neshek P
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
a-González PH-RF
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .240 | .308 | .359 |
| Totals | 38 | 7 | 12 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 180 | |||
| a-singled to center for P Neshek in the 9th | ||||||||||
| BATTING 2B: Arenado (39, Newcomb); Story (18, Newcomb) HR: LeMahieu 2 (6, 5th inning off Newcomb 0 on, 1 Out; 9th inning off Vizcaíno 0 on, 0 Out); Blackmon (31, 9th inning off Vizcaíno 1 on, 0 Out) RBI: Valaika (34), LeMahieu 2 (55), Story 2 (58), Blackmon 2 (82) 2-out RBI: Story 2 Rockies RISP: 2-9 (Story 1-2, Parra 0-1, Reynolds 0-1, Valaika 1-1, Lucroy 0-2, Freeland 0-1, Blackmon 0-1) Team LOB: 9 | ||||||||||
| FIELDING E: Tapia (3, bobble) DP: 3 (Reynolds, Arenado-Reynolds, Story-LeMahieu-Reynolds). | ||||||||||
Game Information
| Stadium | SunTrust Park, Cumberland, GA |
| Attendance | 32,448 (78.9% full) - % is based on regular season capacity |
| Game Time | 3:24 |
| Weather | 81 degrees, partly cloudy |
| Wind | 5 mph |
| Umpires | Home Plate - Sean Barber, First Base - Ted Barrett, Second Base - Angel Hernandez, Third Base - John Tumpane |
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