Rockies Register

What a couple of years. The Rockies nab a surprise World Series bid in 2007, struggle out of the gate, and then put together a nice second half run to at least get their name mentioned down the stretch.  The good news is, if you like the current machination of the Rockies, you’re really going to like the team in the next couple of years because there’s plenty of talent coming up through the ranks.

Joe Koshansky led all of minor league baseball with 121 RBIs this year and he was the best hitter in the Rockies system.  He also belted 31 homers and that was his third season in the minors where he topped that total.  Jhoulys Chacin was the systems best pitcher.  He finished an impressive 18-3 in two Single-A stops this year.  He’ll get his big test next year with Double A a possibility.

Christian Friedrich was the team’s top draft pick this year and he had an impressive 50 strikeouts in 36 innings in for Tri-City.  He struggled at Asheville, but give the kid some time. 

The weather has been solid and I’ve been trying to get out to use some of my new baseball gear.  I picked up a very cool new baseball bag from Baseball Rampage.  If you’ve never checked out their site, I highly recommend you swing by there for a look.

Ubaldo Jimenez has had a rough season to put it lightly. His record was 3-8 going into Monday’s game against the Milwaukee Brewers. But with the way he pitched Monday, you would not think any of this was the case. Jimenez shut down the Brewers offense over seven innings and allowed just three hits in a 4-3 game.

Jimenez rung up seven Brewers batters and walked five, but managed to keep those runners from scoring. The offense put together four straight innings with one run in each to provide the necessary support to Jimenez.

The bullpen managed to barely hold on to the 4-0 lead that the offense had posted. The Brewers posted three runs in the bottom of the eight off the Rockies bullpen, two coming on a Prince Fielder homer with two outs.

Brian Fuentes came in and shut down the Brewers bats in the bottom of the ninth to seal the deal and give Jimenez a huge moral boosting victory.

Matt Holliday homered for the Rockies in the seventh, his 14th of the year.

Brewers started Seth McClung was knocked around in  4.2 innings, giving up five walks, three hits and two runs. He struggled to locate the ball all night and the Rockies took advantage.

Aaron Cook has been dominant this year, but Tuesday night was a whole new level. He threw just 79 pitches in a complete game shutout of the Padres. He allowed just five hits in a game that lasted just an hour and 58 minutes, the shortest in Coors Field history. The Rockies won the game 4-0.

Cook improved to 11-5 on the year with the win. He struck out four in the game.

Jared Banks had a mediocre outing to say it lightly. He hit a rough patch in the bottom of the fifth and allowed four runs in the frame, all that he would allow in the game. He gave up six hits, four runs and struck out four with three walks.

Matt Holliday was the only player in the game with two hits. Willy Tavares, Brad Hawpe, and Garrett Atkins each drove in one run.

The Rockies were deadlocked in a 0-0 game going into the bottom of the ninth inning. They loaded the bases with nobody out. Garrett Atkins ended the longest scoreless game in Coors Field history when he scored on a sacrifice fly to left by Yorvit Torreabla.

Atkins was called out at first glance by the home plate umpire, but the ball popped out of Bengie Molina’s glove and was sitting a few feet away. The umpire reversed his call and the play was ruled an error on Molina. The Rockies had no reservations about winning in that manner.

The bases were loaded when Atkins walked, Brad Hawpe singled and Chris Iannetta walked. Jeff Baker then flew out, but not deep enough to score Atkins. Torrealba followed with a ball that was just deep enough for Atkins to end up scoring.

Tim Lincecum and Ubaldo Jimenez matched each other zero for zero throughout the game. Lincecum struck out nine over seven innings and allowed just six hits.  Jimenez struck out three and gave up just four hits in seven innings.

Brian Fuentes ended up with the win after he had worked the top of the ninth.

Fred Lewis was the lone player with two hits in the game.

For a team that has little to brag about thus far, Aaron Cook is quietly still putting together a very solid season. In the first game of a series with the Giants the Rockies took the win 10-5 and Cook won his ninth game.

Cook allowed four runs, three earned over seven innings to put the Rockies well in a position to win. The offense put up a four spot early in the second and Cook never looked back.

Todd Helton added a three run homer in the fifth and Garrett Atkins blasted a two run shot in the seventh to help boost the Rockies offense. Helton had three hits and drove in three, Jeff Baker and Atkins each had two hits. Baker drove in one.

Jose Castillo had three hits for the Giants, the only Giant with more than one hit.

After winning the first two games of a three game set with the Brewers, the Rockies looked to sweep the series but failed to do so dropping a 3-2 game.

The Brewers pulled ahead early against starter Jeff Francis, scoring two in the first and one in the second. The Rockies pulled back close with a run in the bottom of the second and in the sixth but were unable to capitalize on two bases loaded opportunities.

Chris Iannetta and Francis had the RBI hits that accounted for the Rockies two runs.

The Brewers had 11 hits in the game, with Gabe Kapler, Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder, and Corey Hart each having two.

Francis allowed seven of the hits over six innings, he gave up three runs and struck out four. He took the loss to drop to 2-6.

The Rockies had no one with multiple hits.

Brad Hawpe has been back from the disabled list for two days and two games. In that span he has two homers, one in each game.  The second one, a grand slam in the first innings. Hawpe and the Rockies helped Greg Reynolds to get his first Major League victory in a 6-2 win over the Brewers.

Posted to an early 5-0 lead by his teammates, he went out with room to work with. Reynolds did not allow more than he could avoid. He came up big in big spots, getting double plays and key pitches to squeeze out of tight spots.

Chris Iannetta homered in the first inning, following up Hawpe’s slam.  Ian Stewart hit a huge homer into the third deck, Stewart was a recent call-up due to injuries.

Reynolds held the Brewers to just four hits. He forced them into two innings ending doubles plays that snuffed out potential rallies.

The Rockies received a boost in a big way to pull them to a 6-4 win over the Brewers. A two run homer by Brad Hawpe in his first game back from injury highlighted the five run eighth inning that pushed the Rockies over the Brewers.

Ben Sheets had proved impossible to solve for the Rockies over six innings in which they scored just one run, but they jumped on the bullpen for five in the eighth.

The inning started with two consecutive singles followed by a double and then a triple. The double game from Todd Helton who was driven in on the triple by Garrett Atkins.

Ubaldo Jimenez went six innings allowing five hits and four runs. He collected six strikeouts in the no decision.

Manuel Corpas picked up the win in relief and Brian Fuentes picked up the save, his ninth.

Ryan Spilborghs, Helton, Atkins and Jeff Baker each had two hits in the game.

The Rockies find themselves in unfamiliar territory after a 2-1 on Wednesday. They are winners of two in a row after losing eight straight.

Aaron Cook took matters into his own hands on his way to his eighth win of the year. He improved to 8-3, and still has over a third of the Rockies wins this season. Cook went eight innings allowing six hits and having six strike outs. He gave up the only run the Dodgers had in the game.

All the support that Cook needed came early in the second inning off the bat of Jeff Baker. Baker took a pitch from rookie Clayton Kershaw deep over the fence bringing home two runs.

Kershaw was making his second MLB start, and went a strong five innings. The only blemish on his line was the Baker home run. He allowed five hits and four walks while also striking out five. The Dodgers bullpen behind him was solid allowing just three hits over the next four innings.

Baker’s homer was the first of his season. Brian Fuentes worked the ninth inning to pick up his eighth save.

Jeff Francis has had little to be positive about thus far in the season. Breaking the Rockies eight game losing streak with a four hit shutout effort for seven innings, now that is something Francis can hang his hat on.

In just his second win of the year, Francis came up huge.  He allowed just six baserunners, two by walk and four by hits. He struck out five in the game.

The run support came in the top of the third. Scott Podsednik brought in the first run on a sacrifice fly, bringing in Omar Quintanilla. Todd Helton followed two batters later driving in Seth Smith.

Chris Iannetta added an insurance run in the top of ninth  when he led off with a homer.

Brad Penny took the loss, going six innings allowing two runs and walking four. He also struck out five in the game. Delwyn Young paced the Dodgers bats with two hits, the only player who had two.

Brian Fuentes picked up his seventh save of the year.