DENVER — Welcome to the major leagues Drew Pomeranz.
In Sunday’s finale with the Cincinnati Reds, and Colorado eliminated from playoff contention, it was time for some minors to get big league experience. Pomeranz joined three other rookies on the field as he made his first major league appearance.
Needless to say, the southpaw did not display his nerves to the fans or opponent. The lefty pitched five-innings as he was limited to a 60+ pitch count by manager, Jim Tracy. For those five-innings, Pomeranz did nothing but impress the fans and coaching staff, allowing just two hits to a team who earlier in the season was competing for the NL Central crown.
His counterpart, Edinson Volquez lasted five-innings too, but gave up the runs to Colorado that would lead to a Rockies victory.
Scoreless through 3 ½-innings, Ty Wigginton put Colorado on the board with his solo home run to left. The very next inning, Eric Young hit a grounder up the middle for a one out single. Young would steal both second and third before Jordan Pacheco, another rookie, drove in the Rockies second run of the afternoon.
Young singled again in the seventh, and once again, stole second for his third steal of the day. He later advanced to third as Fowler followed with a single, putting runners at the corners with no outs. A wild pitch by Ramon Hernandez with Pacheco batting gave Young the easy opportunity to score while advancing Fowler to second.
Fowler later took third on Pacheco groundout, scoring on Kevin Kouzmanoff’s groundout for a four-to-nothing lead through seven.
NL MVP, Joey Votto, broke the scoreless innings for the Reds, as he sent home run number 28, a solo shot, into the right field stands. But starter, Jason Hammel pitched the final four-innings after Pomeranz debut, earning his first save of the season.
Colorado could do their division foe, the D-backs, a favor if they can pull out some victories over the Milwaukee Brewers. With just games left in the regular season, the only competition left in the National League is to determine who will get home field advantage after the Philadelphia Phillies, where they posses home field throughout the post-season unless they get knocked off. Gotta love the Midsummer Classic mean so much for post-season play.