Rockies Punch Ticket to Round 2 of the Playoffs!
I'm not going to preface this writeup with "woe is us" numbers from the Rockies last 11 seasons of playoff baseball. We're just going to acknowledge it's been bad, and two particularly crushing series losses were versus Jim's Dbacks. So we came into this series hopeful and yet wary. But we got some impressive pitching performances and just enough luck to get it done. Let's check out the action:
GAME 1
Dbacks - 0
Rockies - 2
Jose Suarez was basically eligible to make one playoff start, and our decision to use it right away paid off. He held the Dbacks to just two baserunners through 6 frames. And while he was doing that the Rockies were stranding everyone (8 stranded through 6). But we did not waste his brilliance. We strung together 3 hits in the eighth, with RBI hits from Tatis and Olson. And the bullpen bent but never broke. They were helped by two double plays, one to end the 7th and one to end the game!
Starters - Abbott and Suarez
WP - Pagan LP - Cruz SV- Curtiss HR - none
GAME 2
Dbacks - 2
Rockies - 8
Tyler Glasnow backed up Suarez with 5 shutout frames of his own, and by the time he left the game he'd depart with an 8-0 lead. The 3rd inning really sealed it, when Willy Adames took a Michael King 2-2 hanging curve for a grand slam with 2 outs! The Dbacks would strike back against bulk reliever Ben Casparius in the 6th, but he'd settle down in the 7th and 8th, and we cruised it home. "Fun" fact - Will Smith's line, 0 for 0, 5 BB, 3 runs scored.
Starters - King and Glasnow
WP - Glasnow LP - King HR - Adames, Olson
GAME 3
Rockies - 1
Dbacks - 7
The series moved to Arizona, and Jim won a game 7-1 that maybe should have been worse, as he missed 4 ballpark singles to go with his 14 other hits. Nick Pivetta pitched 6 and let up 3, but departed down 3-0. Ryan Pepiot would go 7 1/3 and let up just 1 run. Still, at stretch time it was 3-1 Dbacks, and we had hope. But Jimmy Herget made sure our hopes were dashed, letting up 5 hits and 4 runs in the home 8th. Ouch.
Starters - Pivetta and Pepiot
WP - Pepiot LP - Pivetta HR - Bohm, Lopez
GAME 4
Rockies - 2
Dbacks - 1
This game was crazy tense. But the Rocks really have to credit yet ANOTHER set of scoreless frames from a starter, as Blake Snell blanked the Dbacks for 6. Tatis would spot him a 1-0 lead with an RBI hit in the 3rd, and we'd never trail from there. Tatis got his own triple and scored on an Andrew Vaughn error in the 8th. Up 2-0, the Rocks let Caleb Thielbar try to cruise through the 8th. It almost cost us, as he let up a leadoff double to Alex Call, and with 1-out and Call on 3rd, Jacob Marsee got the 1-10 homer shot off of Thielbar's card. But he rolled a 13, and although it was a sac fly, we were still ahead. It was enough. Pagan rolled in and pitched 1 1/3 to finish it off. Whew!
Starters - Snell and Luzardo
WP - Snell LP - Luzardo SV - Pagan HR - none
Thanks to Jim for heading over to play, and for a great series! The Dbacks are a longtime Rockies foil, and we respect their game!
Next up are the Pirates. We'll need to be sharp and manage the heck out of this team, but we're excited to take on the Buccos and play for a spot in the KPSL World Series!
