Marlins stall Rockies' playoff drive
The Sports Xchange
Sep 26, 2017
DENVER -- With a chance to inch closer to the postseason for the first time since 2009, the Colorado Rockies stumbled Monday night and lost 5-4 to the Miami Marlins.
Odrisamer Despaigne stymied the Rockies for six innings, and No. 8 hitter Miguel Rojas had a career-high four RBIs with two doubles, the first a three-run blow in Miami's four-run fourth, as the Rockies lost for the sixth time in eight games.
With five games remaining in the regular season, the Rockies are 1 1/2 games ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers and 2 1/2 games in front of the St. Louis Cardinals in the race for the second National League wild card.
After Colorado scored twice in the seventh to cut Miami's lead to 5-4, the Rockies dodged trouble in the eighth.
J.T. Realmuto greeted Scott Oberg with a first-pitch double to open the inning. Derek Dietrich walked, as did Rojas after fouling off two sacrifice attempts.
Chris Rusin got the two batters he faced to ground into fielder's choices, with the Rockies getting an out at home each time.
Carlos Estevez came on to face dangerous Giancarlo Stanton and got him to hit a bouncer that Estevez juggled before catching and throwing out Stanton. Looking to add to his major-league-leading total of 57 home runs, Stanton went 0-for-5 and failed to hit the ball out of the infield.
Jonathan Lucroy cut the Marlins' lead to 5-3 with one out in the seventh when he hit his fifth homer overall and second since joining the Rockies.
Pinch hitter Raimel Tapia followed with an infield single, and Brian Ellington walked Charlie Blackmon, bringing Drew Steckenrider out of the Miami bullpen. He walked DJ LeMahieu to load the bases. Nolan Arenado's sacrifice fly made it 5-4 and moved all the runners up a base, but Mark Reynolds fouled out.
Despaigne (1-3) gave up two runs and seven hits with no walks and three strikeouts.
Kyle Barraclough earned his first major league save. After issuing a leadoff walk, he struck out pinch hitter Carlos Gonzalez and got Blackmon to hit a soft liner to first base for a game-ending double play,
Gerardo Parra's groundout brought home Arenado in the sixth to make it 5-2. Arenado led off with a double and took third on Reynolds' fly to center.
Kyle Freeland took over for starter Tyler Chatwood (8-14) in the sixth and gave up back-to-back doubles to Dietrich and Rojas in a three-pitch span to begin the inning, putting the Marlins ahead 5-1.
Blackmon doubled home a run with two outs in the fifth, cutting Miami's lead to 4-1. The hit followed pinch hitter Alexi Amarista's single.
Chatwood gave up four runs, all in the fourth, and seven hits in five innings with two walks and five strikeouts in a 95-pitch outing. He had yielded a total of four runs in 19 2/3 innings in four previous starts, since he returned to the rotation Sept. 5.
Five straight one-out hits in the fourth netted four runs and gave the Marlins a 4-0 lead.
Marcell Ozuna reached base on an infield hit as Arenado charged his slow roller but was unable to pick it up bare-handed.
Ozuna made it to third when Justin Bour singled to right and scored when Realmuto bounced a single up the middle. Dietrich followed with a single to load the bases.
Rojas cleared them when he lined a three-run double off the glove of left fielder Ian Desmond, who turned the wrong way on the ball and recovered but not quite in time to make the catch.
The Rockies caught a break when Lucroy led off the third with an opposite-field triple as Stanton made an unsuccessful lunge for the ball in right field.
But Despaigne got Chatwood to pop out, retired Blackmon on a checked-swing grounder and retired LeMahieu when Stanton redeemed himself.
Stanton made a running catch near the wall in right-center and banged into center fielder Christian Yelich at the wall after making the catch. Both players went down, but Stanton held the ball for the third out.
NOTES: The start of the game was delayed 26 minutes by rain. ... Marlins RF Giancarlo Stanton and LF Marcell Ozuna were named co-National League Players of the Week. It was the second time Ozuna earned the honor, both this season, and the seventh time overall and third this season for Stanton. ... Rockies LHP Mike Dunn made his 500th career appearance. ... Rockies 3B Nolan Arenado was in the lineup after sustaining a bruised right hand Sunday that caused him to leave the game. ... Marlins OF Ichiro Suzuki pinch-hit in the ninth and grounded out, leaving him with a franchise-record 26 pinch hits, two shy of the major league record set by John Vander Wal in 1995 for the Rockies.
Sep 26, 2017
DENVER -- With a chance to inch closer to the postseason for the first time since 2009, the Colorado Rockies stumbled Monday night and lost 5-4 to the Miami Marlins.
Odrisamer Despaigne stymied the Rockies for six innings, and No. 8 hitter Miguel Rojas had a career-high four RBIs with two doubles, the first a three-run blow in Miami's four-run fourth, as the Rockies lost for the sixth time in eight games.
With five games remaining in the regular season, the Rockies are 1 1/2 games ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers and 2 1/2 games in front of the St. Louis Cardinals in the race for the second National League wild card.
After Colorado scored twice in the seventh to cut Miami's lead to 5-4, the Rockies dodged trouble in the eighth.
J.T. Realmuto greeted Scott Oberg with a first-pitch double to open the inning. Derek Dietrich walked, as did Rojas after fouling off two sacrifice attempts.
Chris Rusin got the two batters he faced to ground into fielder's choices, with the Rockies getting an out at home each time.
Carlos Estevez came on to face dangerous Giancarlo Stanton and got him to hit a bouncer that Estevez juggled before catching and throwing out Stanton. Looking to add to his major-league-leading total of 57 home runs, Stanton went 0-for-5 and failed to hit the ball out of the infield.
Jonathan Lucroy cut the Marlins' lead to 5-3 with one out in the seventh when he hit his fifth homer overall and second since joining the Rockies.
Pinch hitter Raimel Tapia followed with an infield single, and Brian Ellington walked Charlie Blackmon, bringing Drew Steckenrider out of the Miami bullpen. He walked DJ LeMahieu to load the bases. Nolan Arenado's sacrifice fly made it 5-4 and moved all the runners up a base, but Mark Reynolds fouled out.
Despaigne (1-3) gave up two runs and seven hits with no walks and three strikeouts.
Kyle Barraclough earned his first major league save. After issuing a leadoff walk, he struck out pinch hitter Carlos Gonzalez and got Blackmon to hit a soft liner to first base for a game-ending double play,
Gerardo Parra's groundout brought home Arenado in the sixth to make it 5-2. Arenado led off with a double and took third on Reynolds' fly to center.
Kyle Freeland took over for starter Tyler Chatwood (8-14) in the sixth and gave up back-to-back doubles to Dietrich and Rojas in a three-pitch span to begin the inning, putting the Marlins ahead 5-1.
Blackmon doubled home a run with two outs in the fifth, cutting Miami's lead to 4-1. The hit followed pinch hitter Alexi Amarista's single.
Chatwood gave up four runs, all in the fourth, and seven hits in five innings with two walks and five strikeouts in a 95-pitch outing. He had yielded a total of four runs in 19 2/3 innings in four previous starts, since he returned to the rotation Sept. 5.
Five straight one-out hits in the fourth netted four runs and gave the Marlins a 4-0 lead.
Marcell Ozuna reached base on an infield hit as Arenado charged his slow roller but was unable to pick it up bare-handed.
Ozuna made it to third when Justin Bour singled to right and scored when Realmuto bounced a single up the middle. Dietrich followed with a single to load the bases.
Rojas cleared them when he lined a three-run double off the glove of left fielder Ian Desmond, who turned the wrong way on the ball and recovered but not quite in time to make the catch.
The Rockies caught a break when Lucroy led off the third with an opposite-field triple as Stanton made an unsuccessful lunge for the ball in right field.
But Despaigne got Chatwood to pop out, retired Blackmon on a checked-swing grounder and retired LeMahieu when Stanton redeemed himself.
Stanton made a running catch near the wall in right-center and banged into center fielder Christian Yelich at the wall after making the catch. Both players went down, but Stanton held the ball for the third out.
NOTES: The start of the game was delayed 26 minutes by rain. ... Marlins RF Giancarlo Stanton and LF Marcell Ozuna were named co-National League Players of the Week. It was the second time Ozuna earned the honor, both this season, and the seventh time overall and third this season for Stanton. ... Rockies LHP Mike Dunn made his 500th career appearance. ... Rockies 3B Nolan Arenado was in the lineup after sustaining a bruised right hand Sunday that caused him to leave the game. ... Marlins OF Ichiro Suzuki pinch-hit in the ninth and grounded out, leaving him with a franchise-record 26 pinch hits, two shy of the major league record set by John Vander Wal in 1995 for the Rockies.
