Rockies snap losing streak, get win No. 5 with Chase Dollander’s sensational gem

DENVER — Rockies Report, Game 30:

ROCKIES BOTTOM LINE: There was a reigning Cy Young Award winner at Coors Field on Wednesday. He wore an Atlanta Braves uniform.

But it was the bright hope of the Colorado Rockies’ pitching staff who looked Cy Young-worthy.

Chase Dollander turned in the best start of his brief major-league career and turned out the lights on the Atlanta Braves, outdueling Atlanta starter Chris Sale in a 2-1 win in front of a STEM Day throng of 29,661 at Coors Field on Wednesday.

The rare triumph also pulled the Rockies out of a 1-16 slide, their worst 17-game span in club history. It also ensures that they are no longer the worst team in MLB history at this juncture in the season, after dropping to that dubious distinction after 29 games with their loss Tuesday night.

The Rox eked out just enough production against Sale, who had his strongest start of the season, going seven innings and scattering just five hits. But Colorado’s two runs were enough.

That was due in part to the fact that Atlanta’s manager, Brian Snitker, made a baffling decision to shuffle his lineup despite averaging 6.8 runs a game on his team’s road trip coming into Wednesday. He moved sizzling leadoff hitter Alex Verdugo out of the leadoff spot and out of the lineup entirely, and also gave catcher Sean Murphy a rest day — despite Atlanta having an off day on Thursday — after going 4-for-10 on Monday and Tuesday.

The resulting discombobulated lineup flailed against Dollander and relievers Jake Bird, Seth Halvorsen and Zach Agnos, who got his first major-league save.

Colorado’s offense wasn’t much, but it was enough.

Hunter Goodman and Michael Toglia started the work in the second inning with a single and a double, and then Sean Bouchard drove Goodman home from third with a groundout. One inning later, Brenton Doyle crushed a 91.6-MPH fastball 421 feet over the left-center-field fence to put the Rockies in front to stay.

ROCKIES STARTER’S REPORT

Dollander’s bursts of promise have been outweighed by the big innings and far-too-frequent bombs surrendered in his previous starts, with his resilience often standing as his prominent positive trait to go along with his curveball.

Wednesday, though, the entire package came together in a start that demonstrated just what is possible for the 2023 first-round choice. Mixing up his pitches and keeping the Atlanta bats off-balance with his curveball, Dollander mowed through the Braves lineup, going 1-2-3 in the first, second, fourth in a one-hit, one-run gem.

Dollander’s only run came home in the third inning after he issued a leadoff walk to Atlanta catcher Drake Baldwin. Shortstop Nick Allen subsequently poked an opposite-field single to right, and two grounders brought home Baldwin as Atlanta eked out the run to avert the shutout.

But Dollander’s afternoon ended in discomfort due to a cracked nail on his middle finger. It first arose during spring training, but he had a fake nail applied, he said after the game. The fake nail fell off four days ago, Dollander revealed, and in the second inning Wednesday, it cracked.

Nevertheless, he battled through it, and until the fifth inning, he seemed unaffected. Finally, in the sixth inning, it caused problems, leading to a loss of control that resulted in a pair of walks to Austin Riley and Matt Olson.

Pitching coach Darrell Scott emerged from the dugout for a visit. After throwing ball one to Ozzie Albies, Dollander gestured to his finger and manager Bud Black emerged from the dugout.

Dollander threw two warmup tosses to catcher Jacob Stallings and conferred with Black, who then signaled for Bird, ending the rookie’s day after 88 pitches — and at 5 2/3 innings, one out shy of a quality start.

“I wanted to get through that sixth inning. I wanted the quality start, obviously,” Dollander said.

“Those are some of the toughest decisions for a manager,” Black said. “You believe in a guy, but he’s bleeding and he’s got a cracked fingernail.”

But Bird picked up his teammate, striking out Albies to end the threat and preserve Dollander’s exquisite day.

BITS AND PIECES

IT WAS DECIDED FOR THE ROCKIES WHEN: Agnos got his first career save by coaxing a fly ball to right field from Atlanta left fielder Eli White with Albies on first, ending the Braves’ final hopes in the ninth.


ROCKIES NUMBER TO NOTE: 3 — Number of wins for the Rockies in games that ended homestands so far this season. Colorado defeated Milwaukee on April 10, won the last game of a day-night doubleheader with Washington on April 20 and then took Wednesday’s game.

WHAT’S NEXT: A quick four-game road trip to San Francisco for the first series of the year against the Giants. Kyle Freeland takes the mound for Colorado with Justin Verlander scheduled to start for San Francisco. The first pitch is scheduled for 7:45 p.m. MDT at Oracle Park.

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