Rockies Exceptions Lead to Opening Night Win: Ryan Edwards

Rockies Exceptions Lead to Victory

Ryan Edwards

It was Opening Day on the road last night for the Rockies as they sent their ace, Jorge De La Rosa, out on the mound to take on the Diamondback’s prize acquisition of the off-season, Zack Greinke, at Chase Field. The result was a 10-5 roller coaster win for the Rockies which represented everything we have come to know about this team over the past five years with few exceptions. The exceptions, and what ultimately lead to the win, are what fans are hoping will make the difference this season as Colorado’s baseball team aims to avoid the cellar of the NL West.

Let’s be honest. The way this game was playing out, by the fifth inning, most Rockies fans were expecting this team to blow the lead and ultimately lose the game. Rockies jumped out to an impressive 7-1 lead in the 4th inning, capped off by rookie Trevor Story’s SECOND home-run of the night in back-to-back plate appearances. The Rockies were owning Greinke, something they couldn’t have said before when he was with the Dodgers. Greinke was pulled after four innings of work and at that point, things were looking bright for Colorado to get their first win of the season.

Trevor Story: 1st player to hit 2 HR in an MLB debut that took place on Opening Day

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) April 5, 2016

Then, the fifth inning happened. It’s an occurrence that is far too common for the Rockies, watching as a significant lead is salted away by bad pitching. Yes, De La Rosa looked great early on, striking out arguably the best power first baseman in the league, Paul Goldschmidt, twice on his way to a total of eight strikeouts. In the fourth inning, he gave up a two-run shot to 3B Jake Lamb bringing the score to 7-3. That’s plenty of room for most MLB teams to work with and with De La Rosa pitching well, Rockies SHOULD have been fine. However, in the fifth inning, Jorge got into trouble, loading the bases with the first three batters before securing an out. Gut check time, right? This is usually the moment in the game that, the Rockies starter not only struggles to work out of a jam but the reliever that comes into the game pours the proverbial “gasoline on the fire” and allows the opponent to tack on more runs. But it didn’t happen. Sure, after securing a fly-out and strikeout, Jorge gave up a two run single to Yasmany Tomas to bring to the score to 7-5. The bases were loaded again with a walk to Lamb and Walt Weiss had seen enough. He went to his bullpen (audible gasp). Rockies fans prepared for the inevitable “train falling off the tracks” moment for which this bullpen has become infamous. It didn’t happen though. P Justin Miller struck out PH Phil Gosselin to retire the side leaving three stranded. It was an exception to the rule that is the Rockies and if this team is expecting any kind of success this season and beyond, they will need a lot more moments like that.

The bullpen, who has historically been one of the worst in MLB, was expected to be slightly improved this season. Last night, they combined to give up a total of 4 hits, 1 walk, 5 strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings. More importantly, they didn’t give up any runs. The expectation can’t be that this bullpen will magically become elite but can fans expect improvement? Absolutely. More importantly, can the players on this team gain confidence from the bullpen knowing that they will keep them in games when the offense is struggling? When the bullpen stinks, the offense tends to grip a little tighter and try to do too much. The result has the opposite effect of its intention and the team spirals into a pit of despair. To win this season, it’s imperative they break this cycle. An improved bullpen could help that.

Nolan Arenado was stellar last night, bailing out Justin Miller in the 6th inning with a magnificent double-play at 3rd that few players in the league could make. He also tacked on a game clinching 3-run home-run in the 8th inning to bring the score to 10-5. Trevor Story made his mark with an impressive defensive play and, of course, the phenomenal two home-runs in the 3rd and 4th innings. Carlos Gonzalez also homered, assisting the Rockies to 15 hits on the night.

There are plenty of concerns about the Rockies. Anyone predicting more than 80 wins this season is probably enjoying a little too much Purple Kool-Aid however, there are a litany of things to be excited about. We will find out in short-order whether this is just another impressive April (they have had a winning record in April the past three seasons, but have had a losing record in every other month) or a mirage of a team that continues to stub their toe and mercilessly break the hearts of the Rockies fanbase. The exceptions from last night’s win are what Rockies fans should hope for. If they can’t build on those exceptions, it’s going to be another long summer of disappointment.

Ryan Edwards

@ryanedwards1043

TOP PHOTO CREDIT: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports