The low-points of Tuesday nights game were early and low. Jhoulys Chacin didn’t wait long to prove he is still having issues on the mound. He gave up the long ball to Dee Gordon on the fourth pitch of the game. It was Gordon’s first home run of his career. It was also the first of four runs Chacin would give up that inning.
Before he was pulled the damage included seven earned runs on 11 hits and four walks. When he left the team was in a 7-0 hole, facing their nemesis Ted Lilly.
By all accounts the game should have ended there, with the final four innings being just a formality. But Carlos Gonzalez had other plans, taking the first pitch he saw in the bottom of the sixth and sending it over the wall for a 2 run home run. The Rockies were on the board, 7-2, and again it seemed like that would be all they had in the tank.
But a funny thing happened on the way to the seventh. Lilly didn’t come out to the mound. Instead they sent Josh Lindblom and the Rockies could smell blood in the water.
Colvin HR Celebration - photo by Rox Addict
Tyler Colvin was especially excited with the pitching change. Called in to pinch hit with Ramon Hernandez on second, Colvin hit one out of the park to make the score 7-5.
A game that seemed doomed in the fifth suddenly seemed not only winnable, but down right legendary thanks to CarGo’s 2 run home run in the sixth and now Colvins home run in the seventh. Add to it Heltons “just missed it” sacrifice to the warning track in deep center to bring the score to 7-6 in the bottom of the eighth and the feeling in the air was of a potential walk off.
Matt Reynolds stayed in the game in the ninth and kept the score pegged 7-6 thanks to two strikeouts, making a nice catch on a pop-up bunt along the way.
The feeling of a walk off increased in the bottom of the ninth as CarGo came to the plate with Wilin Rosario on third. All it would take would be a soft single or a ball to find grass pretty much anywhere and we would be tied. If he went yard again for his second HR of the day, well then all the better.
Whether he wanted it too much, or Guerra wanted it more isn’t important. The back foot slider that has haunted CarGo from the beginning was all it took to strike him out and end all hope of a truly magical moment in Rockies time.
For those of you quick to say that Renck and others that write for the Post have to put a “rosy” bow on their stories, you might be interested in his article today asking that Chacin get sent down:
http://www.denverpost.com/rockies/ci_20527527/colorado-rockies-need-send-jhoulys-chacin-triple
I personally think that his reporting is fair and have an interview with him that I’ll be posting a little bit later in the season that shows he really cares a ton about the team as well as his reporting.
I thought Chacin was being sent down? Thought I heard that on the radio on the way home last night?
Glass half full/half empty? I’ll go with half full. Half empty is just too easy.
They tried and almost pulled it off. Runner on 2nd with 1 out and not tieing the game was a little disappointing after the come back but still … they didn’t give up.
No decision yet, but looks like he is being held because nobody really ready to come up:
http://blogs.denverpost.com/rockies/2012/05/02/chacin-expected-start-rockies-triplea-arms-time/11806/
Tracy said “I need to sleep on it, but you just can’t go out and pitch like that. You just can’t”