Rockies 12, Astros 1: Colorado lefties pepper the seats and Jimenez dominates as the Rox win big

by Bryan Kilpatrick on May 12, 2009 9:59 PM MDT in Rockies Game Wraps

Ian Stewart's bat came to life while Todd Helton and Brad Hawpe stayed hot, and Ubaldo Jimenez pitched to form as the Rockies (13-18) cruised to a 12-1 victory over the Houston Astros.

Stewie hit two homers in the game - one a solo shot and the other of grand proportions - and was one of two Rockies who had five RBI's (along with Hawpe, who also homered). Todd Helton hit a homer and drove in two for good measure, as the Rockies churned out 12 hits against Astro pitchers.

After striking out looking in the second inning (for the fifth straight at-bat), Ian Stewart launched a 1-2 offering from Felipe Paulino into the upper deck in right field in the fourth inning, and in the next inning hit a grand slam off of Tim Byrdak to turn a 5-0 game into a 9-0 laugher.

Jimenez (3-4) went 7 strong innings, giving up a run on seven hits while striking out four. For the second straight game, he kept the walks to a minimum (1 last time, zero tonight) and got a ton of run support - something the other Rockies pitchers haven't been able to say a lot lately. In relief, Matt Belisle and Manny Corpas (both labeled bullpen goats thus far) held Houston scoreless in the 8th and 9th innings, respectively. We'll see if they are able to carry their success over to situations in which the game is less decided.

With the blowout victory (coupled with a Padres loss), the Rockies are now in sole possession of third place in the NL West. That doesn't mean a whole lot at this point, but hey - it's nice not being in last. Plus, in case you were wondering, the lopsided win improved Colorado's pythagorean record to 17-14.

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Mike Hampton (insert joke here) vs. Jason Marquis tomorrow evening...go Rox!

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when im at coors

ubaldo is 2-0. and ian stewart is slugging like 3.5.

i like this

if you're reading this, it means my undying support for your team will result in its failure.

by fantasyfencing on May 12, 2009 10:18 PM MDT reply actions

maybe you should go more often :D

Baseball players are smarter than football players. How often do you see a baseball team penalized for too many men on the field?
Author: Jim Bouton

by pedalpusher on May 13, 2009 4:32 PM MDT up reply actions

We're totally gonna win

The NL Pythagorean West pennant. Can we fly a banner at Coors for that?

In all seriousness, a couple quick thoughts:

1) I thought the Rox, particularly Stewart, looked more aggressive at the plate tonight. Far fewer defensive hacks, though part of that was getting into better hitter’s counts. They looked like a very confident team at the plate starting with their first time through the lineup. They’ve got to get into that mindset where they’re attacking the baseball consistently.

2) Both Charlie and Dick Monfort have now come out in public support of Clint Hurdle. Folks, I believe this qualifies as the ‘vote of confidence’ (the AP recap even uses those exact words) so we’re about to find out just how badly the Rox want to save Clint Hurdle’s job. (I’ve always sensed that the players enjoy playing for Clint, so if they think his job may be in jeopardy we may be in for some more frantic, urgent ballplaying down the line. Which is good for all involved.)

Staying on the sunny side of Blake Street since 1993.
The Shawn Chacon Experience - Life as a Rockies fan, one day at a time: Because we're all still recovering from those nine blown saves.

by Franchise26 on May 12, 2009 10:23 PM MDT reply actions

How sweet it is

to see the power display on view tonight. Our Rockies even have a (tiny) winning streak going now. Here’s hoping we can put the hurt on Hampton tomorrow night in the same fashion. Sic ’em Rox.

The great thing about baseball is that there's a crisis every day. ~Gabe Paul

by rockhead on May 12, 2009 10:24 PM MDT reply actions

best game I have been too this year

I was sitting above the out of town scoreboard it was a great time. Especially after taking finals this morning ughhhhhhh.

by RockiesDave on May 12, 2009 10:52 PM MDT reply actions

So I went to the game

here are some thoughts:
1) My gawd those massive nachos were…massive. As the guy behind me said when they handed em to me. “I hope you have some friends”
2) I don’t think I can say anything bad about our pitchers after seeing Felipie Paulino “pitch”. Really I want to give credit to our hitters, but I didn’t see anything but fastballs from Paulino. I mean maybe I missed some pitches, as I was not in good seats, but it was all fastballs, and many were up in the zone. This guy would give AAAA pitchers a bad name.
3) More I see Dexter Fowler the more impressed I am with him. He ran down some balls in the gap, and would cover several yards and he looked like he took 2 steps
4) Seriously those were the biggest damn nachos I’ve ever seen at a ball park, and I think they are only available from the left end of the concession stand on the main level behind the Right Field seats. I don’t think I’ll have to eat anything tomorrow.
5) Did I mention that Ian Stewart sits dead red 100% of the time? I saw the first inning from Paulino, and thought, Stewart is going to LOVE this guy!
6) Dollar Hot Dogs…and they are still a rip off. & $5.50 for a beer…make it an even $6, if I can have a cold one.
7) Drunk Girls think I’m great! Had a girl moon me, one flash me (these were separate incidents)
8) I need to get out more.

by Redhawk on May 13, 2009 12:04 AM MDT reply actions

Sounds like you had a good time

The 2009 Colorado Rockies: Expect the Unexpected

by free7694 on May 13, 2009 12:16 AM MDT up reply actions

Nice

Evening at the ballpark, see your team win in a laugher, and you had some women think you were cute enough to moon and flash!
Should I ask for the obligatory pics plz or it didn’t happen? haha jk lol :P

by TehChamp on May 13, 2009 5:17 AM MDT up reply actions

Wait... what??

If I go to Coors Field I can get flashed by drunk chicks? What??

Jim Zorn, 55. Sean Miller, 40. AJ Hinch, 34. Notice a pattern here?

by DbacksSkins on May 13, 2009 1:53 PM MDT up reply actions

Technically

the Flashing was at a bar called Sing-Sing, and the Mooning was at the Light Rail Station.

BUT….did make for a great day. More girls should do that.

by Redhawk on May 13, 2009 2:17 PM MDT up reply actions

Dammit....

that makes things a little more complicated.

Jim Zorn, 55. Sean Miller, 40. AJ Hinch, 34. Notice a pattern here?

by DbacksSkins on May 13, 2009 2:34 PM MDT up reply actions

Tulo

Tulo recorded his 4th consecutive multi-hit game and has pushed his BA from .198 to .248 during that time frame. His OPS is up to a solid .823 (largely because of 16 walks). Since going hitless between April 20 and April 27 (16 AB over 7 games) he has hits in 10 of 13 games, hitting .340 (16-47) during that span. 6 of his 7 multi-hit games this year have been during this span.

Hopefully this is a precursor of things to come.

by kosmo on May 13, 2009 7:02 AM MDT reply actions