Rockies 5, Nationals 4: Washington's tomfoolery turns into a Rox victory

by theoldgrizzlybear on Jul 7, 2009 10:11 PM MDT in Game Wrap Comment 34 comments

More photos » David Zalubowski - AP

Jason Hammel didn't have his best stuff tonight, but he hung in there long enough to get bailed out by Washington's defense.

Browse more photos »

To quote the great Drew Goodman: "And you wonder why the Nationals have only won 24 games."

A Joe Beimel throwing error on what would probably would have been a double play to end the 8th inning proved costly for Washington (and lucky for Colorado), as the Rockies capped a four-run rally to win 5-4. It wasn't the first of the shenanigans for the Nationals either, as Willie Harris took a grounder off the no-no's, instead of into the glove, that would have ended the 4th inning but instead scored Ian Stewart and eventually allowed the Rox to tie the game following a Clint Barmes RBI single.

Colorado jumped on Washington rookie Jordan Zimmermann early, as Brad Hawpe picked up an RBI single in the 1st, but Josh Willingham tied the game in the next inning with a long solo blast off of Jason Hammel. Then, Hammel got himself into some trouble in the third and ended up allowing a three-run bomb to Ryan Zimmerman that gave the Nats a 4-1 lead. However, Hammel and the Rockies' bullpen were able to keep DC at bay and gave the offense a chance to claw back into the game.

Franklin Morales made his first career relief appearance, notching a big strikeout of Nyjer Morgan to end a scoring opportunity in the 6th inning. After allowing the first two batters to reach in the next inning (one by virtue of a Troy Tulowitzki error), Morales was able to punch out Adam Dunn before exiting in favor of Juan Rincon, who got the Rockies out of another mess. In the top of the 8th, Alan Embree came on in relief of Joel Peralta and promptly picked off Austin Kearns at first base, and effectively "earned" the win without having to throw a single pitch because of the events that unfolded in the bottom half of the inning. Huston Street continued to mow down opponents, striking out Zimmerman for the final out of the game and earning his 21st save.

via www.fangraphs.com

44 - 39

Games Back: 9 (1.5 WC)

Streak: Won 1

Games Left: 80

Tomorrow: Ross Detwiler vs. Jorge De La Rosa, 1:10 PM MT. GET THE SWEEP, ROCKIES!!!

RowCall: Jester76, fatheadX, Narcoleptico, nodakroxfan, FooMan, wolf213, El Paso Jeff, jrockies, The Lodo Magic Man, walkoff59, Jabberwocky, Digshot, theoldgrizzlybear, TulsaDriller, theshiva, PioneerSkies, AtkinsandTulofan, SpringStein, dds_dave, tricer, coolopotamous, Maris6161, Russ, Rockie4Ever, holly96, bballrox4717, Chrysicat, SC Memphis Raines, ejskater, dogs, Yokel, TuLoRocks2008

0 recs | Comment 34 comments | Share

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

Tony Pena traded to the White Sox

D-Backs get AA 1B Brandon Allen from the Sox in return.

Free Seth Smith!

by FooMan on Jul 7, 2009 10:16 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

I would be happy with this

except the D’Backs aren’t in contention. Although that also means we don’t have to see him again as a PH this year so Thank you Arizona

"We made too many wrong mistakes." ~Yogi Berra
"The ballplayer who loses his head, who can't keep his cool, is worse than no ballplayer at all." ~Lou Gehrig
JFK

by jrockies on Jul 7, 2009 10:20 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

yea i was happy to see that

first Scott Hairston leaves now Tony Pena…beautiful keep it going

we seem to have gotten over that HURDLE

by TuLoRocks2008 on Jul 7, 2009 10:39 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Flash Gordon

threw BP today. Perhaps the Dbacks are confident that he’ll contribute soon?

"DAMMIT! No, calm down. Learn to enjoy losing." --Hunter S. Thompson

by PioneerSkies on Jul 7, 2009 11:41 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Go Rockies!!

idc if we have to win ugly again tomorrow as long as we sweep…but seriously please play better baseball

we seem to have gotten over that HURDLE

by TuLoRocks2008 on Jul 7, 2009 10:16 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

I'd kind of like a no-doubter

Something like Tacos to 1. The fangraph for this game looks cool, would like it better if it was against a really good team.

Funny Dog to Make Life Worthwhile

by frightenedinmate#2 on Jul 7, 2009 11:15 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Seems the

record widget didn’t update properly. Winning streak is two.

"If we never try, we shall never succeed." - Abraham Lincoln

Purple Row - Covering all your Rockies needs!

by Russ Oates on Jul 7, 2009 10:18 PM MDT via mobile reply actions 0 recs

hey Russ

how many people you plan on getting together for the Citi Field meet up…i sent an e-mail back to you saying monday or wednesday was good but my e-mail is retarted sometimes idk if it went through.

we seem to have gotten over that HURDLE

by TuLoRocks2008 on Jul 7, 2009 10:26 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

I got it.

So far two plus myself.

"If we never try, we shall never succeed." - Abraham Lincoln

Purple Row - Covering all your Rockies needs!

by Russ Oates on Jul 7, 2009 10:33 PM MDT via mobile up reply actions 0 recs

And I'll follow up with something tomorrow night.

But if anyone else in the area wants to join in, shoot me an email.

"If we never try, we shall never succeed." - Abraham Lincoln

Purple Row - Covering all your Rockies needs!

by Russ Oates on Jul 7, 2009 10:34 PM MDT via mobile up reply actions 0 recs

ok i have a few of my friends

and my girl friend who will sit with us as well (my best friend is a met fan) haha

we seem to have gotten over that HURDLE

by TuLoRocks2008 on Jul 7, 2009 10:36 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Which coach

works on the baserunning with the players? You’ve got to hope that they’ll be working on that a little bit – when to run, when to stay put.

by coolopotamus on Jul 7, 2009 10:20 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Glenallen Hill

works with the OFs, Coaches 1B and is also the base running coach. The base running we’ve had in the last couple games has been pretty bad, so yes they need to work on:
1) Freezing on a line drive
2) Not taking off too soon or too far on fly balls
3) Not getting picked off any bag
4) ?
(I’m sure there’s more so feel free to fill in the blank)

"We made too many wrong mistakes." ~Yogi Berra
"The ballplayer who loses his head, who can't keep his cool, is worse than no ballplayer at all." ~Lou Gehrig
JFK

by jrockies on Jul 7, 2009 10:25 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Cool, thanks.

Luckily tonight, it wasn’t just us, but you’re not going to win games by getting stranded between bases.

I’m finding the way the rockies have been playing to be a little disturbing lately. Before the season began, I was uber optimistic about our team- a formidable offense, and decent pitching (though in retrospect I underestimated the starting pitching and overestimated the bullpen’s ability). All the basic elements are still there- the offense doesn’t show up every night necessarily but everyone is a legitimate threat. The starting pitching has been stellar. The Bullpen has been hit hard with injuries and guys underperforming, though I have faith in Fogg, Morales, and of course Street (I’m cautious about Peralta and Daley).

What’s missing, in my opinion, is the other skills that win or lose the close games. The baserunning is iffy. The defense is unpredictable. More careful execution of both these things would help a lot in boosting my confidence in this team and improve the Rockies’ chances of winning more games. I think if we keep playing this badly, the winning is ultimately unsustainable and we will fall out of contention.

End of long-winded, semi-unarticulate rant.

by coolopotamus on Jul 7, 2009 10:57 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Good points.

I felt similarly before the season. The starting pitching has been even better than I’d hoped, especially considering how Marquis looked in Spring Training. But lately, the offense has me a little concerned. They have been striking out at an alarming rate in the last couple of weeks, and have not been hitting with RISP. Hopefully it’s just a mini slump, but until they demonstrate some ability to hit consistently, I will be a little nervous about the chances of catching the Giants.

by RoxnSox09 on Jul 8, 2009 10:53 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

4) Profit

Funny Dog to Make Life Worthwhile

by frightenedinmate#2 on Jul 7, 2009 11:13 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Ryan Mattheus undergoing TJ surgery

by WolfMarauder on Jul 7, 2009 10:42 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

There goes another

that I was hoping to see in the BP in the next year or two. Come on guys get it done early or don’t blow the ligament in your elbow.

"We made too many wrong mistakes." ~Yogi Berra
"The ballplayer who loses his head, who can't keep his cool, is worse than no ballplayer at all." ~Lou Gehrig
JFK

by jrockies on Jul 7, 2009 10:56 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Does anyone else feel like we have had way too many of these surgeries lately?

I don’t know what other team’s minor league systems are being hit w/, but we seem to have had a ton of injuries and many to key guys.

It takes a big man to cry, but it takes a bigger man to laugh at that man.

by smokinRox on Jul 8, 2009 7:43 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

The game tonight was hilarious.

Tha play where Embree picked off the runner, Helton dropped the ball, and we lucked out that the runner fell down was great.

by WolfMarauder on Jul 7, 2009 10:43 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Yes, that was a really odd game. The Nats attempted double play from the pitcher to the second baseman

backing up the play was weird as well. Then the Nats 2nd baseman not wearing a cup and taking the ultimate bad hop. Some of the strangest baseball I’ve seen in a long time.

"I've had pretty good success with Stan Musial by throwing him my best pitch and backing up third." - Carl Erskine

by pedalpusher on Jul 7, 2009 10:48 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

It was a good game to be at.

My first since last year.

by WolfMarauder on Jul 7, 2009 10:57 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

I always wore a cup

and I never had that bad of a hop and that was on terrible infield surfaces. It was funny to see though.

"We made too many wrong mistakes." ~Yogi Berra
"The ballplayer who loses his head, who can't keep his cool, is worse than no ballplayer at all." ~Lou Gehrig
JFK

by jrockies on Jul 7, 2009 10:58 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

A winner is us!

Eschew Obfuscation!

by Jeff Aberle on Jul 7, 2009 10:51 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Embree wins without pitching

I think that’s only the third time it’s ever happened?

Funny game to watch, though our offense hasn’t been very encouraging lately.

by Digshot on Jul 7, 2009 11:02 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Second time since 1990

according to Drew and George, and they also said their stats guy couldn’t get the computer to give him information on stuff before 1990 so it would be possible it has happened a few more times.

"We made too many wrong mistakes." ~Yogi Berra
"The ballplayer who loses his head, who can't keep his cool, is worse than no ballplayer at all." ~Lou Gehrig
JFK

by jrockies on Jul 7, 2009 11:04 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Alan Embree is a veteran...

and a WINNAR.

I mean, he doesn’t even need to throw a pitch!

Eschew Obfuscation!

by Jeff Aberle on Jul 7, 2009 11:07 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Jason Marquis

is a WINNAR and a starter who doesn’t need to throw 90 for a CG. (Cook can do it too)

"We made too many wrong mistakes." ~Yogi Berra
"The ballplayer who loses his head, who can't keep his cool, is worse than no ballplayer at all." ~Lou Gehrig
JFK

by jrockies on Jul 7, 2009 11:10 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs