The usual suspects gave Rockies fans little doubt that they would complete the sweep, with the aid of Arizona wildness. After Jorge de la Rosa wriggled off a wild hook in the first inning, Seth Smith hit a two run home run in the bottom half of the inning. Ian Stewart followed minutes later with his own two run dinger, his third home run in four games.
Yorvit Torrealba surpassed Joe Girardi for the Rockies franchise record for a hitting streak for a catcher, extending MLB's longest current streak to 15 with two doubles, driving in three. Carlos Gonzalez hit a home run for the second straight game, adding a single and a walk, but Seth Smith was the real hero.
Smith hit a second home run in the fifth, helping him to finish 2-for-4 with 5 RBI, 2 runs and a walk. In the series, he went 9-for-13 with three homers. The series helps make Smith a favorite for NL Player of the Week. He finished the week going 13-for-24 with 4 HR, 10 runs, 11 RBI and 4 BBs.
Aided by ten walks (three by Stewart and two by Jason Giambi), the Rockies managed to pound out 13 runs on just 10 hits. Seven ot those ten hits went for extra bases.
Jorge de la Rosa continued with a current theme of overcoming adversity. He allowed just 2 hits and 1 run in five innings, but he also walked six. It was good enough to earn his 12th game in his last 14 starts.
Chris Young had the best game of the year for Arizona, hitting three solo home runs off three different pitchers and Mark Reynolds hit his 41st home run. Justin Upton thought he hit a HR to center in the third inning, so he posed and walked to first, only to see the ball bounce off the warning track. A quick CarGo throw held him to a single, and manager AJ Hinch responded by pulling Upton for the gaffe.
The game lasted 3 hours and 40 minutes and included 22 walks between both sides.
The Giants lost on a walkoff HR by Prince Fielder, so Colorado now leads the Wild Card by two games. The Marlins and Braves, the next two in line, also lost. Los Angeles plays the Padres tonight at 6 MDT.
Comment of the Night
Ok if we're extrapolating Smith ...
He’s on pace for 300 runs, 300 RBI’s, 120 HR’s, 150 2B’s based on the last week :)
Join after the jump for the fangraph and the row call.
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WPA Heroes:
Ian Stewart (.148) - 2-for-4, HR, 2 RBI, 3 R, 3 BB
Seth Smith (.130) - 2-for-4, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 2 R, BB
Jorge de la Rosa (.103) - 5.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 6 BB, 1 HR. 0-for-2, 2 K.
Yorvit Torrealba (.094) - 2-for-4, 2 2B, 3 RBI, R
WPA Zeroes:
Jason Giambi (-.023) - 0-for-3, 2 BB
Clint Barmes (-.022) - 2-for-5, 2 RBI, R, 2 K
Troy Tulowitzki (-.006) - 0-for-3, K, R, BB.
Garrett Atkins (-.003) - 0-for-1
Row Call
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