The Rockies dropped the first game of a double header against the Braves on an afternoon where they always seemed one step behind.
All of the run this contest were scored by the middle of the 4th inning. Atlanta jumped on Jeff Francis early with a home run in each of the first two innings; Justin Upton's league leading 10th jack of the year in the first, and Dan Uggla's two run shot in the second
It appeared as though this game was going to get ugly very quickly, but the Rockies responded with two runs in the bottom of the second with a nine pitch Troy Tulowitzki walk, a Michael Cuddyer double, a Wilin Rosario RBI groundout, and a Jordan Pacheco RBI single. Colorado would then tie the game in following inning with a Dexter Fowler lead off triple and a Josh Rutledge infield single. Unfortunately for the Rockies, that would be the last run they would push across the plate.
The Braves immediately responded in the top of the 4th as Evan Gattis launched a lead off solo shot to give the Braves an advantage they would never relinquish. It was the third home run allowed on the day by Francis.
From there the two teams traded zeroes until the final pitch. For a while (mostly in the middle of the game), it felt as if the Rockies were going to break through as they had several would be extra base hits land JUUSSTT foul. Specifically, a Carlos Gonzalez line drive down the right field line in the 3rd, a Troy Tulowitzki line drive down the left Field line in the 5th, and a Jordan Pacheco fly ball down that landed just wide of the foul pole. All three would have tied the game if they landed fair, and all three at bats later turned into outs.
Once the Braves dominant bullpen entered the game, the Rockies offense completely shut down. Atlanta pitching retired 14 of the last 15 Rockies they faced, and the one that did reach base (Wilin Rosario) was throw out at second to end the game.
Source: FanGraphs
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Games Ahead: 0.5
Games Left: 143
Record needed to beat Keith Law's prediction: 41-102
Record needed to beat 2012: 52-91
Record needed to beat the Vegas Over / Under Number: 59-84
Record needed to finish above .500: 69-74
Number of Home Runs needed for Cargo, Tulo, and Rosario to combine for 100: 86
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Game 2 of this double header will feature a pitching matchup of Julio Teheran (0-0, 7.31) for Atlanta and Jon Garland (2-0, 3.32) for Colorado.