The Rockies and Diamondbacks certainly made the inaugural game at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick an entertaining one. It was probably more entertaining than Adam Jorgenson wanted it to be, but it was fun nonetheless.
The Rockies, who at one point held a 7-1 lead, used 16 hits - one of which was a go-ahead homerun off the bat of Charlie Blackmon - to defeat Arizona in ten innings. They entered the ninth inning with a five-run cushion, but Jorgenson proceeded to give all of those runs back on two walks and three hits - the biggest of which was a three-run homer that came from Paul Goldschmidt.
Goldschmidt's longball was Arizona's second of the day, as Kelly Johnson got them on the board in third with a solo shot off of Greg Reynolds, who otherwise fared well in two innings of work. He struck out two batters and didn't walk anybody while allowing just two hits. Billy Buckner gave up Arizona's second run in the seventh inning, in which he allowed three hits but struck out two and didn't issue a free pass. Claudio Vargas, Bruce Billings, and Andrew Johnston (who picked up the win) also worked in relief and each of them escaped without allowing a run.
Ubaldo Jimenez started the game for the Rox, and pitched two innings of scoreless ball. He worked with low velocity (89-91, but hit 95 on a couple of occasions) as he continues to get stretched out for the upcoming season. Note: I would like to formally emphasize that the velocity should NOT be of ANY concern. Jimenez issued a walk and two hits and didn't strike out anybody, but he was also lobbing the ball to the plate.
Cole Garner led the Rockies offensively with a couple of hits including a double, while Jonathan Herrera reached in all four of his plate appearances (3 singles and a walk) and scored a run. In addition, Mike Jacobs and Ryan Spilborghs each provided two-run doubles. The Rockies did most of their damage against Juan Gutierrez (who will be in Arizona's bullpen this season) and Micah Owings (who is not a real pitcher).
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The Rockies will face the D-Backs again on Monday at 1:10 MT, with Jhoulys Chacin getting the start opposite Armando Galarraga. Esmil Rogers, Eric Stults, Huston Street, and Matt Belisle are scheduled to see action, as well. I'm sure we'll have another Game Thread up, so join us again for some baseball discussion/friendly banter.