Dodgers 7, Rockies 6: May Day! Chacin Bombs

Jhoulys Chacin's first start of 2011 came against the Dodgers at Coors Field. He out-dueled the eventual Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw, tossing seven shutout innings. Two months later, he was a prime All-Star candidate and the owner of the best ERA in Rockies history, by far.

Thirteen months later, this is what the Rockies have with Jhoulys Chacin. Once considered an unmovable cornerstone, the 24-year-old Venezuelan appears to have lost all confidence, and with it, he has lost the strike zone. Once a strong control pitcher in the minors, Chacin's walk rate has slowly risen in recent years to heinous levels.

Tuesday night was a disaster. He allowed a home run to Dee Gordon to lead off the game, which is unfathomable. Three batters later, Andre Ethier hit a three run home run. Chacin failed to complete five innings, putting up the worrisome line: 4.2 IP, 7 ER, 11 H, 2 HR, 3 K, 4 BB. Of the 112 pitches he threw, only 63 were strikes.

Aside from the sun-glare induced disastrous fifth inning in Pittsburgh, Chacin had actually been showing strides of improvement. This dud really will place doubt in the minds of not only panicky fans, but also SSS police and the organization. The Jhoulys Chacin that pitched at Coors Field is not the same guy who took the mound against the Dodgers on April 5, 2011. His ERA now sits at 7.30, buoyed by an unsightly 6.92 FIP. Hopefully, someone figures out the problem.

That is what happened in the first game thread. The second turned around. Carlos Gonzalez hit his fifth homer of the year and fifth career longball against Ted Lilly to score two. Tyler Colvin followed a Chris Nelson RBI double with a pinch-hit-run home run. Troy Tulowitzki hit an 8th inning triple and scored on a 415-foot opposite field sac fly from Todd Helton.

In the ninth, Wilin Rosario roped a one-out single and moved to second on a passed ball. Marco Scutaro nearly snuck a tying single through the middle if not for Mark Ellis shading up the middle. Carlos Gonzalez struck out to end the game, seeing five pitches, none of them fastballs near the zone. That's how close they were to erasing a 7-0 deficit and softening the blow dealt by Chacin.

WPA Heroes

Wilin Rosario (+.173) - 1-for-1. PH 1B
Matt Reynolds (+.067) - 1.1 IP, 0 ER, 1 H.
Ramon Hernandez (+.061) - 3-for-4, R.

WPA Zeroes

Jhoulys Chacin (-.307) - 4.2 IP, 11 H, 7 ER, 3 HR, 4 BB, 3 K. (-.012) - 0-for-1.
Carlos Gonzalez (-.182) - 1-for-4, HR, 2 RBI, HBP, 2 K.
Michael Cuddyer (-.093) - 0-for-4.

Row Call

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