Jorge De La Rosa tossed six innings of one-run ball and Troy Tulowitzki hit a two-run home run to lead the Rockies past the Twins, 6-2, on Friday for their third consecutive victory.
Carlos Gonzalez played for the first time since June 3 and went 1-for-4 at the plate, but it was De La Rosa's ability to limit damage and Tulowitzki's key opposite-field shot off of Twins starter Kris Johnson that gave the Rockies the ammunition they needed to win a game that was a lot bigger than what it would seem on the surface.
The team had a rough day off on Thursday due to the news of multiple incidents involving owner Dick Monfort sending emails that were tone deaf at best and irreparable at worst to several disappointed fans and season ticket holders. While there is still quite a bit of damage control for the Rockies public relations staff ahead, the players and field staff did their best to quell some of the frustration at 20th and Blake.
Nolan Arenado, who entered Friday 3-for-26 at the plate since returning from a six-week stint on the disabled list, went 2-for-4 with a triple and made several dazzling plays in the field. The aforementioned CarGo, who looked like a completely different player than the one we saw struggling through the first two months of the season, made up for a little bit of rustiness at the plate with Gold Glove-caliber defense that included a laser throw from right field to nail Brian Dozier trying to go first to third on a single by Kendrys Morales.
DJ LeMahieu and Charlie Blackom did their part with a couple of knocks and Drew Stubbs and Brandon Barnes both homered as part of an offensive performance that saw the Rockies rack up 11 hits.
The Rockies' bullpen did mostly solid work, allowing a run in three innings. Boone Logan, who is trying to knock the rust off as he was earlier in the season, struck out a couple of batters but gave up a run on two hits. However, Adam Ottavino got a couple of big outs in the seventh and LaTroy Hawkins shut the door with a 1-2-3 ninth.
A little winning streak will help heading into the All-Star break, but this team still has a long way to go. Still, it doesn't hurt to have the star trio of Tulowitzki, Gonzalez and Arenado back on the field with a supporting cast that has proven to be dangerous. Now, about that pitching staff ... oh, and the other stuff.
Source: FanGraphs
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