Chad Bettis’ comeback from testicular cancer culminated Monday with seven shutout innings in a 3-0 win over the Atlanta Braves at Coors Field.
Bettis needed just 90 pitches to get through those seven frames. He allowed six hits, no walks, struck out two and induced 12 ground ball outs on the night.
His return almost got off to a disastrous start as Braves leadoff hitter Ender Inciarte’s hit got by Gerardo Parra in left field and rolled to the wall, but Parra and Trevor Story executed a perfect relay to get Inciarte going for an inside-the-park home run.
It was really the Braves’ only threat against Bettis in the game, as he did not allow more than one hit in any inning after the first. He now has a 2.15 ERA in his last seven starts at Coors Field.
Unfortunately for Bettis, he left the game after seven innings in a 0-0 tie. In fact, Monday’s game was the first at Coors Field to enter the bottom of the eighth with no score since July 25, 2013.
The Rockies finally got on the board in the bottom of the eighth after Charlie Blackmon tripled and came in to score on a base hit from Parra. Walks to DJ LeMahieu and Mark Reynolds loaded the bases for Carlos Gonzalez, who brought home a pair of insurance runs for the Rockies with a looping line-drive single to center.
With the 3-0 lead, Greg Holland came in and worked around a hit and a walk for his 35th save of the season. The Rockies will bring another starter off the DL tomorrow, with Kyle Freeland getting the start against Sean Newcomb. First pitch is at 6:40 p.m. MT.