Rockies 7, Mariners 1: Tony Wolters triples twice, drives in three

The Rockies took the series opener against the Seattle Mariners tonight with solid contributions from every aspect of the team. Germán Márquez pitched six 1-run innings before handing the game over to the bullpen, who shut the Mariners out in their three innings of work, while the offense provided more than enough run support to get the job done.

Tonight’s win was the Rockies’ fourth straight and seventh in their last eight games. The Rockies have renewed some hope in their playoff chances this season after it looked like their annual June swoon had doomed them.

Have yourself a day, Tony Wolters

Tom Murphy was supposed to be the starting catcher tonight. His name was on the lineup card until he had to depart quickly due to his wife’s pending delivery of their child. Tony Wolters was inserted in his stead and based on performance, the Murphy’s should consider naming their new child Tony. Batting ninth, Wolters came through with two triples that combined to drive in three of the Rockies runs. He would also score on after both of his triples to up his total run creation involvement to five of the Rockies runs.

However, that may not have been the most impressive part of Wolters night. While Dee Gordon has been one of the most prolific base-stealers of his generation, Wolters quickly proved to be his kryptonite. After reaching on a Nolan Arenado error, Gordon tried to steal second and appeared to have it stolen with a good jump before Wolters cut him down with a beautiful throw to create a close play at second that had to be replayed before Gordon was ruled out. Wolters would cut Gordon down at the plate when he tried to score from thrid on a wild pitch as well.

Stay hot Chuck Nazty

Due to batting second in the lineup, Charlie Blackmon is no longer able to lead off games with home runs.. However, that didn’t stop him from giving the Rockies an early 1-0 lead in tonight’s game

You won’t catch up with this Story

The Seattle Mariners guessed right and dialed up the pitch out when Trevor Story attempted to steal second base in the third inning. Even with the pitch out, they weren’t able to catch him though as he executed the perfect slide to avoid the tag.

Up Next

The Rockies will look to extend their winning streak to 5 tomorrow afternoon at 2:10 pm MT. It may be a difficult task as James Paxton will take the mound for the Mariners. The Rockies will counter with Kyle Freeland, however, so a pitching duel may be in order.