The Rockies beat the Marlins 7-6 in a wild, ten inning game at Coors Field on Sunday afternoon. Garrett Hampson hit a walk off single with the bases loaded in the tenth inning. It was a taco’s type of walk-off.
The win finishes off the sweep against Miami, and it gave the Rockies their fourth consecutive win.
The Wade Davis experience
If you haven’t heard, Scott Oberg has been placed on the IL and is out for the season with blood clots in his right arm. That leaves the closer role open on the Rockies. Call me crazy, but it doesn’t seem intuitive, or even a good idea, to just give it back to the guy who pitched poorly enough to lose the job in the first place.
But Bud Black inserted Wade Davis into the game with the Rockies up one run. Davis walked the leadoff batter, gave up two hits, and was credited with allowing three runs that gave the Marlins a 6-4 lead. He did not record an out.
Black needs to get away from the “he’s been there before” mentality and remember that Davis wasn’t born a closer. With the season lost, give other players chances so the next time there’s a save situation, someone else will have “been there before.”
Las Cucarachas! They never die.
The Rockies, however, didn’t go down quietly. A Charlie Blackmon single and a Trevor Story sacrifice fly tied the game up in the ninth. Nolan Arenado had a chance to win it for the Rockies, but a nasty 3-2 pitch from Ryne Stanek struck him out to end the inning and send it to extras.
Stay hot, Nolan
Nolan Arenado hit two home runs Sunday. One came early to tie the game 1-1, but and the second one came in the eighth inning and gave the Rockies a 4-3 lead — right before the Davis implosion.
¡Nolan Arenado lo vuelve hacer y en el mejor momento! #LosRockies#NolanBeingNolan pic.twitter.com/um12wE1xJk
— Rockies de Colorado (@LosRockies) August 18, 2019
Another good start for Lambert
Peter Lambert had another good outing on Sunday, showing positive signs of growth in his first season as a major leaguer. In the first inning Lambert’s pitches were catching too much of the plate, and it cost him. The Marlins started with a single and a double to give the Marlins an early 1-0 lead.
Lambert didn’t let it get to him though, as he got out of the inning without allowing another run, though he did walk a batter. He later gave up a solo home run, and another run scored after another single-then-double sequence in the sixth.
In all, Lambert allowed six hits and three runs in his six innings of work, while walking one and striking out two.
Bryan Shaw watch
Bryan Shaw made his 56th appearance of the year Sunday. As we detailed a couple weeks ago, Shaw is now just four appearances shy of turning his 2021 team option into a player option. Given that the Rockies don’t have another day off before rosters expand, it’s starting to look like a good bet that the option will vest.
Up next
The Rockies will begin a seven game road trip Monday that will take them first to Arizona and then to St. Louis. The first game of the Diamondbacks’ series begins at 7:40 Denver time. The Rockies haven’t announced a starting pitcher yet, bu the D-backs will start Zac Gallen.