The Rockies have extended their winning streak to a season-high five games with Friday night’s win over the Twins. After taking an early lead, the Rockies allowed the Twins to come back and tie the game at 7-7 with a few bases loaded walks. With the score still deadlocked in the ninth, Daniel Murphy hit a grand slam home run to put the Rockies up 11-7. The win puts the Rockies record at 37-44 as they continue to claw their way out of last place in the NL West.
Rockies chase Maeda
The Rockies wasted no time putting runs on the board getting things going in the third inning with the bottom of the order. Brian Mundell led off the inning by drawing a walk, followed by a single off the bat of Drew Butera. David Dahl then stroked a three-run homer to open up scoring and give the Rockies a 3-0 lead. In the fourth inning, Mundell drove in Sam Hilliard with an RBI double. Nolan Arenado then put the exclamation point on the inning with a three-run home run putting the Rockies up 7-3 and prompting the departure of Kenta Maeda from the ball game.
Elusive 27th out
Homer Bailey was, for the most part, fantastic for the Twins in relief of Maeda. He masterfully quieted the Rockies bats giving the Twins a chance to come back from a 7-3 deficit and tie the game. He found himself cruising all the way to the top of the ninth with two outs where Dahl was able to reach base on an errant throw by Marcus Semien. Trevor Story followed with a single and Arenado drew a walk to load the bases for Murphy. Murphy then crushed a home run over the right field wall to give the Rockies a four-run lead which they would hold on to as Carlos Estevez pitched a 1-2-3 ninth.
Mundell Debuts
Getting his first career start after being called up from Triple-A earlier in the week, Brian Mundell had a big impact for the Rockies early. Mundell, a seventh round draft pick in 2015 out of Cal Poly, scored the first run of the game after drawing a walk in the third inning. In his second plate appearance, he recorded his first career hit with an RBI double. His batting line on the day was 1-for-3 with a double, two runs scored and one RBI.
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Up Next
The Rockies will turn to Kyle Freeland who will face the Twins’ Devin Smeltzer in Saturday’s Game 2 matchup. There will be no broadcast, but we will have the recap tomorrow for you right here on Purple Row!