Rockies 13, Marlins 8: Call him CJ the Cronqueror

How about those hometown boys? The Colorado Rockies capped off a three game, 34-run series against the Miami Marlins with a 13-8 victory to complete the sweep with plenty of offensive firepower. The Rockies continue to be one of the best home teams in baseball with 38 home wins, tied with the AL Central leading Chicago White Sox.

That man’s full name is Christopher John Cron

Christopher John “CJ” Cron has been absolutely on fire during this homestand. In five games (two versus Chicago and three versus Miami) Cron has gone 10-for-18 with three walks and only two strikeouts. Cron has crushed four home runs during those five games: two on Friday and two this afternoon. Today he put a career record seven RBIs on the board for the Rockies, including a grand slam hit with devastating authority to power the Rockies to victory. Cron is the first player in franchise history to hit three grand slams in a single season, and ties Hall of Famer Larry Walker with most RBIs in a three game series with 13.

Yo, Joe!

Connor Joe also enjoyed his series against the Marlins, finishing the series 4-for-8 at the plate despite starting only one game. Joe entered the game after starting left fielder Raimel Tapia left early due to his toe injury bothering him, and Joe put in the work. He hit his fourth and fifth home runs of the season this afternoon in a 2-for-3 day with three RBIs, raising his average to .303. Joe has also yet to strike out a single time in the month of August.

Land of the Free, Home of the K

Hometown kid Kyle Freeland started on schedule today after a sharp comebacker during his last start put that in question. He wasn’t at his sharpest, but Freeland pitched five complete innings and struck out six. He allowed a run in the first inning on back-to-back hits, but then shut the Marlins down until he had two outs in the top of the fifth inning. Kyle ran into trouble when he gave up three runs four consecutive hits (two singles, two doubles) to let the Marlins back into the game. Thankfully he had the run support from his teammates to earn the W, something he was sorely missing in his excellent July. In his post game interview, Freeland said he didn’t have a feel for some of his secondary pitches like his changeup.

Let the kids play

On top of the excellent offensive performances from CJ Cron and Connor Joe, some of the other younger guys on the roster had fun afternoons. Starting catcher Dom Nuñez hit a towering second-deck two-run homer in the bottom of the second inning to leave his mark as a part of the Rockies insane 17 home run homestand. Slammin’ Sam Hilliard had a 2-for-4 outing at the plate and hit his fourth home run in the month of August as he has been getting more playing time and gaining confidence. Rookie lefty reliever Lucas Gilbreath has also been working hard to improve with increased playing time. After starting his big league career with his ERA hovering between 8.00 and 10.00, Gilly has lowered it to 5.87 since the start of July. Tonight he pitched the only scoreless frames from a Rockies reliever, going two full innings and allowing just one hit in relief of Kyle Freeland. In his last seven games including today, he has an ERA of 2.16 through 8 ¹⁄₃ innings.

Coming up next

The Rockies have the day off tomorrow before heading down to the city of Houston to take on the Houston Astros. The Rockies are expecting big Jon Gray to face the right-handed Jake Odorizzi. First pitch will be at 6:10 PM MDT.