Ron Baird, news editor
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Rockies: Blackmon belted a walk-off, three-run homer to beat Cubs
Mar 20th
Charlie Culberson’s sacrifice fly after Cubs reliever Paolo Espino loaded the bases tied the game ahead of Blackmon’s blast.
After Javier Baez’s long solo homer in the eighth, the Cubs trailed by two with one out in the top of the ninth. Luis Valbuena hit a solo homer off Rockies reliever Greg Burke before Chris Valaika hit a bases-loaded grounder to short to force a run across. Another scored on the play when Rafael Ynoa threw wildly to second base.
Baez’s fifth home run tied him with the Reds’ Chris Heisey and Jordan Danks of the White Sox for the Cactus League lead. Baez, the Cubs’ top prospect, belted four homers in 17 spring games in 2013 and has passed that total in 13 games this spring.
Before the ninth-inning rallies, Carlos Gonzalez’s homer, off Cubs starter Carlos Villanueva, was the big swing in a game that featured conceivable regular-season batting orders for both teams.
Rockies left-hander Franklin Morales was in and out of the strike zone but limited the Cubs to one unearned run and one hit, with three strikeouts and three walks. Morales is competing for a rotation spot — one opened by Jhoulys Chacin’s right shoulder injury, which could keep him out until May — with righty Jordan Lyles.
Morales also started the Rockies’ third-inning rally with a ground-rule double. He looked unsteady running and was visited by manager Walt Weiss and athletic trainer Heath Townsend, the trainer at Triple-A Colorado Springs who was working the game. Morales felt fine enough to lumber to third on Charlie Blackmon’s single and take his time crossing the plate on Gonzalez’s second homer of the spring.
Morales said he actually felt tightness in his left groin while issuing a walk to Darwin Barney in the top of the third and was trying to protect the injury while running. Morales gave up his lone hit and struck out one in the fourth.
“When I hit, I didn’t feel anything but I made sure I didn’t run hard,” said Morales, who threw 69 pitches.
However, Morales walked leadoff men in the first and third innings. The first one became a run when Rockies first baseman Justin Morneau dropped a pickoff throw to allow Emilio Bonafacio to advance two bases. Bonafacio scored on Justin Ruggiano’s fielder’s choice grounder.
Morales was more sharp with his breaking pitches than his fastball.
“Early in the game, I threw a lot of fastballs up, but I made the adjustments with my breaking pitch,” Morales said.
Villanueva, who could pitch in starting and relief roles for the Cubs, struck out eight in his four innings. He gave up three runs, three hits and a walk.
Barney doubled in the fifth to drive in Bonafacio, who reached on a two-out infield hit against LaTroy Hawkins.
The strikeouts were some form of revenge for Villanueva, who is 0-3 with an 11.57 ERA in 13 career games against Colorado.
“This team has given me nightmares,” Villanueva said. “They had their full squad out there. The strikeouts are nice, but the fact I was getting swings and misses and quick outs, I’ll take that any day. I felt I could’ve gone six, seven innings, three runs.”
Villanueva was impressed by Gonzalez’s homer.
“I’ll take it now, rather than the season,” Villanueva said. “That guy can hit. You don’t need me to tell you that. I’ve tried to go backdoor with the slider, and it just stayed on his swing — it’s a perfect swing path for him and he did what he’s supposed to do. That’s why he is who he is.”
Rocks finish training camp with a tie
Mar 17th
Nolan Arenado chased Dodgers starter Hyun-Jin Ryu with a long home run to left field in the sixth. The Rockies’ third baseman is batting .353 (12-for-34) in Spring Training.
The Dodgers fielded a lineup of potential starters for the team’s season-opening series in Sydney, Australia.
Ryu allowed two runs (one earned) on seven hits and struck out three without issuing a walk in 5 1/3 innings. His next start will be the second game in Sydney.
“I need to work on my curveball a little bit. I missed a few of those, but in time, I’m sure I’ll get it back,” Ryu said through an interpreter. “I hit the 80-pitch count, so I’m happy with that as well.”
Rockies starter Jordan Lyles, who is competing for a rotation spot, lasted 4 1/3 innings and struck out two. He was charged with three runs on five hits and walked two.
Trailing 1-0 in the fourth, the Dodgers scored twice off Lyles. Carl Crawford doubled down the right-field line to lead off, then scored on an Adrian Gonzalez single to tie the game.
Gonzalez came around to score on a two-out double into the left-center-field gap by Juan Uribe to give the Dodgers the lead.
The Rockies opened the scoring in a somewhat odd fashion. Matt McBride reached on an infield single, moved to second on another hit and took third on a wild pickoff throw from Ryu that bounced into center field. McBride broke for home on a fly ball to right from Jordan Pacheco but appeared to be thrown out at home plate by the Dodgers’ Yasiel Puig.
Puig’s laser-beam throw beat McBride home, but Rockies manager Walt Weiss challenged the call. Replays showed Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis missed the tag on McBride and the out call was reversed.
“It was good to see the system work,” Ellis said. “I knew right away that I didn’t touch the guy.”
The Rockies put runners on the corners in the fifth against Ryu, but Brandon Barnes‘ flyout ended the inning.
Charlie Blackmon‘s single drove in Tim Wheeler to tie the game at 3 in the seventh.
A crowd of 13,115 saw the Dodgers off. Los Angeles finished with a cumulative attendance of 114,402 in 12 home dates at Camelback Ranch for an average of 9,534 per game, the highest average attendance since the team relocated Spring Training to Arizona in 2009.
Up next: Left-hander Brett Anderson, acquired from the Athletics during the offseason, has posted a 1.80 ERA with five strikeouts and one walk in his first 10 Cactus League innings, impressing his new team. He’ll have another chance Monday, when the Rockies face the Padres at Peoria Sports Complex at 2:05 p.m. MT.
Rocks tie Mariners in spring ball
Mar 15th
It was the eighth game in five days for the Rockies, who lost earlier in the day to the Giants, 4-0, at Scottsdale Stadium.
Rockies lefty Franklin Morales, competing with righty Jordan Lyles for the final rotation spot, struck out four in four innings but gave up two big hits. Stefen Romero homered in the first inning. Brad Miller tripled to open the third and scored on Abraham Almonte‘s sacrifice fly. Morales said both big hits were on split-finger pitches.
Still, Morales, who has been a reliever much of his career with the Red Sox and the Rockies but relishes the chance to start, was happy with his plan. Morales has a 3.97 ERA in 11 1/3 innings this spring. Lyles has a 1.13 ERA in eight spring innings.
“I feel very good,” Morales said. “Only thing I tried to do was attack the hitter. It doesn’t matter what happens in the game. When you put your pitch in your spot, it’s going to be fine.”
It was a big swing for Romero, who played at Triple-A Tacoma last year and is trying to land a spot as a backup outfielder. Romero opened the spring 0-for-8, but since then is 9-for-19 with two home runs, two doubles and two triples.
Mariners ace Felix Hernandez — preparing for his club-record seventh Opening Day start on March 31 against the Angels — held the Rockies to one unearned run and two hits in his four innings. Michael Cuddyer, who went 2-for-3 with a double, scored the only run off Hernandez on a wild throw when second baseman Jack Reinheimer was trying to complete a double play.
But Reinheimer and shortstop Miller completed a dazzling double play on a Cuddyer grounder in the fourth.
Hernandez felt better after rebounding from his last outing, when he gave up four runs in 2 1/3 innings to the Rangers.
“My last time out was too many runs,” he said. “I wanted to get my work in and I was happy with the results. Today was good.”
Rockies closer LaTroy Hawkins worked out of a bases-loaded, no-out situation in the fifth.
Mariners righty Erasmo Ramirez, competing for a rotation spot, wiggled in and out of trouble. He gave up leadoff doubles in the sixth and seventh but escaped unscathed. However, the Rockies’ Cristhian Adames walked, moved to third on DJ LeMahieu‘s hit-and-run single, and scored on Charlie Blackmon‘s sacrifice fly to tie the score at 2. Ramirez gave up one run on four hits and struck out three in four innings.
Mariners first baseman Corey Hart, a free-agent signing this winter, went 0-for-3 in his return from being out for five games with a stiff lower back.
Up next: When Spring Training started, talk was righty Juan Nicasio‘s rotation spot was up for grabs. But through two Cactus League starts, Nicasio is unscored upon and has seven strikeouts in seven innings, and it looks as if he just has to be healthy to be in the regular-season rotation. Nicasio will start Saturday against the Angels at 2:10 p.m. MT at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick.