Tulowitzki Has Perfect Day
Apr 29th
Rockies manager Walt Weiss flipped Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez in the batting order, batting them third and fourth, respectively, on Monday night in an 8-5 bashing of the D-backs at Chase Field.
The move worked its magic for Tulowitzki, at least, who was on base five times with two doubles, a homer, a pair of walks and three RBIs.
Weiss explained before the game that he wanted to take some pressure off Gonzalez by dropping him back a notch in the batting order. It had the desired effect in the first inning when the left fielder combined with Tulowitzki for back-to-back doubles, Gonzalez being thrown out at third trying to stretch after knocking in only his third run since April 12.
But on the evening, Gonzalez went 1-for-5 and remained in a miserable slump. He’s 2-for-19 during the first four games of this six-game trip and 8-for-59 (.136) with no homers and three RBIs in his last 15 games. He also hasn’t homered since April 11.
Gonzalez said the hand he injured last year is just fine. He acknowledged, though, that he has been suffering some tendinitis in his left knee.
The remainder of the lineup certainly didn’t struggle against Miley and the last-place D-backs, whose record dropped to 8-21 for a .276 winning percentage, both marks the worst in the Major Leagues. They are 2-14 at home, including their two-game Opening Series against the Dodgers in Australia.
Tulowitzki’s average shot up to .366 with his prodigious offensive evening, which included his sixth homer of the season. Justin Morneau smashed a two-run shot, also his sixth. Add their five doubles and the Rockies socked seven extra-base hits among the 10 hits they accrued against Miley, who also surrendered seven runs in six innings and was tagged with his first loss against the Rockies. He went into the game 7-0 with a 2.52 ERA vs. Colorado.
The Rockies finished with six doubles in all and 12 hits against four D-backs pitchers.
Source: MLB
Avs Loose Games 3 and 4
Apr 28th
Colorado Avalanche has unfinished business in the state of Minnesota.
At least that is how many of the players on the team are taking Game 6 against the Wild.
The Avs can close out their first-round series with a win on Monday at Xcel Energy Center, a place where they struggled to score goals and generate good scoring opportunities just a few days ago. Colorado leads the series 3-2 but all of its wins have come at Pepsi Center.
Minnesota won Games 3 and 4 on its home ice by scores of 1-0 in overtime and 2-1; not high-scoring affairs, but the Wild did hold a combined 78-34 shot advantage in those contests.
Still, Colorado was just one shot and goal away in those games from a win and forcing overtime.
MacKinnon helped the Avalanche break out of its offensive funk in Game 5 as he scored the overtime-winning goal and added two assists in the 4-3 victory.
Minnesota goaltender Darcy Kuemper entered the series midway through Game 2 and had only one goal against on 48 shots before Game 5. Colorado finally got to the 23-year-old netminder on Saturday by increasing its shots (35) and its quality scoring chances.
Head coach Patrick Roy said his club’s confidence of scoring on Kuemper at home can carry over to the next game in St. Paul.
Source: NHL
Ace De La Rosa in Series Clincher
Apr 28th
Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado’s defense in the first inning Sunday afternoon was highlight-worthy, but it’s come to be expected. Maybe now pitching like Sunday’s outing by left-hander Jorge De La Rosa should fall into the same category.
Pitching like the staff leader the Rockies wanted when they christened him to start on Opening Day, De La Rosa held the Dodgers to four hits and forced 13 ground-ball outs in seven innings of a 6-1 victory at Dodger Stadium in front of a sellout crowd of 52,359.
The Rockies (14-12) took 2-of-3 at Chavez Ravine, which improved their road record within the NL West to 5-5, with three games at Arizona starting Monday. Yes, it’s only late April, but by dominating at home and being competitive on the road, it is a good formula for surprise contention after two straight last-place finishes. The defending NL West champion Dodgers (14-12) finished the homestand at 4-6.
Late April is as good a time as any for De La Rosa (2-2) to find his form. After pitching an unacceptable 4 1/3 innings in the first three starts, then having some good sequences but not total efficiency in his next two.
That was more than enough for an offense that is formidable even though it received little in the series from stars Troy Tulowitzki (1-for-12) and Carlos Gonzalez (1-for-14). Sunday’s 0-for-5 performance ran Gonzalez’s slump to 7-for-53 (.130) in his last 13 games.
Source: MLB
