From the looks of things, the Rockies are starting to hit. Now for the good news: They’re continuing to pitch.
Yes, they knocked Chad Billingsley around the yard Friday night. Yes, they collected double-digit hits for the third straight game, a season-first. Yes, they scored six runs, just enough to hold off a wild Dodgers rally in the ninth inning.
But by now, they’ve given every impression that their offense will come and go. If the Rockies are going to hang in the race in the National League West, their starting pitching, sans Jorge De La Rosa, will have to stay.
So far, so good. Jhoulys Chacin shut out the Dodgers on three hits through eight innings — after shutting them out through seven in his first home start of the season — then paced in the clubhouse as the bullpen held on in the ninth in a 6-5 Rockies victory.
Twice, Huston Street had Aaron Miles and Rod Barajas down to their last strike, only to give up two looping liners to pull Los Angeles within a run before he struck out Trent Oeltjen to end it.
“Fun one, huh?” Street said. “Baseball gets you sometimes. Give the Dodgers credit for the way they battled. It’s a testament to major-league baseball. No one is going to give up and give you a win. Finally, I got someone to swing and miss.”
Chacin (7-4, 2.90 ERA) did plenty of that too. He went into the game having allowed a .207 batting average, third-best in the National League, then proceeded to blow away the Dodgers for eight innings. In the process, the Rockies’ team ERA dropped to 3.80, ahead of their pace from last season, when they established a franchise-record low of 4.14.
“Our starting pitching, with all the different things we’ve dealt with, has taken us quite a ways,” Rockies manager Jim Tracy said. “At 31-32 and now, with our offense looking like it’s starting to get going, if we continue to get consistency from our starting pitchers, then we have a chance to get ourselves to a very good spot.”
The win gave the Rockies their first three-game winning streak since April 9-14, when they won seven in a row en route to a major league-best 11-2 start. In the two months since then, they had endured two four-game losing streaks and two three-game losing skids.
But now, with Chacin dealing, Jason Hammel showing unprecedented consistency, Aaron Cook healthy and Ubaldo Jimenez back on track, the Rockies figure to stay competitive in a mediocre NL West.
“It’s pitching,” Street said. “Everybody across the world understands. If they don’t score a run, they can’t beat you. And now, to have CarGo, Todd and Tulo all mashing, and Skip (Tracy) changing the lineup a little bit, it has us going in the right direction.”
That would be Carlos Gonzalez, Todd Helton and Troy Tulowitzki. One night after collecting three hits, CarGo matched his season high with four. Helton, meanwhile, had a key two-run single in a five-run fifth. He’s hitting .472 (17-for-36) in the three hole, with three home runs and seven RBIs.
Tulowitzki? He hit his 12th home run off Billingsley (5-5, 4.13) to get the Rockies on the board, giving him eight RBIs in his last three games.
They’ve shown these kinds of flashes before, but haven’t sustained it. But Tracy believes his hitters have turned a corner.
Said Tracy: “I very strongly feel that’s beginning to happen right before our eyes.”
Jim Armstrong: 303-954-1269 or jmarmstrong@denverpost.com
Looking ahead
TODAY: Dodgers at Rockies, 6:10 p.m., Root
Jason Hammel (3-5, 3.66 ERA) is having his best big-league season, with an ERA almost three-quarters of a run below his previous best. He needs to a) get some run support, and b) keep James Loney in the yard. Loney is 8-for-23 against him with three homers. Lefty Ted Lilly (4-5, 4.13) is 6-2 in nine starts vs. Colorado. He limited the Rockies to two runs in seven innings at Dodger Stadium on May 31. He’ll try to get those overanxious Rockies hitters to chase his slider in the dirt for strikeouts. Troy Tulowitzki vs. Lilly: 3-for-19, all singles. Jim Armstrong, The Denver Post
Upcoming pitching matchups
Sunday: Dodgers’ Rubby De La Rosa (2-0, 1.80 ERA) vs. Rockies’ Ubaldo Jimenez (1-6, 4.73), 1:10 p.m., Root
Monday: Padres’ Dustin Moseley (2-6, 3.16) vs. Rockies’ Aaron Cook (0-0, 4.76), 6:40 p.m., Root
Tuesday: Padres’ Aaron Harang (7-2, 3.71) vs. Rockies’ Juan Nicasio (1-1, 3.50), 6:40 p.m., Root
Wednesday: Padres’ Mat Latos (4-7, 3.86) vs. Rockies’ Jhoulys Chacin (7-4, 2.90), 1:10 p.m., Root
