It took months, but it finally happened. The division-leading Giants, after winning seemingly every one-run game they played, grazed the wall, losing eight out of nine games.
If only the Rockies were in position to make them pay.
But no. In a season that is shaping up as one of those seasons, the Rockies went into Saturday night nine games under .500 and 10 games back in the National League West standings.
Make it nine as the Rockies, in what amounted to a blast from the past, forgot their troubles and took out their frustrations on the Nationals in a 15-7 victory at Coors Field.
The win came one night after an emotionally-draining loss to the Nats in which rookie pitcher Juan Nicasio was wheeled off on a stretcher and underwent surgery on a fractured C-1 vertebrae in his neck after being hit in the head by a line drive.
Jhoulys Chacin (9-8, 3.45 ERA) got the win, his first since June 15, when his record stood at 8-4. Chacin was 0-4, 4.50 in eight starts since then, but had pitched in bad luck, allowing one earned run four times with nothing to show for it.
So what happens? He struggled through five innings on this night, walking five and weaving his way in and out of trouble before leaving after 99 pitches. But lo and behold, this time the Rockies’ bats bailed him out.
The good times began rolling in a four-run third inning and didn’t stop until after the fourth. By that time, the Rockies had erupted for nine runs off Livan Hernandez. They had seven hits in a five-run fourth, including home runs by Ty Wigginton and Chris Iannetta, who had three hits for the second consecutive night.
Troy Tulowitzki continued his torrid streak since the all-star break, singling, doubling twice and launching a sacrifice fly. Tulowitzki was at a .268 at the break, but has hit .409 in 23 games since then, with four homers and 21 RBIs.
Chris Nelson was the only member of the Rockies’ starting lineup not to get a hit, and five different players drove in at least one run. And to think, the Rockies went into the game hitting .277 at Coors Field, putting them on pace for the lowest home batting average in franchise history.
Dexter Fowler tripled, doubled and drove in a career-high four runs as the Rockies won the third game of the four-game series, putting themselves in position to win their first series at Coors Field since July 1-3. They had split two and lost one since then.
But then, winning the series would entail winning on a Sunday, something the Rockies haven’t done since April. They won their first two Sunday games, but have lost 15 in a row since then.
Footnotes. Carlos Gonzalez was back in the No. 3 spot in the order after returning from a rehab assignment. Question is, will he stay there? CarGo went into Saturday hitting .346-7-22 in 133 at-bats in the leadoff spot, but only .242-7-33 in 198 at-bats in the three hole. Todd Helton, meanwhile, hit .321-7-36 in 193 at-bats in the No. 3 spot. Said Rockies manager Jim Tracy: “I want to make it very clear that CarGo is going to have to figure things out at this spot. It has to work because you can’t keep jump starting and moving back and forth with the guy at first base.” Gonzalez took the spot of Ryan Spilborghs, who went on the 15-day disabled list with plantar fasciitis in his right heel, and Greg Reynolds was recalled from Triple-A when Nicasio was placed on the DL. The Rockies also traded infielder Alfredo Amezaga to Florida for minor-league infielder Jesus Merchan, who was hitting .268 at Triple-A New Orleans. Tracy on Spilborghs, hitting .173 since a .347 May: “There’s a strong feeling that maybe some of the up and down we’ve dealt with may be somewhat attributable to this, so we’re going to get this thing quieted down.”
Jim Armstrong: 303-954-1269 or jmarmstrong@denverpost.com
