No lead is safe at Coors Field, especially when undependable Rockies’ starters take the mound. In the seventh inning, Friday night, the Braves had rallied from a 5-0 hole to tie the game 7-7.
Turning point. Colorado led 5-2 entering the fifth inning. By the time the damage was done, the Braves led 6-5, pounding out six hits in the inning. The Rockies knotted the game in the bottom of the inning.
On the mound. Right-handed starter Guillermo Moscoso, pitching to prove he belongs in the starting rotation, did a pratfall. Given a five-run lead in the first inning, he was gone after 4 ⅓ innings, having given up six runs on seven hits, including a two-run homer to Freddie Freeman in the Braves’ third. Moscoso’s ERA ballooned to 11.57. It was the type of start that leaves a team demoralized and a bullpen overworked.
At the plate. Todd Helton owns Braves starter Tim Hudson. He proved it with a two-run single in the Rockies’ five-run first inning. That made Helton 11-for-16 (.688) with nine RBIs vs. Hudson. He added double off Hudson to lead off the sixth. It was the 561st double of Helton’s career, moving him past Eddie Murray and Jeff Kent into sole possession of 21st place on the all-time list.
Jonathan Herrera, getting the start at third again, stayed hot. He doubled and scored a run in the first, then tied the game 6-6 with a solo home run to right in the fifth.
Atlanta’s Chipper Jones, in his final series at Coors Field, started saying his good-byes with a huge night. He singled and scored in the third, drove in a run with a single in the fifth and launched a solo homer in the sixth. It was the 40-year-old third baseman’s fifth long ball of the season.
What it means. The Rockies face a treacherous West Coast road swing beginning Monday in San Diego, followed by stops in Los Angeles and San Diego. The Rockies need to gain some momentum this weekend at home, but that won’t be easy vs. the Braves. They entered the three-game series with a 45-36 advantage over the Rockies in Denver. The Braves went 6-2 vs. the Rockies last season.
