Rockies’ fans have made it a point this year on social media — and with many strongly worded emails to beat reporters’ inboxes — to suggest that perhaps the best course of action for Colorado’s struggling bullpen would be to pawn off its stragglers to another club.
That plan somewhat came to fruition in a form of sweet mile-high irony on Friday night, when the Rockies topped the Dodgers 5-4 on a two-run seventh-inning home run by Ryan McMahon off former Colorado reliever Zac Rosscup, claimed off outright waivers by Los Angeles on July 11.
“We definitely needed that (win),” McMahon said. “We had lost a couple tough ones lately, and these are big games — against division rivals and guys who are at the top with us.”
Rosscup, who battled a blister problem for much of the season before finally finding footing with Triple-A Albuquerque shortly before being outrighted, came on for Kenny Maeda with one out in the sixth and the tying run on second base.
The southpaw proceeded to strike out both Gerardo Parra and Charlie Blackmon on breaking balls in the dirt, but Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts pushed his luck when he trotted Rosscup — who had a 5.14 ERA in nine appearances for Colorado last season — back out the next inning.
DJ LeMahieu led off the frame with a single to right, and then McMahon launched a 412-foot home run 101.5 mph off the bat to dead center a couple batters later to bring the LoDo crowd to its feet. The dinger off his former teammate was a replay of the only other time McMahon has faced Rosscup, in a live batting practice session earlier this season in which he also hit a homer.
“I went up there just honestly trying to put a good swing on the ball, and trying to get the next guy up so we could get some runs going,” McMahon said.
McMahon’s clutch long ball came on his second at-bat of the game after he subbed in for Nolan Arenado at third base in the fifth inning, as the all-star made a precautionary exit with right shoulder soreness from a double play he turned in the third. He said postgame that expects to be back in the lineup on Saturday.
Neither starter had their best stuff on the night, beginning in the first inning with Yasmani Grandal’s RBI single off Jon Gray and DJ LeMahieu’s two-run home run off Maeda.
“I didn’t have a good feel for the curveball, slider or fastball command, but I just tried to battle it out and keep us in the game,” Gray said.
And after Colorado padded its lead with a Trevor Story’s RBI double in the third to make it 3-1, Los Angeles struck right back via Max Muncy’s two-run home run that evened the game the next inning.
But Cody Bellinger’s RBI single in the fifth would give Los Angeles its final lead of the night, 4-3, before McMahon turned the tide with his home run as the Colorado bullpen — fresh off yielding a franchise record-tying five dingers in a blown series opener — closed out the game.
First Harrison Musgrave recorded the final out of the sixth to strand Muncy on third. Then, after McMahon’s home run, Jake McGee pitched a one-two-three seventh and got the first couple outs of the eighth before Scott Oberg induced a Yasiel Puig groundout to end the frame.
Adam Ottavino, unavailable to pitch on Thursday due to illness, earned his fifth save of the season in the ninth. The bullpen held its ground as Colorado squandered numerous opportunities to pull away, as the Rockies finished the game 0-for-13 with runners in scoring position.
“What the bullpen did tonight was huge,” Gray said. “To go out there and not give up anything, keep us in the ballgame, then let us get the lead and win — that was incredible, so hopefully that next step is taken and we go from here (with that unit).”
The bounce-back victory moved Colorado within 2.5 games of Los Angeles and Arizona in the division amid what the Rockies know is only the start of a long August and September grind.
“We’re in every game, and a pitch here or there has changed a couple outcomes,” manager Bud Black said. “But I love that our guys are playing their (tails) off, and there’s a nice group feel going on in the clubhouse.”
