A lively Saturday night crowd of 40,380 showed up at Coors Field. They witnessed a bizarre ending, an inside-the-park home run, and a pitcher’s duel.
And, oh yes, a 2-1 Rockies victory that clinched the series win over the Pirates. It was Colorado’s seventh series win of the season, and they have won four of their last seven series.
Now, about that funky ending. With the bases loaded and two outs and Rockies right-hander Jaden Hill on the mound, the Pirates’ Jake Mangum hit a grounder to Rockies third baseman Kyle Karros, who never got a throw off. But Karros immediately protested that Billy Cook, running from second to third, had interfered with Karros’ attempt to field the ball. Karros said that Cook’s cleat hit his glove.
The umpires huddled and called Cook out, ending the ballgame. The Pirates protested, but after the game, manager Don Kelly conceded that the call was correct.
“It was just a slow roller, and I was going to get the ball, and his cleat kind of clipped my glove,” Karros explained. “I still fielded the ball, but it was rattling around my glove, and I couldn’t really get a throw off. I knew the rule going into the play: if there is any contact, the runner is out.”
There were plenty of Pirates fans in the crowd who showed up to watch Pirates ace Paul Skenes do his thing. And he did. But so did the Rockies’ Tomoyuki Sugano, who actually outpitched Skenes.
Rockies leadoff hitter Jake McCarthy provided the night’s pyrotechnics. He hammered Skene’s fourth pitch of the game — a 95 mph fastball — into the gap in right-center. Center fielder Jake Mangum dove for the ball, and when he missed, McCarthy motored around the bases for an inside-the-park home run.
“(Mangum) almost made a really good play, but I’m always trying to take extra 90s when I can get them,” McCarthy said. “I’ve never had an insider-the-parker before. It’s usually a triple and an error, so that was cool.”
McCarthy’s inside-the-park homer was the first one for the Rockies since Ian Desmond did it on June 14, 2019, vs. San Diego. It was the second leadoff inside-the-park home run in franchise history. Eric Young Jr. also did it on Aug. 8, 2012, at Dodger Stadium.
The methodical Sugano doesn’t have Skene’s firepower, but the veteran right-hander knows how to pitch. Working like a craftsman, he kept the Pirates off-balance for six innings. His slider was particularly effective. Sugano allowed one run on four hits, struck out a season-high five, and didn’t walk a batter. He made his team-leading fourth quality start of the season.
Sugano was aware that the Rockies were facing one of baseball’s elite pitchers, but he concentrated on his game.
“It’s not that I don’t think about (competing against Skenes) at all,” Sugano said through interpreter Yuto Sakura. “But it’s not me facing Paul Skenes, in particular. I just thought, minimize the damage. I just knew that we can’t really score that much. He’s a good pitcher, so I wanted to minimize the damage.”
Skenes, last year’s National League Cy Young Award winner, gave up two runs on four hits over six innings. The right-hander struck out eight, but also walked two and plunked two.
“We didn’t get a lot of big hits against him, but I thought we made him work,” Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer said.
The game began poorly for Sugano. Pirates leadoff hitter Spencer Horowitz planted Sugano’s fourth pitch of the game — a 2-1, 93.7 mph fastball — into the second deck in right field. Next up, Brandon Lowe laced a single to right.
But from that point on, Sugano allowed only two hits and retired the final 12 batters he faced.
The Rockies took a 2-1 lead in the third, again utilizing McCarthy’s speed. He dumped a ball into shallow center field and turned it into a hustle double. McCarthy scored on TJ Rumfield’s opposite-field single to left.
“Jake does that all of the time; that’s how he plays baseball,” Colorado manager Warren Schaeffer said. “It’s every day. That’s why he’s such a great player. That’s what he brings to the table every single night.
“It really plays up here at Coors Field with the expansive outfield. He uses it to his advantage, and he’s always hard out of the box. He set the tone tonight, no doubt about it.”
Pitching probables
Sunday: Pirates RHP Jared Jones (1-1, 6.23 ERA) at Rockies RHP Michael Lorenzen (2-8, 7.13), 1:10 p.m.
Monday: Red Sox LHP Jake Bennett (1-3, 4.79) at Rockies RHP Ryan Feltner (2-2, 5.05), 6:40 p.m.
Tuesday: Red Sox RHP Sonny Gray (8-1, 3.12) at Rockies LHP Sean Sullivan (0-1, 10.29), 1:40 p.m.
TV: Rockies.TV
Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM
