Rockies Road Smooth!
The Colorado Rockies are on a roll! Combining better-than-expected pitching with timely hitting, the Colorado Rockies have now won 17 of their last 18 games. Currently, the Rockies are on a six-game winning streak.
Nobody is hotter in Major League Baseball. The Rockies have clawed their way back to the National league West pennant race and have boosted their stock along the way. Monday night’s game in Anaheim drew 39,557 fans, many curious to see exactly what this team brings to the plate.
They left with a good sampling, as the home-standing Angels continue to find the NL West are not the patsies originally described. On Monday, the Rockies brought out their 7 game winner, veteran Aaron Cook, who has won 59 games since joining the Colorado franchise.
It was a typical performance for Cook. He challenged hitters in his seven innings of three hit, two walk, one run pitching. Cook has nearly perfected his sinker. The Rockies recorded 13 ground ball outs in Cook’s stint.
In his post game interview, Manager Jim Tracy applauded his lead pitcher, “It was quite a statement from Aaron. I think there is more top come from him, though, as he moves on through the course of his career.”
The development of the sinker has Cook looking like an All Star and like a pitcher with a future similar to Derek Lowe of the Braves. He gives the Rockies plenty of innings and keeps his defense in the game.
On Monday Cook was in charge from the outset. Seth Smith’s two run single and Ian Stewart’s RBI single gave the Rockies an early second inning lead they would not relinquish in the 11-1 victory.
Brad Hawpe added a thunderous insult to injury with a three-run homerun to straightaway center field in the fifth. That was it for ace Angel, Matt Palmer, whose perfect 6-0 start now has blemish.
The LA pitching problems continued as the pitchers were guilty of six wild pitches setting a new and dubious club record. Angels Manager Mike Scioscia paid tribute to the resurgence of the Rockies.
“They way they played tonight, we saw firsthand the way they’ve been playing the last few weeks. Their hitters were very disciplined. They made Matt get in the zone and when he did, they were ready for him.”
The Angels who just lost a series to the LA Dodgers must be wondering what is going ion in the NL West. The Rockies and the Dodgers are two of the most patient hitting teams in baseball. And, it is working. By forcing pitchers to throw more pitches and throw strikes for pitches, they are going deep into counts and getting pitches they can drive. The Angels, long known as a free swinging team, just might want to try it.
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