I’m not going to sugarcoat it, this game looked like it was deeply unpleasant to play, and the Rockies may have benefited a great deal from being accustomed to the conditions at Coors Field, because it looked very miserable out there.
We can blame it on the wind to make ourselves feel better, but in all honesty not a lot was going the way the Rays would have wanted it to tonight. The pitching matchup was Tyler Alexander versus Ryan Feltner, and Alexander had some apparent struggles throughout the game. Let’s take a look at how it shook out.
Brandon Lowe got a one-out walk in the first. An Arozarena groundout allowed Lowe to advance to second but he hit the base in an ugly way, twisting his ankle. He stayed in the game, but it wasn’t comfortable to watch. An Isaac Paredes single then scored Lowe to put the Rays on the board first. Alexander sent the Rockies down in order in the bottom of the inning.
Onto the second it was a quick 1-2-3 for the Rays, but the Rockies bats wouldn’t stay silent. In the bottom of the inning Ryan McMahon hit a one-out solo home run to tie the game up. Ezequiel Tovar got a two-out single, but the Rockies had to settle for just the one run.
In the third, Jose Siri walked to start the inning, then did a nice double-steal to advance to third. Too bad his efforts to get into scoring position were for naught, as the Rays were unable to bring him home. The Rockies continued to lay it on thick. Brenton Doyle doubled to start the bottom half, then advanced to third on a groundout. Brendan Rodgers reached on a fielder’s choice, as the Rays were able to successfully tag out Doyle at home and avoid the run. Nolan Jones then drew a walk. An Elias Diaz single brought Rodgers home, giving the Rockies the lead.
The Rays did little to fight back in the top of the fourth, going down in order. In the bottom half of the inning Tovar got a one-out double. Then Michael Toglia hit a two-run bomb, extending the Rockies’ lead to 4-1.
Top of the fifth and the Rays’ bats were silent once again. Things got rocky (no pun intended, I swear) for Alexander in the bottom half. Rodgers singled, then one out later Elias Diaz singled. Ryan McMahon walked to load the bases, and that was the end of the night for Alexander. Chris Devenski came out of the pen and pitched into a double play to end the inning. Final line for Alexander for the day was 4.1 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 2 HR on 93 pitches.
Brandon Lowe got a one-out single in the top of the sixth, but two outs followed to leave him stranded. In the bottom half, Tovar got leadoff walk, then stole second. Then Brenton Doyle got a one-out home run to bring two runs in, extending the Rockies lead to 6-1. Charlie Blackmon singled, but two outs followed to end the inning.
Jake Bird replaced Feltner for the Rockies and gave up a walk to Richie Palacios. Harold Ramirez followed that with a single. A Rosario groundout advanced Palacios to third. Ben Rortvedt doubled to score both Palacios and Ramirez, to close the gap slightly. To outs ended the inning, and it was onto the stretch. In the bottom half Devenski continued to work. With two outs, Elehuris Montero singled, and that was the end of the night for Devenski, who gave way for lefty Garrett Cleavinger. It looked like a good pick as a long fly ball impressively snagged by Palacios ended the inning.
Tyler Kinley was next out of the Rockies pen. Top of the eighth and with two outs in the inning, Paredes hit a solo homer to bring the game within two runs. Palacios then singled because four different outfielders couldn’t call “Mine.” Harold Ramirez then doubled to score Palacios, bringing the Rays within one. The Rockies turned things over to old friend of the Rays, Jalen Beeks. Amed Rosario singled to score Ramirez and it was a tie game. Rosario stole second, then Rortvedt walked. A Siri walk loaded the bases, and Beeks had to be sweating, but it didn’t matter, because his night was done. Justin Lawrence came out of the pen and quickly got two strikes, but Yandy Diaz wasn’t going down easy. He lobbed a single down the first base line that took a bounce that was a blessing from the baseball gods, and two runs scored. The Rockies finally got their third out, but five runs later, the Rays had the lead.
Bottom of the eighth it was Jason Adam out of the pen and got the Rockies out in order, with plenty of thanks to some nice catches from Arozarena and Rortvedt.
Top of the ninth the Rays were three-up three-down, and turned it over to Colin Poche in the bottom of the ninth, hopeful he could finish things off quickly. Thankfully it all came together beautifully, and the Rays were able to crawl back to a hard-won victory.
Final: Rays 8, Rockies 6