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Rockies 9 Reds 8
Winning moment: Rockies CF Brenton Doyle homered twice, including what turned out to the be difference when he crushed a 441-foot solo shot off Buck Farmer in the 8th inning, as the Rockies beat the Reds 9-8 Monday night at Coors Field. Doyle, hitting .205 entering the game, had 3 hits, 3 runs and 3 RBI.
The Rook: Matt McLain made his MLB debut, batting 2nd and playing SS. He went 1 for 4 with a 2B, BB, 2 R. He lined a hustle, head first sliding double in his 2nd AB and then scored on a Jake Fraley single. Baseball instincts/smarts, plate discipline, hustle, awareness. That will play.
It was one of those Coors Field games:
1st: Reds led 1-0
2nd: Trailed 4-1
4th: 4-4
4th: Trailed 6-4
5th: Tied it 6-6
7th: Trailed 8-6
8th: Got to within 8-7
8th Trailed 9-7.....
9th Got to within 9-8.........lost
Had a chance: Trailing 9-7 in the 9th, McLain walked to leadoff the inning. Jake Fraley was robbed on a nice sliding catch by CF Brenton Doyle. Spence Steer singled with one out. Tyler Stephenson popped out. Nick Senzel lined an RBI single to make it 9-8. But Henry Ramos flied out to end it.
Hunter Greene: It was a struggle. 4.0 IN, 9 H, 6 R, 1 BB, 8 K, 2 HR, 96 pitches/64 strikes. He ran into major 2nd inning trouble, throwing 32 pitches and allowing four runs. He just can't seem to avoid a big pitch count inning in each start.
Damaged: Rockies 2B Harold Castro entered the game hitting .222. He collected 3 hits and 3 RBI.
Seriously? Rockies 1B Mike Moustakas blasted a 454-foot solo homer off Greene in the 2nd inning. I'm not sure how you'd look your former teammates in the eye if you stole money, got paid $22M to go away, then lost 20+ pounds for your new team.
Two-fer: 2 hits, India, Fraley, Ramos
Three-fer: 3 hits Steer
On-base machine: Nick Senzel reached base five times with a hit, three walks and on an error.
Hustle! The Reds hustled their way into three doubles on the night, McLain, Stephenson, Ramos.
Bunt! Trailing 4-2 in the 4th inning, Wil Myers bunted with runners on 1st and 2nd and nobody out, a clear indicator of how he's going at the plate of late.....hitting .135 with one RBI over his previous 14 starts. Playing in his 1,094th career game, it was his second sacrifice bunt.
Reds runs
1st: Steer RBI 1B
3rd: Fraley RBI 1B
4th: Fairchild sac fly
4th: India RBI 1B
5th: Stephenson RBI 2B
5th: Stephenson scored on wild pitch
8th: Myers sac fly
9th: Senzel RBI 1B
Relief fund: 4 IN, 3 R. ......Ben Lively 2.1 IN, 1 R, 23 pitches/16 strikes. Lucas Sims 0.2, H, R, BB, K. He had not allowed a run over his first 11 appearances/10.1 innings. Buck Farmer 1.0 IN, HR, BB, K.