Pittsburgh’s Steel Curtain. Dallas’ Doomsday Defense. Chicago’s Monsters of the Midway. L.A. Fearsome Foursome.
Make way for Colorado’s Purple Rally Killers.
On a Sunday afternoon when elite defense was paramount, the Rockies delivered a 3-1 victory to complete a three-game sweep over the defending World Series champion Rangers at Coors Field. The Rockies have won four straight in their first win streak of the season.
The Rockies had only seven hits, the biggest coming from Ezequiel Tovar, who lifted a two-run homer over the left-field wall off Jose Urena in the first inning. But Tovar’s fourth homer of the season turned out to be enough.
Colorado added an insurance run in the eighth, combining a leadoff double by Ryan McMahon with three consecutive one-out walks off Jonathan Hernández. Brenton Doyle’s patient at-bat drew the third walk, earning him an RBI.
Texas hinted at big innings multiple times, but Colorado’s defense was pure platinum. To wit:
• In the second inning, second baseman Brendan Rodgers made a heads-up play on Andrew Knizner’s grounder. Rather than throw out Knizner at first base, Rodger trapped lead runner Robbie Grossman in a rundown between second and third for the second out of the inning.
• In the third, McMahon, who played a terrific game at third base, made an over-the-head catch in foul territory far down the left-field line to retire Corey Seager.
• In the fourth, Adolis Garcia’s hot shot back to the mound caromed off the toe of left-hander Ty Blach but was deftly fielded by Tovar at short for the first out of the inning.
• In the fifth, the Rangers rapped out three hits but came up empty. Colorado turned a sweet 6-4-3 double play, with Tovar flipping the ball to Rodgers, who barehanded the ball and threw a one-hopper to first to nab Knizner. With two outs, the Rangers got back-to-back singles from Leody Taveras and Marcus Semien, but Brenton Doyle, the Gold Glove center fielder, chased down Seager’s long blast to make a brilliant catch before crashing into the wall.
• In the seventh, pinch-hitter Josh Smith smashed a ball to McMahon, who spun to his knees to field it and throw out Smith.
• In the eighth, the Rockies delivered a double shot of brilliance. Tovar went deep into the hole to throw out Semien by a step before Rodgers one-upped Tovar with a diving stop-and-throw on a Seager grounder that looked like a sure single to right field.
Blach, who got a rare start, gave up one run on seven hits over his five innings. But he didn’t walk any batters and was the prime beneficiary of Colorado’s defense.
The Rangers scored their lone run in the first on a two-out single by Garcia to score Semien, who led off the game with a single to center.
The Rockies, who improved to 9-12 at home, will now play on the road against San Diego on Monday night. The Rockies are 3-16 on the road.
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