This was a game with too many strikeouts and not enough contact for the Colorado Rockies. The largest such situation was in the sixth when Tyler Colvin struck out swinging with only one out and runners on first and third. Even a productive out would have made this game get very close. It also included another bad first inning for a Rockies pitcher, this time with Roy Oswalt giving up three runs. Not sure how to fix this problem, but the Rockies have had difficulties coming back when the other team scores in the first inning.
In all, the Rockies struck out 15 times. The first twelve were to John Lackey, who threw a lot of strikes early in the count and got ahead of Colorado hitters. The final two strikeouts came against new Red Sox closer Koji Uehara when the home plate umpire apparently had a hot date to get to. There was no such thing as borderline in the last inning and both Red Sox and Rockies seemed upset with some of the questionable calls.
Highlights for the Rockies include: Oswalt doing everything except for limiting runs pretty well (he went over 100 pitches for the second game in a row and his arm didn't fall off), good defense from Rutledge in the sixth inning (throwing home has been a problem for the Rockies), and the aforementioned two home runs by Michael Cuddyer.
Colorado now sits at 39-40, three and a half games behind the Diamondback with the Padres half a game in front of them as well. They return home tomorrow to play a make-up game with the Mets before starting their NL West show downs prior to the All-Star break.
Graph:
Source: FanGraphs
Rowcall:
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