#18
By: Vincent Wooding
Tags: Colorado Rockies, Austin Gomber, Houston Astros, Baseball, MLB

Wednesday 21st April — Houston Astros vs Colorado Rockies @ Coors Field

Austin Gomber had himself an evening on Wednesday, pitching for his first win of the season (Photo courtesy of the Colorado Rockies)

This one felt really, really good!

On a snowy Wednesday afternoon in Denver, the Rockies were looking to finish another series with a sweep of the Houston Astros — everyone’s favourite team to hate. The Rockies showed up in conditions fit for the Rocky Mountains and provided what could be their best performance of the season to date.

Ahhhhh Austin Gomber. He’s trying with all his might to make the Nolan Arenado seems less bad that it actually was; and through four games I think he has shown a lot for the Rockies to be excited about. Gomber was excellent on the mound again Wednesday, pitching six innings of work and allowing two runs, two walks and 6 strikeouts. His curveball is just a wonder to watch as it drops with a vigour that leaves many batters swinging and missing. He also worked his slider well on Wednesday, and kept a strong (if somewhat depleted) Astros offence to only 2 runs. Those runs came via a HR in the second inning — which was only the 2nd time this year that a Colorado Starting Pitcher had allowed a HR at Coors Field — an insane statistics given the well-rehearsed issues around pitching at Coors. Gomber has made four starts for the Rockies now, and if you remove his debut, he’s been fantastic to date. He’s really cemented himself in the rotation and it’ll be interesting to see what Bud Black does with him when Kyle Freeland eventually returns from the IL.

On the offensive side of the ball, we saw the Rockies hit the ball with an enthusiasm which has been missing for most of the season. Maybe the terrible weather encouraged the players to do whatever they could to get off the field as quickly as they could, but the Rockies finished the day with 11 hits. At one point in the bottom of the 2nd, the Rockies had managed to turn 5 hits into 4 runs — clearly an exceptionally efficient turnover. In the 1st, Trevor Story drove a double which brought two runs home. In the 2nd, Yonathan Daza hit his first career HR, and he was followed by a Dom Nunez double that drove in a Garrett Hampson run. Daza has been playing very well of late for a player who is out of minor league options and has definitely provided enough with the bat to warrant sticking around the team (we know how fantastic his defence is already).

The bottom of the 6th proved a fruitful inning for the Rockies also. Again, Hampson got on base and Nunez drove him over, and Tapia (who has been playing wonderfully of late) managed a sac fly to make the score 6–2. The damage could have been worse; the Astros were faced with a bases loaded situation with Charlie Blackmon at the plate at the end of the inning. Unfortunately, a flyout put an end to any hopes of further runs.

In all, this was a comprehensive and complete performance by the Rockies. Three very good innings of offence, complimented by wonderful pitching and defence and you get the sense that the Rockies could be stepping into their stride a bit. Wednesday marked only the second time this season that the Rockies had won back to back games, and Gomber was credited with his first official win in a Rockies uniform.

Beating the Astros was always going to tug at the heart string. Sweeping them at Coors Field was even better. To re-use the old adage — ‘Cheaters never prosper’

Final Score — Houston Astros 3— Colorado Rockies 6

Rockies MVP — Gomber and Daza (for his first career HR)

Rockies Record — 6–12