OOTP 5/23: Rockies 6, Phillies 4

When you think of Coors Field, you rightly think of scoring. It’s the place where ERAs go to die, giving MLB the highest scoring environment almost every year since its inception. So when your pitcher goes six solid innings and only gives up four runs, you’d expect a little more back from your team. Not today kids, not today.

In the top of the first, the Phillies struck first when Didi Gregorius singled, then went to third on a Bryce Harper single. J.T. Realmuto hit a sacrifice fly to send Gregorius home and suddenly the Phillies were on top, 1-0. Aaron Nola pitched a pretty simple first two innings before running into a bit of trouble in the third. There, the Rockies scored three runs when Trevor Story and Charlie Blackmon each took one out walks, followed by a Nolan Arenado double that scored Story. Ryan McMahon grounded out and scored Blackmon, sending Arenado to third base. Brenden Rodgers doubled as well, sending Arenado home with the third run before Nola got Raimel Tapia to fly out and end the inning.

It stayed that way into the fifth when Nola led off with a ringing single to center field. He would move to second when Jean Segura’s groundball went just past the pitcher’s mound and the charging Story only had a play at first. Gregorius struck out on a close pitch, bringing Harper to the plate. He delivered a two-out double that scored Nola and made the score 3-2.

In the sixth, Jay Bruce hit a first pitch fastball for a solo home run that tied the score at 3, but the team wasn’t done yet. Andrew McCutchen followed that home run with a single of his own. Scott Kingery and Adam Haseley would strike out and fly out, respectively, as the next two batters, bringing up Nola. Shockingly, Nola singled again to keep the inning alive and send Cutch to second base. Segura would hit another single, sending McCutchen home with the lead run, making the score 4-3. Logan Forsythe, replacing the injured Gregorius would also single and load the bases for Harper with two outs. Unforturnately, Harper forgot his superhero cape at home and left the bases loaded, something that would come back to haunt them.

Nola finished the sixth and would hit Blackmon to start the seventh, then getting replaced by Adam Morgan. Morgan would allow a single to Arenado before facing Ryan McMahon, which would end disasterously.

McMahon delivered the big blow of the game, hitting a three-run home run and putting the Rockies ahead, 6-4.

The beleaguered Colorado bullpen pulled itself together on this date and shut the Phillies down for the rest of game, securing a win for the day.

Cole Irvin will take the mound tomorrow for the Phillies as they try and take the series from Colorado.