Noah Spirek | @NoahSpirek | May 29, 2024
On Tuesday night, the Cleveland Guardians sought to avenge their loss from the day prior, an 8-6 defeat that ended their nine-game winning streak. The Rockies looked to continue their home success, entering the game winners of seven of their previous eight games. In a ballgame that resembled a boxing match, with both teams trading blows and counterpunches throughout the contest, it was the Guardians that ultimately came out on top, winning 13-7.
Table of Contents
Game Story
Rockies starter RHP Ryan Feltner struggled out of the gates on Tuesday. In the first inning, he allowed a two-run shot to Guardians star José Ramírez, a ball that went 392 feet and gave Ramírez his 55th and 56th RBIs in just his 54th game.
The Rockies answered in the bottom of the 3rd. After a leadoff double from Ezequiel Tovar, back-to-back strikeouts from Ryan McMahon and Elias Díaz made it look like the Rockies might waste a scoring opportunity. However, Kris Bryant launched his second homer of the year 428 feet to left, tying the game, 2-2.
In the top of the 4th, the Guardians got those two runs back on a pair of sacrifice flies from Bo Naylor and Gabriel Arias, recapturing the lead for Cleveland, 4-2. The Rockies counterpunched in the bottom of the frame on a two-run blast off the bat of Elehuris Montero. His third of the season traveled 384 feet and tied the game at four apiece.
The game would not stay tied long. In the top of the 5th, Josh Naylor lifted a two-run homer deep into the clear Denver night. After Naylor, a David Fry single and stolen base was followed by a Kyle Manzardo run-scoring single, extending the Cleveland lead to 7-4. The Manzardo knock marked the end of the night for Ryan Feltner, who ended up tossing 4.1 innings, allowing seven runs (six earned) on eight hits and two walks. He struck out one.
The Rockies responded yet again in the bottom of the sixth with a three-run frame. After back-to-back walks issued by Cleveland reliever Nick Sandlin, Charlie Blackmon grounded a base hit into right field to score a Colorado run. After a Tovar lineout, a run-scoring wild pitch cut the deficit to 7-6, and Ryan McMahon lined a 2-2 pitch into center field, scoring Blackmon to tie the game, 7-7.
Alas, this was the final run the Rockies were able to score. In the top of the 7th, consecutive walks by the Rockies bullpen to José Ramírez and Josh Naylor set the stage for David Fry to rip a three-run shot to left field, breaking the tie and giving the Guardians a 10-7 lead. Cleveland tacked on three more in the 8th on another mammoth home run by Josh Naylor. The final score on Tuesday night was 13-7, Cleveland.
Quotes
Bud Black on Ryan Feltner: “We’ve got to get him to consistently get the ball down. Right now there’s just too many balls from pitch to pitch that are elevated… He’s got to pitch with his fastball… but he’s got to get the ball down.”
Bud Black on Kris Bryant and Elehuris Montero homers: “Good for KB. That was a good swing. That ball was well hit and same with ‘Monty.’ We need more of that from those guys… They have power. Kris has proven in his career that he can homer… A swing like today can get him going, so hopefully that’s a good sign… and that was a good swing for [Montero.] That was good to see.”
Bud Black on Rockies’ resilience: “Our guys are really resilient. I like the fact that our guys turn the page pretty quickly. So, hopefully, that happens tomorrow.”
Notes
The Rockies scored seven runs on Tuesday, but lost. They are now 10-3 this season when scoring at least seven runs.
The homers by Kris Bryant and Elehuris Montero were a pair of drought-snapping blasts. Bryant’s bomb was his first since April 5 (47 at-bats) in the Rockies’ initial home series of the season against Tampa Bay. Montero’s homer was his since April 30 and snapped a streak of 72 at-bats without a home run.
With his two homers, Cleveland’s Josh Naylor recorded the third multi-homer game of his career.
What’s Next for the Colorado Rockies?
On Wednesday, the Guardians and Rockies will play the rubber match of their three-game series at 6:40 MT. Probable starters are LHP Logan Allen (5-2, 4.91 ERA) for Cleveland and LHP Ty Blach (1-2, 4.55 ERA) for Colorado. After the ballgame, the Rockies will hop on a flight to Los Angeles where they begin a three-game set against the Dodgers on Friday.
Get to know more about Hunter Goodman here.
Story by Noah Spirek.
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