Jonathan Pettibone struggles in his second start of 2014
Photo Courtesy: Andrew Gillen
Despite going just 4-5 on their first homestand of the season, the Phillies had a bit of confidence as they took their plane ride out to Colorado. In their series against the Braves, the team was within a one run reach of the NL East's leading squad for all but an inning or two. Though the offense showed little spark, strong showings by Cliff Lee and A.J. Burnett gave the players some confidence in the starting rotation. Looking to capitalize on said confidence was second year starter Jonathan Pettibone, who was making his second start at Coors Field. Standing on the bump for the Rockies was Tyler Chatwood.
The Game: Pettibone ran into trouble immediately in the ballgame, and really never had a chance. Singles by both Charlie Blackmon and Drew Stubbs got things going in the top of the first inning. After getting Carlos Gonzalez to line out, Troy Tulowitzki walked to load the bases. A long drive into left field turned into a ground-rule double for Justin Morneau, scoring Blackmon and Stubbs and moving Tulo to third. A groundout by Willin Rosario advanced each runner, and a single off the bat of Nolan Arenado brought in the fourth and final run of the inning. 4-0 Colorado.
Things did not get much better for Pettibone in the second frame. He was able to get Tyler Chatwood to ground out, but allowed Blackmon to single. Stubbs grounded out to move Blackmon up to second base, triggering an intentional walk to Gonzalez. Perhaps it was not the best move, though, as Tulowitzki came up and mashed a ball over the Phillies bullpen for a three-run homerun. That moved the score to 7-0 Rockies.
While he escaped the third inning unscathed, Pettibone got touched up once more in the fourth, his last frame of the night. After Stubbs had singled earlier in the inning, Tulowitzki made his presence known once more, doubling in the Rockies' eighth run of the game. Pettibone left the game after 4 IP, 8 ER, 9 H, 93 pitches thrown. Mike Adams made his season debut for the Phillies in the fifth, throwing a 1-2-3 inning and topping out at about 90 mph.
The Phillies not only broke up Tyler Chatwood's no-hitter in that same inning, but scored their first run. Cody Asche broke up his own 0-16 skid with a single into center field. Carlos Ruiz had already been on base after reaching on an error, and he came in to score when pinch-hitter Jayson Nix replaced Pettibone singled out to Drew Stubbs. 8-1 Rockies.
Colorado would score a run in each of the sixth and seventh innings. Without much of a surprise, the first of those runs came off of Tulo's bat, an RBI single in the sixth inning. The second run came courtesy of Charlie Blackmon, whose RBI single was his third hit of the ball game for him. A 10-1 lead for Colorado.
Because 10 runs weren't enough, B.J. Rosenberg allowed a few more to come home in the eighth. Brandon Barnes and Corey Dickerson singled to lead said inning off. With one away, Willin Rosario recorded two more RBIs by singling out to Tony Gwynn Jr. Rosenberg was able to get out of the jam without any more runs scoring, but the dreaded scoreboard read 12-1 after eight, and remained that way through the ninth, as the Rockies took Game 1.
Impact: The Rockies came up with double digit hits in their home territory against Phillies pitching. Considering this was the first game of a long West Coast trip, it was not a very good start. Perhaps the one shred of positivity that emerged from tonight's contest was the arm of Matt Adams. He was the only Philly pitcher to not allow a run tonight. Though he may never hit the numbers he once did, Adams can be a solid bullpen piece for a team lacking in said department.
Up Next: Tomorrow night, Kyle Kendrick will take to the mound to face the Colorado Rockies and right-hander Jordan Lyles at 8:10 eastern time.
