Rockies Fall to Rangers 6-5: A Party of K’s, Game Notes and Scouting Takeaways
By Joe Piazza
Strikeouts, hits at a premium on Monday as the Rangers took down the Rockies 6-5.
This is the fourth of a six-part scouting series. After this Rangers/Rockies game, I will be wrapping up this series with coverage of the Dodgers/Mariners game on 3/29. You can find my recap and scouting report of Thursday’s Dodgers/Rangers game here, Friday’s Athletics/White Sox game here, Saturday’s White Sox/Indians game here, and Sunday’s Mariners/Reds game here. Follow me on Twitter @JoePiazza_ for game updates and all baseball news!
When most people hear there were 20 strikeouts in a game, they probably picture a low scoring affair. A final score of 2-1, or 1-0 maybe. What they’re probably not expecting is a combined 24 hits between the two teams. There were only a total of 11 runs scored, but the Rangers and the Rockies still accumulated 20 Ks and 24 hits between the two of them. Neither team’s pitching staff was able to put an end to the scoring, as runs crossed the plate from the 2nd to the 9th innings. They hit one home run each, and knocked both starting pitchers out of the game before the 6th inning.
There was action from the very start, with Jared Hoying snagging a liner in right to retire Gerardo Parra for the first out of the game.
A leaping catch in right by @rangers Jared Hoying retires Parra for the first out
— Joe Piazza (@Joepiazza_) March 27, 2017
The Rangers decided to give their major league rotation a break on Monday, instead tasking depth piece Allen Webster with the start. Webster ate 4.1 innings, giving up two earned runs. A homer by Mike Napoli and a go ahead single by Delino DeShields Jr. propelled Texas in this one. For the Rockies, it was Alexi Amarista and Jordan Patterson that did the heavy lifting.
The abnormally high number of combined walks and strikeouts (44) gave this game a slow, yet busy pace. When factoring in walks (nine total), every single inning featured a baserunner and a strikeout. Down three runs in the ninth, the Rockies nearly mounted a comeback. An RBI double by Jordan Patterson brought home Luke Tendler to make the score 6-4. Then, Vince Fernandez singled him in with two outs to cut the lead down to one. The next man up was Michael Benjamin, but he struck out. Ballgame over. Rangers 6, Rockies 5.