Braves 12, Rockies 4: A close game turns ugly late

A tightly-contested contest ended up lopsided after Atlanta’s late surge

The final score doesn’t show it, but this game was hotly-contested for most of its runtime.

Unfortunately, a catastrophic last few innings gave the Atlanta Braves a commanding win over the Colorado Rockies on Friday.

Gettin’ started early

The Rockies have struggled on offense this season, but you wouldn’t know it by how they started this game off.

Colorado got off on the right foot in the top of the first inning when, with two outs and nobody on base, Hunter Goodman singled and scored on Ryan McMahon’s ninth home run of the season.

The homer, measured at 441 feet, gave the Rockies a quick, early lead, something that they’ve desperately searched for this season. The Braves would respond with a run of their own in the bottom of the same inning by way of a Matt Olson sacrifice fly, but Colorado still held a 2-1 advantage early on.

After that initial inning, both pitchers started to settle in, and no further runs were scored for the next two frames.

Functional fourth

Colorado managed to take advantage of a shaky Bryce Elder in the fourth inning, which began with a Keston Hiura hit-by-pitch and a Tyler Freeman walk. Jordan Beck struck out, but Thairo Estrada’s base hit loaded the bases for burgeoning star Hunter Goodman.

Goodman, as he’s done so many times this season, came through as he laced the ball into left field to put his team back up by two. Goodman is now hitting over .400(!!) this month.

Ryan McMahon then continued his big day with his third hit of the game, this one an RBI single that scored Freeman and increased Colorado’s lead to 4-1. McMahon’s heating up as much as Goodman, as Mac has now tallied a knock in six of his last seven games.

An odd double play (one that needed official review to confirm the ruling) ended the Rockies attack afterward, but it was a nice offensive output that helped back an excellent starting effort from Márquez. Their work at the plate has been inconsistent this season, so seeing the Rockies string together hits and knocking in runs was a beautiful sight to see.

Speaking of beautiful sights…

Vintage Márquez

There’s nary a soul visiting this website that isn’t aware of the issues that have plagued Germán Márquez this season. He hasn’t been able to miss bats and allows harder contact than ever before. On Friday afternoon, though, he seemed to turn back time and once again assume the form of the pitcher that earned an All-Star nod in 2021.

Márquez tossed five innings, allowing just one lone run and six hits along with a season-high seven strikeouts and no walks. He mixed his pitches expertly, keeping a talented Atlanta lineup off-balance and rarely encountering significant resistance. It was an excellent performance from Márquez who, after a brutal start to the season, has started to look much more like himself lately.

Harris hammers for tie

With Márquez out of the game after five innings, it was up to the Rockies bullpen to hold the lead. No better man for the job than Jake Bird, right?

Unfortunately, Bird suffered through an uncharacteristically tough outing, allowing a double to Olson and walking Sean Murphy before doing battle with Michael Harris II. Bird threw a 1-1 slider inside that caught too much of the plate, allowing Harris to smash a no-doubt, three-run shot out into right field to tie the contest at four runs apiece.

The first earned runs Bird had allowed in almost a full month reset the game. This one would, as has often been the case recently, be decided late.

Ozuna from the Braves

The bottom of the seventh remained deadlocked, thanks in part to a spectacular snag by Jordan Beck to prevent a leadoff extra-base hit.

Atlanta would not be denied, however. Singles by Alex Verdugo and Olson put runners on base with two outs for Marcell Ozuna. Viktor Vodnik laid a slider down the middle for the slugging designated hitter, who didn’t miss his opportunity. Ozuna’s 11th home run of the season was a three-run shot that gave the Braves their first lead of the contest.

That inning broke a string of 11 straight scoreless appearances for Vodnik.

The wheels fell off from there. The Braves tacked on five runs in the bottom of the eighth and the Rockies could offer no opposition. Despite the closeness of the contest previously, it would end up yet another lopsided loss.

Up Next

Game two of the Rockies-Braves series is tomorrow. Exciting young hurler Chase Dollander (2-6, 6.85 ERA) gets the ball for Colorado, while Spencer Strider (0-5, 5.40 ERA) toes the rubber for Atlanta.

That game begins at 2:10pm MDT. See you then!