Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Denver Post
The Denver Post
Sport
Patrick Saunders

Rockies split doubleheader with Nationals as Chad Kuhl delivers another quality start to salvage the day

The Rockies split a doubleheader with the Nationals on Saturday, with their pitchers getting blasted in Game 1 before Chad Kuhl salvaged the day with a quality start in Game 2.

Washington thumped Colorado, 13-7, in the first game as Colorado pitchers were blistered for 14 hits, including two home runs. But Kuhl delivered in the afternoon in a 3-2 victory and Jose Iglesias had the game-winning RBI single in the seventh inning.

After the Rockies handed out seven walks and hit a batter in Game 1, Kuhl allowed seven hits and walked just one over six-plus innings, with seven strikeouts. The right-hander improved to 4-2, and despite being in the rotation’s fifth slot, has been Colorado’s most dependable starter.

Still, despite winning Game 2, the Rockies continue to slide.

Left-hander Austin Gomber had his second-worst start in a Rockies uniform in Game 1. Staked with a 3-0 lead by C.J. Cron’s three-run, first-inning home run, Gomber promptly gave up five runs on six hits in the bottom of the frame. Gomber lasted only 1 1/3 innings and was charged with eight runs on seven hits as his ERA soared from 4.11 to 5.51.

“I didn’t really command anything and everything they hit kind of found a hole,” Gomber told the media after the game. “It just wasn’t my day. I was in bad counts pretty much the whole time I was in there. And it was pretty uncharacteristic with the walks … That’s not really how I pitch. We’ll just wipe it and be ready to go next time out.”

Said manager Bud Black: “Fastball command is a big part of his game and he just couldn’t get that pitch going. And his slider is also a big pitch for him and he couldn’t get that going, either.”

Long reliever Ashton Goudeau didn’t fare much better in the loss: three runs on four hits over 2 2/3 innings. His two walks in the fourth set the table for Victor Robles’ three-run homer that gave Washington an 11-7 lead.

The Rockies received a 3-for-5 day from Charlie Blackmon in the first game and Blackmon also contributed an RBI single in the second game.

Robles went 3 for 4 in the Nationals’ Game 1 rout and drove in a career-high six runs, and Riley Adams’ two-run homer off Robert Stephenson in the eighth completed the Nationals’ field day at the plate. The Nationals were 8 for 15 with runners in scoring position in Game 1, but 1 for 16 in that scenario in Game 2.

Closer Daniel Bard nailed down the victory in Game 2 with a 1-2-3 ninth.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.