Jason Hammel shines as Colorado Rockies defeat San Diego Padres 3-2 – MLB Update
Jason Hammel threw into the seventh inning on Friday, July 29 to help the Colorado Rockies beat the San Diego Padres 3-2 at Petco Park.
The tall starter of Colorado had reorganised his strategy to remain unplayable throughout the game, giving the Rockies a much-needed victory in the three-game series.
His first inning was impressive, allowing only one hit. As Tim Stauffer walked in, he was in for some big hits. Ian Stewart was the first one to score an RBI single, allowing Troy Tulowitzki, followed by a big two-run homer coming off Chris Iannetta’s bat.
Iannetta’s hit gave the Rockies a 3-0 lead by the end of second inning which was then Hammel’s responsibility to defend. Jason put a laudable defence up, keeping the lead intact for the Rockies against the straining Padres’ offence.
"(Hammel) got punched there in the (third) inning," Colorado manager Jim Tracy said. "You were anxious to see how he was going to respond once that happened. What was great to see was that he punched back and gave us some more good innings."
Orlando Hudson, however, brought about a semblance of change in the game when the third inning kicked off. Hudson hit and reached on an infield single to score the first run for the Padres followed by Chase Headley.
Headley was able to single to right to bring the lead down to 3-2 for the Padres in the 3-hit two-run third. However, Hammel did not give up after the disappointing outcome of the inning as the starter threw stronger innings afterwards.
It was these effective innings of great pitching that won the recognition of Tracy. The Rockies’ defence was completely dependent on Hammel whose pitching proved powerful enough to contain the Padres’ offence.
When Hammel concluded his 6.1 innings, he had given up five hits and allowed two runs compared to Stauffer’s seven innings whereby he gave up eight hits.
"I had a sit down and was told that my M.O. around the league is the way hitters look at me," Hammel said. "Obviously, I need to be able to pitch inside more. I was able to do that effectively enough."
As the game progressed, the Rockies’ defence got better. "The bullpen did a wonderful job," Tracy said.
Rafael Betancourt pitched the eighth inning a complete shut-out as Huston Street went for a stronger ninth inning to convert the 3-2 lead into a comfortable win, giving a 1-0 lead to the Rockies in the three-game series.
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