Troy Tulowitzki’s seven RBIs power Rockies to much needed win
After losing the last two games to the division-leading San Diego Padres, Troy Tulowitzki made sure that the Colorado Rockies were not going to lose three in a row.
Troy Tulowitzki put the Rockies on his shoulders with two home runs and seven RBIs to lead the team to a 9-6 victory over the Padres and close out the three-game series.
It was the third time in eight games that the short stop had multiple home runs in a game. Halfway through the month he has hit 11 home runs, one short of the Rockies' franchise record for a single month.
“The game’s not that easy. I’m just hot right now,” Tulowitzki said. “I’m continually trying to remind myself to enjoy this while it lasts. It’s not going to last forever.”
Jorge De La Rosa pitched one out into the eighth inning to earn his eighth win of the season. On the day he gave up six hits, including home runs to Adrian Gonzalez and Yorvit Torrealba, five earned runs, and one walk while striking out seven.
Troy Tulowitzki started the scoring in the first inning with a RBI single that scored Eric Young. Yorvit Torrealba tied the game for the Padres with his home run in the third inning. Carlos Gonzalez took the lead back in the fourth inning with a RBI single
that scored Jorge De La Rosa. Tulowitzki gave the Rockies some breathing room with his first home run, a three-run shot to deep centre field to make the score 5-2.
Tulowitzki’s second home run came in the fourth and stretched the lead out to 9-2. Adrian Gonzalez hit a home run in the sixth and eighth inning to close the gap to 9-6, but it was not enough to keep the Rockies from winning.
“It goes without saying—we needed that game. We simply need that game,” Rockies manager Jim Tracy said.
With the win, Colorado improved to 80-66 on the season and sits two and a half games behind San Diego in the NL West. Since Atlanta lost to the Nationals they moved within two and a half games of the NL wild card as well.
After taking Thursday off, the Rockies travel to Los Angeles Friday to take on the Dodgers in a three-game series. Ubaldo Jimenez is scheduled to take the mound for the Rockies on Friday in the series opener against Hiroki Kuroda for the Dodgers.
Jimenez will look to become the second player this season to win 19 games.
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