ROX BLAST 7 HRS IN ‘W’ OVER ROYALS

Rutledge, Rosario Both Go Deep Twice

DENVER, Aug. 20 (AP) – The Colorado Rockies tied a major league single game season high with seven home runs en route to an 8-6 victory over the Kansas City Royals at Coors Field.  Josh Rutledge and Wilin Rosario each hit a pair of homers for the Rockies.  All eight of Colorado’s runs came courtesy of the long ball, with six of the home runs solo shots.  Royals starter Danny Duffy was victimized by the long ball four times and reliever Aaron Crow surrendered three home runs in a single inning of work.  The Detroit Tigers are the only other big league team to hit seven home runs in a game this season, a feat accomplished on April 30 in an 11-8 loss to the Chicago White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field.

The Royals jumped out on top in the game with three runs in the first off Rockies starter Jorge de la Rosa.  Christian Colon led off with a base hit and moved to second when de la Rosa fumbled Omar Infante’s infield roller, putting two men on with no outs.  One out later, Josh Willingham belted a de la Rosa offering into the left field bleachers for a three-run home run and a 3-0 Kansas City lead.

Colorado got a run back in the bottom of the first when Rutledge set off the Rockies home run explosion with a lead-off blast, making the score 3-1.

The Rockies tied the game in the fourth when Rosario and Matt McBride sandwiched a strikeout of Corey Dickerson with solo home runs.

Colorado took the lead for the first time in the bottom of the fifth when Rutledge took Duffy deep for the second time in the game.  But Kansas City regained the advantage with a pair of runs in the top of the sixth.  Alcides Escobar singled with one out and, after de la Rosa retired pinch hitter Norichika Aoki on a ground ball, Matt Belisle replaced de la Rosa on the mound and immediately yielded a game-tying double to Colon.  Infante followed with a base hit, scoring Colon, and the Royals held a 5-4 lead.

But the Rockies seized the lead for good with a four-run bottom of the sixth.  With Crow on the mound, Rosario immediately tied the game with his second home run of the contest, sending the fountains in center field into action for the fourth time in the game.  Dickerson singled and McBride fanned, but Brandon Barnes put Colorado on top with a two-run shot to left-center, making it 7-5, and D.J. LeMahieu capped the inning with a solo home run of his own.

The Royals got a run back in the eighth when Escobar led off with a single and Colon tripled him home one out later, but Rockies reliever Juan Nicasio shut down further attempts by the Royals to get back into the game and LaTroy Hawkins retired Kansas City in order in the ninth to earn his 33^rd save of the season.

The Rockies have now hit 143 home runs this year, easily the most among National League teams.  85 of those long balls have come at Coors Field, the top mark for home runs by a team in its own ballpark in all of baseball. 

8/20/2014, KC14-Col14, Coors Field

                       1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9     R  H  E   LOB DP

2014 Royals            3  0  0  0  0  2  0  1  0     6 10  0    10  2

2014 Rockies           1  0  0  2  1  4  0  0  x     8 10  1     3  0

Royals               AB  R  H BI   AVG    Rockies              AB  R  H BI   AVG

Colon,C           3b  5  2  3  2  .333    Rutledge          ss  4  2  2  2  .246

Infante           2b  5  1  2  1  .252    Stubbs            cf  4  0  1  0  .246

 Bueno            p   0  0  0  0  .000    Arenado           3b  3  0  1  0  .265

Butler,B          1b  3  0  0  0  .241    Rosario           c   4  2  2  2  .251

Willingham        rf  5  1  2  3  .169    Dickerson,Co      lf  3  1  1  0  .340

Gordon,A          lf  4  0  0  0  .242     Hawkins          p   0  0  0  0  .000

Kratz             c   4  0  0  0  .091    McBride           1b  4  1  1  1  .200

 Perez,S          ph  1  0  0  0  .268    Barnes,B          rf  3  1  1  2  .260

Cain,L            cf  4  1  2  0  .284    LeMahieu          2b  4  1  1  1  .234

Escobar,A         ss  3  1  1  0  .266    De La Rosa,J      p   2  0  0  0  .217

Duffy,D           p   2  0  0  0  .167     Belisle          p   1  0  0  0  .000

 Aoki             ph  1  0  0  0  .292     Nicasio          p   0  0  0  0  .148

 Crow             p   0  0  0  0  .000     Blackmon         lf  0  0  0  0  .271

 Davis,W          p   0  0  0  0  .000                         32  8 10  8

 Moustakas        ph  1  0  0  0  .188

                     38  6 10  6

Royals                           INN  H  R ER BB  K PCH STR   ERA

Duffy,D                          5.0  5  4  4  2  4  72  42  3.48

Crow             BS 2, L 0-3     1.0  4  4  4  0  1  22  14  5.54

Davis,W                          1.0  1  0  0  0  1   7   6  0.60

Bueno                            1.0  0  0  0  1  1  22  15  3.99

                                 8.0 10  8  8  3  7 123  77

Rockies                          INN  H  R ER BB  K PCH STR   ERA

De La Rosa,J                     5.2  6  4  3  2  8  90  58  4.24

Belisle          BS 3, W 1-3     1.1  2  1  1  1  0  18  12  7.36

Nicasio          H 1             1.0  2  1  1  1  1  28  16  4.45

Hawkins          S 33            1.0  0  0  0  0  1   8   5  1.86

                                 9.0 10  6  5  4 10 144  91

KC : Aoki batted for Duffy,D in the 6th

     Moustakas batted for Davis,W in the 8th

     Colon,C moved to 2b in the 8th

     Moustakas moved to 3b in the 8th

     Perez,S batted for Kratz in the 9th

Col: Blackmon inserted at lf in the 9th

E-De La Rosa,J. 2B-Colon,C(2), Infante(18). 3B-Colon,C(2). HR-Willingham(8),

Rutledge 2(3), Rosario 2(13), McBride(1), Barnes,B(4), LeMahieu(8).

RBI-Colon,C 2(7), Infante(36), Willingham 3(28), Rutledge 2(22),

Rosario 2(39), McBride(1), Barnes,B 2(14), LeMahieu(36). SB-Cain,L(21).

K-Colon,C, Infante, Butler,B, Gordon,A 3, Kratz 2, Escobar,A, Duffy,D,

Stubbs 2, Dickerson,Co, McBride 2, Barnes,B, De La Rosa,J. BB-Butler,B,

Gordon,A, Cain,L, Escobar,A, Arenado, Dickerson,Co, Barnes,B. HBP-Butler,B.

HB-De La Rosa,J.

GWRBI: Barnes,B

Temperature: 69, Sky: clear, Wind: out to left at 18 MPH.

Attendance: 22,108

Game Time: 2:41