In baseball, there are three possible “true outcomes” when a batter comes to the plate – three ways his at-bat might unfold without the fielders coming in to play – a walk, a strikeout or a home run.
Here’s how the Rockies weekend unfolded according to those three true outcomes…
Walks: In the three-game sweep of the Dodgers to end the 2015 home schedule, Colorado’s bullpen allowed just three walks – all of which came on Friday night. Colorado relievers did not allow a free pass after the seventh inning on Friday, a 10.1-inning stretch that will extend into Tuesday’s tilt with Arizona. For a team that leads Major League Baseball in walks by team (555) and in relief (235), this was a huge step forward and the most understated key to the series.
Three Outcomes: Strikeouts | Home Runs
Strikeouts: With the game tied at six in the top of the ninth on Friday night, Justin Miller took the mound hoping to preserve the tie and give Colorado the chance to win it on one swing in the bottom of the inning. Closer John Axford was unavailable, having been used the three nights prior. Facing three hitters who have struggled to hit for average, but have some pop in A.J. Ellis, Joc Pederson and Scott Van Slyke, Miller dug deep and earned to crucial strikeouts. Charlie Blackmon made a superb running catch to rob Ellis of a hit to lead off the inning, spurring Miller on to back-to-back strikeouts of Pederson and Van Slyke. The punchouts kept the game knotted at six and Carlos Gonzalez ended it in the bottom half of the frame with a walk-off home run.
Three Outcomes: Home Runs | Walks
Home Runs: Cargo may have ended Saturday night with a bang, hitting a walk-off home run to win it in the bottom of the ninth, but that home run would have been meaningless were it not for Nolan Arenado’s grand slam that put the Rockies up 4-0 before the Dodgers had even recorded an out. But Arenado wasn’t done there for the weekend. He also hit a go-ahead three-run home run on Sunday that put the Rockies back in the driver seat en route to a three-game sweep that prevented the Dodgers from clinching the NL West. The Sunday blast was Arenado’s 41st of the season, which brought him back into a tie with Bryce Harper for the NL lead.
Three Outcomes: Walks | Strikeouts