ROAD WARRIOR
Chatwood dominates Giants 2-0
san francisco» The Rockies’ road warrior finished his season in grand style Wednesday night at AT&T Park.
Tyler Chatwood, making his final start of the season, blanked the San Francisco Giants for eight superb innings and Colorado hung on for a 2-0 victory.
The right-hander, coming back from his second Tommy John surgery, finished with a road record of 8-1 and a road ERA of 1.69. That’s the lowest road ERA in franchise history and the best in the majors this season for pitchers with at least 70 innings.
As usual, there were some nail-biting closing moments for the Rockies. Left-hander Boone Logan was called on to nail down the victory in the ninth and immediately got torched for a leadoff double by pinch-hitter Kelby Tomlinson. Logan struck out pinch-hitter Gorkys Hernandez and Denard Span. But Brandon Belt hit a grounder to first baseman Gerardo Parra for what looked like the game ender, but Logan didn’t cover the bag in time and Belt’s single kept the rally alive.
Into the fire came usual closer Adam Ottavino to face the dangerous Buster Posey. After an eight-pitch at-bat, Ottavino got Posey to groundout to third baseman Nolan Arenado.
Chatwood (12-9) allowed only three hits, struck out nine and walked two. He was aided by two terrific throws by catcher Tony Wolters. Wolters threw out Denard Span trying to steak second base in the first inning, then threw out Connor Gillaspie trying to swipe second in the third.
Colorado broke a five-game losing streak and put a dent in the Giants’ playoff quest. The New York Mets’ victory over Miami, coupled with the Giants’ loss, left San Francisco trailing the Mets by 1K games for the top National League wild-card spot. The St. Louis Cardinals, who lost to the Reds, remain a game behind the Giants for the second wild-card spot.
Colorado broke the scoreless deadlock in the fourth using its formidable one-two punch of Carlos Gonzalez and Arenado. Gonzalez ripped an oppositefield double off starter Jeff Samardzija (12-11). The line drive nearly left the yard, but bounced off the left-field wall. Then Arenado looped a broken-bat single to center, easily scoring Gonzalez. The RBI was Arenado’s 130th, tying his career high set last season.