ROCKIES’ STORY USING BAT, GLOVE TO GET NOTICED
ARLINGTON, TEXAS » You don’t mess with a Texan, especially when he gets ticked off.
The Rangers discovered that Friday night when Rockies righthander Chad Bettis, the Lubbock native who played at Texas Tech, rebounded from a truly awful first inning to play a key part in Colorado’s 9-5 victory at Globe Life Park.
The Rockies, now 23-16 on the road, were in dire need of a victory, having lost two of three at Philadelphia and 10 of their last 13 entering the weekend.
It helped that the Rockies’ offense, spearheaded by a two-homer night by former Ranger Ian Desmond, ripped Texas for 13 hits. Desmond became the first Rockies player to homer twice in one game at Texas and the first Colorado hitter with a multihomer interleague road game since Charlie Blackmon at Yankee Stadium in 2016.
Important, too, was the performance by the bullpen. Harrison Musgrave, Adam Ottavino and Wade Davis combined to pitch 3L scoreless innings. Ottavino, back from the disabled list and making his first appearance since May 27, gave up a walk and hit a batter but got out of the eighth inning unscathed.
Colorado’s six-run second inning, off left-hander Yohander Mendez, who was making his bigleague debut, featured a leadoff homer by Desmond, RBI singles from DJ LeMahieu, Charlie Blackmon and Trevor Story, and a tworun double by Nolan Arenado, returning from a rare day off.
Arenado’s double snapped a 19 at-bat hitless streak, the longest of his career. He doubled again in the seventh and scored on Story’s double to the gap in right-center. Arenado added a solo homer in the ninth, his 13th of the season. Story a native of nearby Ir-
ving, finished the game 2for5, continuing a surge that has lifted his average to .272.
For Bettis, the first inning was a disaster of Hindenburg proportions. The Rangers blew him up for five runs and sent eight men to the plate. A Delino DeShields walk, followed by a linedrive homer to right by Jurickson Profar put the Rockies in a 20 hole. An RBI single by Isiah KinerFalefa and a tworun homer by Joey Gallo turned that hole into 50 pit.
But from that point on, Bettis — his determination and focus razor sharp — shut down the Rangers. He blanked them for the next 4M innings, allowing just two hits and striking out six. After giving up a oneout single to DeShields in the second, he retired 10 batters in a row.
And how about this: He ended up with his fifth victory over the season, improving to 51, even as his ERA rose from 4.40 to 4.65.