Blackmon hit two home runs and Gonzalez his 200th as Colorado snapped a four-game losing streak.
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Washington Nationals’ Bryce Harper celebrates his home run during the ninth inning of a baseball game as Colorado Rockies catcher Tony Wolters, left, looks on, Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016, in Washington.
Gonzalez’s home run, which came in the 11th inning of the Rockies’ 9-4 victory, was his 23rd of the year but his first since hitting two against the Los Angeles Dodgers on August 3.
The Colorado Rockies look to play their way back into the wild card hunt as they take on the NL West leading Los Angeles Dodgers at Coors Field on Monday. While Washington can relax with a lengthy lead atop the National League East, Colorado posted just its second win in seven outings to keep its faint postseason hopes alive. See: perplexing sweeps at the hands of the Philadelphia Phillies and Milwaukee Brewers.
“It’s weird the way we’re playing”, Arenado said. “When we face the best teams, we take it to another notch of competitiveness and stuff like that”.
Bryce Harper, Trea Turner and Wilson Ramos went deep for Washington. Washington is 8-9 in the midst of a string of 20 games in 20 days and has lost six of its last eight.Washington first baseman Ryan Zimmerman struck out in his first three at-bats, giving him four hits in his last 33 trips. Washington has dropped six of eight. Matt Carasiti, who gave up four runs in the Rockies’ loss on Friday, bounced back to pitch a scoreless 11th inning.
“There’s nothing like having your horses in there, and it changes the game when you’re at full strength”, manager Walt Weiss said. “The double play he got in the fifth was big. That was a game-changer”. But Adam Ottavino came on to record three straight outs.
Rain is not in the forecast for Sunday afternoon and that is good news for Chad Bettis, slated to start for the Colorado Rockies in Washington.
Giolito (0-1), one of baseball’s top prospects, gave up four runs in five innings after his recall from Triple-A Syracuse earlier in the day.
“They definitely jumped on the fastball, and when I wasn’t able to locate it, they kind of made me pay”, Giolito said. It was also a big day at the plate for outfielder Charlie Blackmon, who had three hits – including two homers – and made a nice diving catch in the last of the ninth.
Bettis is 10-7 with a 5.29 ERA this year and will make his 27th start of the season on Sunday, and that is tops among Colorado pitchers.
Manager Dusty Baker said Harper’s frustration mounted over time, and he wasn’t just frustrated with Winters. He went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts on Sunday and is now just 1-for-20 with seven strikeouts in his last five games.
NL MVP Bryce Harper was ejected in the 10th inning after getting called out on strikes.
TORONTO – Melvin Upton Jr. tripled in the tying run and continued home on an outfield error in the eighth inning as Toronto came back to defeat Minnesota. As Nationals catcher Ramos simultaneously searched for the ball and checked on the crumpled umpire, Daniel Descalso scored from second base for a 5-2 lead.
The Dodgers have gone on an absolute tear since the all-star break and have silenced the critics who said they would crumble without Clayton Kershaw and add in the fact that the Giants have been the league’s worst team since the midseason hiatus and you have the current division leaders looking to create more separation.
Rockies: RHP Tyler Chatwood (10-8, 3.75), on the disabled list with a mid-back strain since August 16, will have a rehab start Monday for Double-A Hartford at Richmond.
Bettis escaped a jam in the last of the fifth when speedy Ben Revere hit into a double play with runners on first and third to end the inning.
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Nationals: RHP Joe Ross, who has been out since early July with shoulder inflammation, will begin a rehab assignment at Triple-A Syracuse on Sunday. That brought in reliever Adam Ottavino, who recorded the last three outs.The Rockies got a odd insurance run in the top of the eighth to make it 5-2.
