The Rockies took sole possession of first place in the South Division on Tuesday night as they earned a convincing road win in their first matchup of the season with the Red Deer Riggers. The game was closer than the final score would indicate as the Rockies clung to a 2-1 lead from the 1st inning until they tacked on another run in the 5th for some breathing room. The Riggers turned to their bullpen in the sixth and that’s when the Rockies poured it on to put the game away with a three-run 6th and a two-run 7th.
Luke Carmichael stole the show yet again at the plate, thus making the Player of the Game honors a mere formality, as he launched his second homer of the young season, tying him for the league lead with Andrew Malone of the Diamondbacks. He would finish with three knocks including a double and the aforementioned homer, and chipped in another two RBI and two runs scored and now leads the team in OPS, HR, Hits, RBI, and is tied for the lead in Runs Scored. Outfielder Travis Gaudet and second basemen Dale Bratz both had healthy days at the dish contributing three and two base hits respectively as well, overall another solid offensive showing from this Rockies club.
On the mound, Greg Hollman (0-0) got the start and was pitching great before being hit by a hard line drive comebacker in the forearm of his throwing arm in the 3rd inning. Hollman would try to tough it out but ultimately had to be removed from the game early. Luckily the Rockies had some solid relief provided by Steven Latos (2-0) who came in on short notice to provide two shutout innings of relief and earn his second win of the season. He was followed by Curtis Smith who provided an additional two innings of scoreless relief to close out the game in what was an impromptu bullpen day for the Rockies staff. Early reports are that Hollman avoided serious injury and should be back on the mound in short order.
The Rox sit at 4-1 and have a well deserved break before they travel back up to visit the Riggers next Tuesday June 6th, this time at Gulls Stadium in Sylvan Lake, for a 7:30pm start.
