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Rockies roll past D-backs in finale
Three home runs back strong start from lefty Morales
PHOENIX -- Rockies left-hander Franklin Morales demonstrated this spring that he was prepared for a turnaround after a lost 2008. And just in case the Rockies weren't sure he was for real, he proved himself again Wednesday afternoon.
Morales held the Diamondbacks to one run and four hits over six innings, and Dexter Fowler, Yorvit Torrealba and Ian Stewart supported him with home runs as the Rockies won, 9-2, at Chase Field in front of 18,227.
It meant the Rockies, who meet the Phillies on Friday in their home opener, won the season-opening three-game set, after not beating the D-backs in any series last season. It also should mean more opportunities for Morales (1-0), who struck out six and gave up his only run on Stephen Drew's first-inning home run. The Rockies don't expect to need a fifth starter until April 21.
Colorado manager Clint Hurdle announced before the season that he's likely to send Morales to Triple-A Colorado Springs after the game. The original assumption was he would come back, but Hurdle said Tuesday that it wasn't necessarily the case. The Rockies acquired Jason Hammel, a right-hander who can start or pitch out of the bullpen, just before Opening Day, and Hurdle said he couldn't promise Morales, 23, his next start.
Fowler, a touted prospect making his first start of the season in center field, sent the game's first pitch, from Doug Davis (0-1), 360 feet and over the wall in left. Ryan Spilborghs knocked a two-run double in the third. Torrealba and Stewart, as a pinch-hitter, homered back-to-back off Billy Buckner in the seventh.
Three home runs back strong start from lefty Morales
PHOENIX -- Rockies left-hander Franklin Morales demonstrated this spring that he was prepared for a turnaround after a lost 2008. And just in case the Rockies weren't sure he was for real, he proved himself again Wednesday afternoon.
Morales held the Diamondbacks to one run and four hits over six innings, and Dexter Fowler, Yorvit Torrealba and Ian Stewart supported him with home runs as the Rockies won, 9-2, at Chase Field in front of 18,227.
It meant the Rockies, who meet the Phillies on Friday in their home opener, won the season-opening three-game set, after not beating the D-backs in any series last season. It also should mean more opportunities for Morales (1-0), who struck out six and gave up his only run on Stephen Drew's first-inning home run. The Rockies don't expect to need a fifth starter until April 21.
Colorado manager Clint Hurdle announced before the season that he's likely to send Morales to Triple-A Colorado Springs after the game. The original assumption was he would come back, but Hurdle said Tuesday that it wasn't necessarily the case. The Rockies acquired Jason Hammel, a right-hander who can start or pitch out of the bullpen, just before Opening Day, and Hurdle said he couldn't promise Morales, 23, his next start.
Fowler, a touted prospect making his first start of the season in center field, sent the game's first pitch, from Doug Davis (0-1), 360 feet and over the wall in left. Ryan Spilborghs knocked a two-run double in the third. Torrealba and Stewart, as a pinch-hitter, homered back-to-back off Billy Buckner in the seventh.
