The usual suspects and one promising newcomer led the Rockies to a white-knuckle, 6-5, victory over the Braves Friday night at Coors Field.
The newbie is right-handed starter Tanner Gordon who set the tone for Colorado’s victory over the slumping Braves, who lost their sixth consecutive game.
The Rockies snapped their nine-game losing streak against the Braves, notching their win against the Braves since Aug. 30, 2022 (at Atlanta), and the first over the Braves at Coors since Sept. 4, 2021.
Center fielder Brenton Doyle, Colorado’s emerging star, and All-Star third baseman Ryan McMahon tag-teamed Atlanta reliever A.J. Minter to give the Rockies the go-ahead run in the seventh. Doyle led off, raking a double to left, and McMahon immediately followed with an RBI double to center.
Doyle also launched a two-run homer in the third, to join the 20-homer/20-stolen base club. Doyle has 21 steals. He didn’t shy away from the possibility of a 30/30 season, even though only 45 games remain in the season.
“It’s definitely in play still,” Doyle said. “I’ll just do my best to keep playing and keep pushing.”
Atlanta got the tying run to third in the ninth against closer Victor Vodnik but he struck out Austin Riley to clinch the game and notch his seventh save. Vodnik rebounded from a poor outing on Wednesday when he gave up three runs in a 5-3 defeat to the Mets.
Both Gordon and Vodnik were members of the Braves organization until they were traded in July 2023 for reliever Pierce Johnson. Neither player made a big deal of it.
“More than anything, I think it was exciting to play against the team I used to play for,” Gordon said.
If Gordon didn’t dominate the Braves, he certainly subdued them. He limited Atlanta to two runs on six hits over five innings. He struck out seven and didn’t walk any.
Marcell Ozuna tagged Gordon with a two-out, solo homer in the first, rocketing a 1-0 fastball 448 feet to center. But Gordon fanned Ozuna to end the fifth with his biggest out of the game.
“I just told myself to stay aggressive,” Gordon said.
Manager Bud Black was impressed with Gordon, who was coming off an excellent start at San Diego last Saturday when he allowed one run on one hit across six innings.
“He threw the ball well,” Black said. “His combination of pitches worked tonight. His fastball was sneaky. It was not quite as crispy as it was in San Diego, but his slider played tonight and he threw some good changeups.”
Atlanta had cut Colorado’s lead to 5-2 on a double by Jarred Kelenic and an RBI single by Whit Merrifield. When Jorge Soler dumped a broken-bat single into shallow left-center, the Braves had runners at the corners and just one out. Gordon got Riley to pop out to second baseman Brendan Rodgers in shallow right field, and then Gordon struck out the dangerous Ozuna on a nasty slider.
Doyle, the National League player of the month for July, continued his power surge. His two-run homer to center in Colorado’s three-run third traveled 432 feet. It was Doyle’s team-leading 20th homer of the season, doubling the 10 homers he mashed as a rookie in 2023. Doyle needed 431 at-bats to reach 10 dingers last season. He needed 456 to reach 20 this season.
Colorado tacked on another run in the third when McMahon walked, stole second and scored on Rodgers’ single. McMahon snapped his six-game and a 20 at-bat hitless streak, both his longest skids of the season.
An RBI double by Elias Diaz, followed by an RBI single by Charlie Blackmon, bumped up Colorado’s lead to 5-2 in the fourth.
The lead was erased in the seventh on a leadoff homer by Braves center fielder Ramon Lauerano off Justin Lawrence, and a two-run homer by Jorge Soler off Angel Chivilli.
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Saturday’s pitching matchup
Braves LHP Max Fried (7-6, 3.40 ERA) at Rockies RHP Dakota Hudson (0-3, 6.75)
6:10 p.m. Saturday, Coors Field
TV: Rockies.TV (streaming); Comcast/Xfinity (channel 1262); DirecTV (683); Spectrum (130, 445, 305, 435 or 445, depending on region).
Radio: 850 AM/94.1 FM
The Rockies will select Hudson’s contract from Triple-A Albuquerque so he can start Saturday’s game. The loss of right-hander Ryan Feltner to a shoulder injury prompted the move. Hudson, 29, started 17 games for the Rockies this season, but he struggled mightily and was outrighted to Albuquerque in early July after accumulating a 5.84 ERA and 1.64 WHIP — both the worst marks of his seven-year MLB career. Right-hander Cal Quantrill, originally scheduled to start Saturday’s game, will now start Monday night at Arizona.
The Braves are counting on Fried to keep them in the National League playoff hunt, but he’s struggling. After going on the injured list in mid-July because of elbow soreness, Fried pitched poorly against Miami in his first start back. Fried was rusty, matching a career-high with five walks over just 3 1/3 innings. He allowed five earned runs and four hits, including three in Miami’s six-run fourth. Fried has faced the Rockies five times (four starts), going 1-2 with a 3.00 ERA. He last beat the Rockies on April 9, 2019, at Coors Field, pitching six scoreless innings and fanning four in the Braves’ 7-1 victory.
Pitching probables
Sunday: Braves RHP Spencer Schwellenbach (4-5, 4.04) at Rockies LHP Kyle Freeland (3-5, 5.65), 6:10 p.m.
Monday: Rockies RHP Cal Quantrill (7-8, 4.56) at Diamondbacks RHP Brandon Pfaadt (6-6, 3.92), 7:40 p.m.
