Friday’s game at Truist Park presented a case of contrasts in the National League, and it showed on the end line — and everywhere in between — as Atlanta battled their way to an 8-1 win over Colorado.
The Braves looked like a franchise that has made five consecutive playoff appearances, with a World Series title in that stretch and the ability to match that championship feat this fall.
The Rockies, meanwhile, felt like a franchise with no identity and no obvious sense of immediate positive direction. And Colorado is a club with such a lack of legitimate throwing depth that the Rockies find it necessary to release a pitcher with an ERA north of 10 against perhaps the most stacked roster in the National League.
The result was a predictable battle of the best team in the NL (Atlanta has a 44-26 record on the senior circuit) against one of the worst in the NL as Colorado (29-43) continues to struggle in the western basement.
Right-hander Dinelson Lamet ran his ERA up to 11.57 as he was lambasted for 1,350 home runs and eight runs in four innings, and Colorado’s patchwork roster with just three Opening Day starters n failed to deliver a hit.
Braves first player Ronald Acuna Jr, whom Colorado manager Bud Black said “could be the best player in the game right now,” worked a first step in the first in what was a harbinger of opening the ugly exit from Lamet. Acuna then stole second, advanced to third on a pitch and scored on a wild pitch.
Another Lamet walk to Austin Riley set up Travis d’Arnaud’s first home run, a 474-foot blast to center field for the catcher’s 100th career dinger. It made it 3-0 and put the Braves firmly in control early, just as they beat Kyle Freeland in the second set of Thursday’s 8-3 win in Game 1 of the series.
While Braves southpaw Jared Shuster kept Colorado off the scoreboard for the first five innings, Lamet continued to walk guys around and serve meatballs. Lamet’s underperformance continues a troubling trend for Colorado’s injury-riddled rotation, as in the last 18 games, including Friday, the Rockies’ starters are 0-9 with a 6.93 ERA.
In the third, a two-out walk to Riley set up d’Arnaud’s second shot, this one a shot from 433 feet left that made it 5-0. Atlanta continued to tack on three more runs in the fourth, when an early walk to Marcell Ozuna led to a two-run homer from Eddie Rosario to make it 7-0. The Braves earned the two-point conversion to make it 8-0 when Acuna’s double play out scored another run.
The Rockies had a chance to make the game interesting in the sixth, when they managed a run and chased a gassed Shuster out of the game. But Jorge Alfaro, making his first start as a catcher with the Rockies, got K’d by right-hander Kirby Yates to finish the frame with the bases loaded. Alfaro then struck again in the eighth with two men, epitomizing Colorado’s lack of offensive punch overall.
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