by Larry Patrick
The Colorado Rockies opened the regular season on Monday in St. Louis against the Cardinals. Unfortunately, they looked like the team in the World Series, as opposed to the team that won 21 of 22 games to get there. Fortunately, after falling behind 5-1 after 3 innings, Mother Nature took pity on the Rox and created a downpour of rain which cancelled the game.
Starting pitcher, Jeff Francis, did not look like an “ace” of the staff. He gave up 5 walks and a homerun to Albert Pujols. But it doesn’t count because of the rain falling at an opportune time.
Tuesday proved to be a “better” opening day for the Rockies. Kip Wells pitched 5 innings as the Rox beat the Cardinals 2-1. Troy Tulowitzki had 3 hits and Todd Helton had 2. Each scored a run. Taylor Bucholtz picked up the win while Manny Corpas recorded his first save.
The Rockies are virtually the same team that ended the last game of the World Series against Boston. Jayson Nix is the only new regular. He took over for Kaz Matsui who bolted for the Houston Astros during the off-season. Nix is a wizard at second base and should provide a lot of defensive spark to go along with shortstop, Troy Tulowitzki.
A sell-out crowd is expected to greet the Rockies in their first home game of the new season this Friday afternoon at Coors Field. Their opponent will be division rival, the Arizona Diamondbacks. The first month of the season will see the Rockies facing some real tough competition. Besides the Diamondbacks, they meet the Atlanta Braves early next week. They also face the Phillies and Cubs, both of whom won division crowns last year. These games will be at home and will be your only chance to see the Phils or Cubs unless they meet the Rox in the playoffs in October.
For those wanting to remember the joy of the Rockies run for the World Series last year, this weekend holds some special celebrations. Saturday’s game will feature the official unveiling of the National League Pennant at 5:30. On Sunday, the official presentation of the National League Championship rings will be held at 12:30. Also, on Friday, Saturday and Sunday there will be special giveaways to the first 10,000 fans.
The weather is expected to be good for the weekend series, especially with Friday and Sunday games being played in the afternoon
