Rockies ride five-run third to 7-4 win
DENVER -- The Colorado Rockies are beginning to show signs of life at Coors Field.
The Rockies beat the New York Mets 7-4 on Saturday night to equal a season high with three straight wins.
Colorado (18-18) has won the first two games of the series with New York to improve to 7-10 at Coors Field this season.
The Rockies used a five-run third inning to open a 7-1 lead on the way to their latest win. They sent 10 batters to the plate to chase Mets starter Logan Verrett.
Charlie Blackmon singled home two runs, extending his hitting streak to 11 games, one shy of his career high set last August. The inning included a two-run double by Tony Wolters.
After being staked to the 7-1 lead, Rockies starter Eddie Butler (2-1) gave up a solo homer to Neil Walker, his 10th of the season, in the fourth.
Butler quickly settled down and got three straight ground-ball outs, the last on a diving stop by second baseman DJ LeMahieu on a hard shot off the bat off pinch-hitter Alejandro De Aza.
Butler last until the sixth and left after giving up a double to Yoenis Cespedes, who took third when Blackmon picked up the ball in center field and dropped it, and a single to Lucas Duda that trimmed the Rockies' lead to 7-3.
Gonzalez Germen took over and gave up a single to Walker that sent Duda to third. Duda scored to make it 7-4 when Asdrubal Cabrera grounded into a 3-6-3 double play.
In the seventh, Boone Logan struck out Duda, the only batter he faced, to strand a runner at second. Carlos Estevez retired the side in order in the eighth and Jake McGee pitched the ninth to earn his 11th save in 13 chances.
LeMahieu contributed two RBIs in the early going. He drew a bases-loaded walk with one out in the third to put the Rockies ahead 3-1 after his single in the second scored Mark Reynolds, who led off the inning with a double.
Verrett (3-1), making a spot start, allowed 10 hits and seven runs in 2 2/3 innings. It was a far cry from Aug. 23, 2015, when Verrett made his first major league start at Coors Field and allowed one run and four hits in eight innings.
The Rockies scored a run in the first when Trevor Story doubled with one out, took third on Verrett's errant pick-off throw and scored on Nolan Arenado's groundout.
The Mets tied the score at 1 in the second on Kevin Plawecki's infield single that drove in Duda, who led off with a double and took third on Walker's single.
NOTES: Rockies RF Carlos Gonzalez was dropped from third to fifth in the lineup for the first time this season. He entered Saturday hitting .295 with four home runs and 12 RBIs, but had no homers in his last 94 at-bats and was hitless in his last 15 at-bats with runners in scoring position. ... Mets 3B David Wright probably will be out of the lineup Sunday, manager Terry Collins said. Wright was out for early hitting as he tries to shake a slump that had seen him strike out 42 times while hitting .223 with four home runs and eight RBIs entering Saturday. ... RHP Jon Gray, who won his first game in the majors Friday, began his career with a franchise-record 13 winless starts. That surpassed the record by Yohan Flande of 10 starts without a win to begin a career. ... Friday night's win over the Mets was the 1,000th victory in the history of the Rockies franchise in Denver. They played at Mile High Stadium in 1993 and 1994 before moving into Coors Field in 1995. ... Mets manager Terry Collins was ejected in third by home-plate umpire Carlos Torres.