As Matt Belisle warmed up in the Rockies bullpen Wednesday at Coors Field, readying to replace Jordan Lyles, he was interrupted by the falling ball walloped off the bat of Carlos Gonzalez.
These three things — starter, reliever, slugger — weaved together Colorado’s most complete game in more than 10 days.
The Rockies, behind Gonzalez’s sixth-inning, two-run homer and Corey Dickerson’s four hits, bolstered Lyles in his return as Colorado rolled to a 13-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs. The 13 runs were a season high.
“The game tends to fall into place when you get good starting pitching,” Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. “But in all phases of the game, that was probably one of our more complete games in a while.
“Nothing has come easy for us lately. It was nice to see us break one open.”
Lyles, pitching in his first game since breaking his hand covering home plate June 4, returned just in time. His first start in 54 days came on the same day left-hander Brett Anderson was placed on the 15-day disabled list because of a lower back strain.
In a sign of the tattered Rockies rotation, Lyles jumped right into the No. 2 spot on the pitching depth chart, behind Jorge De La Rosa and ahead of Tyler Matzek.
PHOTOS: Colorado Rockies trample Chicago Cubs 13-4, August 6, 2014
And, despite a rusty fourth inning, when Cubs shortstop Arismendy Alcantara tagged him for a two-run home run to right field, Lyles looked ready to resume his role as the Rockies’ go-to winner.
Lyles (6-1, 3.72 ERA) got through six innings on six hits and four runs. He struck out five and walked just one. He looked very much like the consistent pitcher who saw the most success early in the season. In his absence, the Rockies went 16-38. With Lyles somewhere in the rotation, Colorado is 29-30 this season.
“I felt great, just to be back out there with these guys,” Lyles said. “It seems like it’s been forever. It was a lot of fun to be back out there.”
On Wednesday, Lyles revved up at the right times. He killed the first, second and fifth innings with side-ending strikeouts.
“I was really proud of him tonight,” Weiss said. “When he was out, he worked on a new changeup. He really used that time productively.”
The Rockies provided plenty of support for Lyles. They batted around in the sixth inning, including Gonzalez’s home run sandwiched between doubles from Nolan Arenado and Dickerson. The night before, the Cubs batted around in the seventh inning without a hit, on their way to a 6-5 victory in 12 innings.
Gonzalez (home run, single, double) and Dickerson (two singles, double, triple), along with Cubs outfielder Chris Coghlan, all finished one hit shy of the cycle.
“Hopefully it’s a sign CarGo is getting on track again,” Weiss said. “When he gets rolling, it’s a sight to see.”
Footnotes. In addition to putting Anderson back on the DL after leaving Tuesday night’s game one pitch into the fourth inning, the Rockies also called up relief pitcher Brooks Brown from Triple-A Colorado Springs. To make room for Brown, outfielder Jason Pridie was designated for assignment and cut from the 40-man roster. … Michael Cuddyer (broken shoulder) went 3-for-3 with two doubles and three RBIs in his first injury rehab start for the rookie-level Grand Junction Rockies in Billings, Mont. He played five innings at first base.
Looking ahead
Cubs’ Kyle Hendricks (2-1, 2.05 ERA) at Rockies’ Yohan Flande (0-3, 5.72), 1:10 p.m. Thursday, WGN; 850 AM
When Brett Anderson left Tuesday’s game with back spasms, it bumped everybody up a spot. That means Flande, who made his major-league debut this season at age 29 in an emergency spot-start role, is now the Rockies’ No. 4 pitcher in the rotation. Flande never overpowers a hitter, but he’ll work a count and keep a tempo. In his last outing, he pitched 1 relief innings in the Rockies’ 16-inning loss to the Cubs at Chicago.
Friday: Rockies’ Tyler Matzek (2-6, 5.31 ERA) vs. Diamondbacks’ Chase Anderson (6-4, 3.19), 7:40 p.m., ROOT
Saturday: Rockies’ Jorge De La Rosa (11-7, 4.27) vs. Diamondbacks’ Trevor Cahill (1-8, 5.12), 6:10 p.m., ROOT
Sunday: Rockies’ Franklin Morales (5-6, 5.08) vs. Diamondbacks’ Wade Miley (7-8, 4.61), 2:10 p.m., ROOT
Nick Groke, The Denver Post
