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 Colorado Rockies' dismal season, took a huge leap forward Friday
night.
He pitched a three-hitter as the Rockies beat the San Diego Padres
3-0. It was the first complete game and first shutout for the
23-year-old Matzek, who won his third straight start and threw 103
pitches, including 75 strikes.
Matzek threw first-pitch strikes to 25 of the 31 batters he faced
and finished with one walk and six strikeouts.
"We're seeing the kid get better and better with just about every
start," Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. "His last three have been
really good."
While winning the three games, Matzek has a 0.78 ERA (23 innings,
two earned runs) with 17 strikeouts and six walks. The shutout
extended his scoreless streak to 21 innings.
Center fielder Drew Stubbs and third baseman Nolan Arenado homered
in the first and sixth inning, respectively, and right fielder
Charlie Blackmon singled home a run in the fifth for the Rockies,
who have won three of four games on their current homestand and have
hit six homers while winning back-to-back games.
Matzek (5-9) did not allow a runner to reach second base until left
fielder Abraham Almonte, who had one of two singles off Matzek, led
off the ninth inning with a double. Left fielder Corey Dickerson
took a poor route to the ball, which sailed over his head.
Matzek got shortstop Alexi Amarista to ground to first, moving
Almonte to third. Third baseman Yangervis Solarte hit a soft liner
to second base, and Matzek ended the game by getting catcher Rene
Rivera to fly out to center.
Matzek ended the eighth by striking out pitcher Adam Moore with a 95
mph fastball, an indication to Weiss that Matzek was still strong
enough to pitch the ninth. Weiss said if the Padres had gotten a
second baserunner aboard that inning, he would have brought in
closer LaTroy Hawkins. But Matzek, who got 12 outs on ground balls,
made sure that didn't happen.
"The slider was doing really good," Matzek said. "Ground balls with
the changeup were a big point for me. That was a huge pitch for me.
And locating the fastball. When you can do that, the other stuff
becomes a lot better."
Matzek, who had never thrown a pitch in the eighth inning, had
pitched seven innings while winning his previous two outings at
Arizona and San Francisco and had gone that distance four times in
his previous 14 career starts.
The complete game was the first by a Rockies pitcher since July 13,
2013, when Tyler Chatwood lost 1-0 to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The
Rockies' last nine-inning complete game was by Ubaldo Jimenez on
June 1, 2011, in a 3-0 loss, also to the Dodgers. The Rockies' last
complete game at Coors Field was by Jhoulys Chacin on April 15,
2011, in a 5-0 win over the Chicago Cubs.
Matzek had allowed five runs in six innings in each of his previous
two starts to the Padres and lost both of those outings. This time,
Matzek did a better job getting inside on right-handed hitters.
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"He choked off some swings," Padres manager Bud Black said. "He got inside
on us a little bit. We saw some of those grounders to second base (there
were seven), a couple fly balls the other way. We just didn't hit many
balls hard on the pull side. We just couldn't muster anything."
Eric Stults (6-16) worked 6 1/3 innings, allowing eight hits and three
runs while losing his third straight start. The Padres have scored just
48 runs in Stults' 28 games totaling 152 1/3 innings.
"Eric hung in there," Black said. "Usually, solos in this park don't
beat you. I thought Eric battled. Again, he was a victim of a night when
we didn't score."
And a night of continued growth for Matzek, who is relying more on his
changeup.
"I was just using it a lot more because they're an aggressive team,"
Matzek said. "I needed something to keep them off the fastball that
wasn't the slider. When you can just sit (on) two pitches, they're a lot
less effective. So throw that third in one there, it really, really
helps all the other pitches."
NOTES: RHP Joe Weiland will not be on a strict pitch count when he makes
his 2014 debut with the Padres on Saturday and pitches in the big
leagues for the first time since he made a start May 6, 2012. He
underwent Tommy John surgery in July 2012 and returned this season to
pitch 38 2/3 innings in the minors this season. ... Padres RHP Joaquin
Benoit, who last pitched Aug. 26, is expected to miss another week to 10
days, manager Bud Black said, but return this season. ... Padres SS
Everth Cabrera, who is on the disabled list with a left hamstring
strain, was arrested by the California Highway Patrol early Wednesday
morning east of San Diego for allegedly driving under the influence of
marijuana. ... Rockies LHP Christian Friedrich, who turned his left
ankle on his final pitch Wednesday, is sore but X-rays were negative,
and he could pitch. ... Rockies RHP Jhoulys Chacin threw from 120 feet
for the first time, up from 90. He last pitched on June 28 and is on the
60-day disabled list recovering from a right rotator cuff strain. ...
RHP Chad Bettis, who is with the Rockies but not active, might pitch for
the Rockies this season but "not anytime real soon," Weiss said. He was
scratched from his last start for Triple-A Colorado Springs on Sept. 1
because of a tender shoulder but tests revealed no structural damage.
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