Carlos Gonzalez moved from leadoff to the 5-spot to produce 4 RBI on the night
- Image by Getty Images via Daylife
Ubaldo Jimenez didn’t need to pitch 6 Innings of 2-hit baseball on Tuesday night… but he did anyway. U-Ball grabbed his 5th win of the season without breaking a sweat, as the Rockies’ re-shuffled batting order brutalized troubled Arizona starter Edwin Jackson for 10 runs in 2 1/3 Innings.
The contrast between Jackson and Jimenez couldn’t have been more severe. Ubaldo, with his stoic demeanor, mowing down D-Backs (6 SO) with cruel efficiency. Edwin, shaken early, giving up consecutive hits to Troy Tulowitzki, Carlos Gonzales & Miguel Olivo in the 1st Inning to put his club in a 0-3 hole.
That new meaty center of the Rockies’ lineup was pure magic through the first three innings of this game.
Carlos, who had been leading off a potent but inefficient lineup, moved to the 5-hole for the first time this season. The impact was immediate, as Gonzalez went Double-Triple in his first two at-bats. Those two hits were good for two RBI’s apiece. Just as impressive, though, was CarGo’s third trip to the plate…
The Rockies have struck out in runners-on situations all year. That’s a game-killer, and it’s a big part of why the Rockies were only 10-10 going into this game. Gonzalez came to the plate in the 3rd with the bases juiced and needing to make contact to drive in a run. He jumped on the first pitch in the strike zone, hitting into a fielder’s choice ground ball to 2nd. With the bases loaded, runners were going on contact, and the speedy Dexter Fowler came home easily. Carlos sprinted to 1st to extend the inning, and Troy Tulowitzki was the only out on the play.
That kind of run-generating baseball is what made the Rockies so fearsome in the latter half of their 2009 campaign.
The new-look Colorado lineup scored 11 runs in three innings before starters ceded their slots to backups. Jason Giambi, Clint Barmes, Paul Phillips & Melvin Mora came in late to replace 4/5 of the starting infield.
With the win, the Rockies move to 11-10 on the season, 7-4 at Coors Field.
The Rockies New & Improved 8-Man Lineup
1. Eric Young, Jr. 2B  (replacing Barmes at 2nd and CarGo at leadoff)
2. Dexter Fowler CF
3. Todd Helton 1B
4. Troy Tulowitzki SS
5. Carlos Gonzalez RF
6. Miguel Olivo C
7. Ian Stewart 3B
8. Seth Smith LF  (who will rotate starts with Brad Hawpe & Ryan Spilborghs)
We will see variations of this lineup from game to game as manager Jim Tracy shuffles in his rotating starters at 2nd Base and the 3rd Outfield slot, but Carlos Gonzalez looks like a rock-solid center for the powerful Rockies regulars.
