DENVER — Fresh off a 20-run showing in a series win in Arizona, the Braves’ offense continued to pummel the National League West in a dominant Monday night showing.
The Braves (13-15) responded to a three-run first inning by the Colorado Rockies (4-24) with hits of all types. A hard line drive in the third inning by left fielder Alex Verdugo drove home the Braves’ first run of the evening and set up a sacrifice fly for the Braves’ second run. Consecutive infield hits, which traveled a grand total of four and three feet, respectively, allowed the Braves to tie the score at 3-3 in the next inning. And a two-out RBI double by center fielder Michael Harris II secured a 5-3 lead for the Braves, their first lead of the game.
The three-inning sequence, each frame featuring a trio of Braves hits, sent the Braves on their way to a decisive 6-3 victory against Colorado, the last-place club in the majors.
“We have a complete lineup, and anybody can be the guy, any given day,” Harris said. “Just really believing in each other and going out there and playing for each other is what’s getting us wins lately.”
The Braves benefited from contributions all the way down their batting order. By the end of the fifth inning, all nine Braves batters had tallied at least one hit, and the Braves enjoyed multi-hit performances from hitters in the sixth, eighth and ninth spots of the lineup.
“Those guys have been doing a really good job for us,” manager Brian Snitker said. “And that’s big, if you’re going to get everyone contributing. The guys up top feel like they don’t have to carry the load. … It’s good when you can lengthen your lineup like that with some production.”
Colorado starter Ryan Feltner kept the Braves’ bats quiet early, surrendering one hit across the first seven batters, but a line drive by right fielder Eli White that stayed just inside the third-base line ignited the Braves’ lineup. Harris made his presence known in the following two innings, stealing a base and sprinting home on an infield single in the fourth. With two outs in the fifth inning, Harris smacked a go-ahead, two-RBI double in the crisp Denver air for a lead the Braves never relinquished.
“I was just trying to get a good pitch to hit ... anything close,” Harris said. “I was trying to fight it off until I got what I wanted, and then just trying to stay calm and fight off the pitches I didn’t want.”
Aside from a bases-loaded strikeout from third baseman Austin Riley to end the top of the fourth inning, the Braves seemed to have Feltner figured out by his second time going through the order. Even without a home run in offense-friendly Coors Field, the Braves harnessed their timely hitting and speed to erase the early deficit and dice up the Rockies’ defense.
While the Braves’ offense led the charge, Braves starter Bryce Elder overcame a brutal first inning to post one of his sharper performances of the season.
Colorado opened the series with a screaming double from left fielder Jordan Beck and a three-run homer by designated hitter Hunter Goodman in the bottom of the first, allowing the hosts to take a 3-0 lead. But Elder settled down in the following frames, allowing the Braves offense ample time to mount a comeback and keeping the Rockies from scoring in the next five innings. Elder finished his outing with three earned runs and five hits surrendered in six innings of work and captured his first win of the season.
“First inning was a little rough — I just threw the wrong pitch there to the second guy,” Elder said. “I shook (catcher Sean Murphy) off and shouldn’t have, but we discussed it. I kind of worked around it and got into a groove, and I was happy with how it went.”
Reliever Daysbel Hernández dampened the Rockies’ closest comeback attempt in the bottom of the eighth inning. Beck started the inning with his second double of the game, and Hernández walked Ryan McMahon and brought the tying run to the plate. Hernández shut Colorado’s hopes down from there, ending the inning with a fly out, a strikeout and a line out that first baseman Matt Olson snagged in fair territory.
“We had a rough go, a rough start and guys were kind of slow getting off the mat,” Snitker said of the Braves’ start to the season, which included losses in each of their first seven games. “We knew if we just were patient and let the thing play out, then eventually, things were going to get going. And we have.”
The Braves’ offense will have a chance to continue its rampage Tuesday night in a matchup against Rockies right-hander Germán Márquez. The Braves have not announced their starter for the series’ second game.
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