MLB Notebook: Nolan Arenado hits cycle to lift red-hot Rockies
Nolan Arenado completed the cycle with a three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning, and the Colorado Rockies stunned the San Francisco Giants by rallying for a 7-5 victory Sunday in Denver.
Arenado hit the first pitch he saw from All-Star closer Mark Melancon (1-2) into the left-field seats to finish a four-game sweep. The slugger was mobbed at home plate by teammates, with a frenzied sellout crowd chanting “MVP! MVP!”
With the best record in the National League, the surprising Rockies have won five straight overall and nine in a row against the Giants.
Colorado had a 3-2 lead in the top of the ninth but gave up three runs before scoring four in the bottom half.
Pinch-hitter Hunter Pence connected on a go-ahead homer in the ninth for last-place San Francisco, which has dropped six consecutive games and nine of 11.
Melancon retired his first batter, but three singles produced a run and brought up Arenado, who tripled in the first, singled in the fourth and had an RBI double in the sixth. He hit a 91 mph fastball for his 15th homer and first career cycle.
It was his second game-ending homer in the majors and the eighth cycle in club history.
Carlos Estevez (4-0), called up from the minors before the game, struck out one batter in the ninth for the win.
Trevor Story and Pat Valaika went deep in the seventh to give Colorado a 3-2 edge after Brandon Crawford’s two-run homer in the fifth had given the Giants a 2-0 advantage.
Rockies reliever Jake McGee came on in the ninth but issued a one-out walk to Gorkys Hernandez. Pence hit an 0-1 fastball into the left-center seats for his third career pinch-hit homer, and Crawford added an RBI single later in the inning.
Chapman rejoins Yankees
Aroldis Chapman pitched a 1-2-3 inning and the New York bullpen nearly felt right again. Except that he threw the eighth this time in another close defeat, not in a ninth-inning save situation, as is his customary slot.
Chapman rejoined the Yankees eager to get going after more than a month on the disabled list, and his teammates couldn’t wait to have their flame-throwing closer back in the bullpen from a shoulder injury.
“Once I got out there, everything felt good and felt normal,” said Chapman, who had concerns about being rusty since he hadn’t been as sharp locating his pitches.
Manager Joe Girardi planned to use Chapman in the series finale at Oakland regardless of the situation just to get him back in the major league mix immediately, and the Yankees took a 4-3 loss and a sweep at the hands of the Athletics for New York’s season-high sixth straight defeat.
Everybody believes having Chapman back should help the cause.
“It’s big,” Girardi said postgame. “I talked about, he said he was rusty. He looked pretty good to me today. It’s a big power arm to have back. It lengthens our bullpen.”
Chapman reported no problems with his troublesome shoulder after he flew cross-country for one game before the club was set to return to the Bronx with a day off Monday ahead of a home series with the Angels.
The left-hander had been sidelined since May 13 with inflammation in the rotator cuff of his pitching shoulder.
While on his three-appearance rehab assignment, Chapman said it was difficult to see his team lose close games when he could have helped.
He is encouraged the shoulder feels right at last and he is pain-free. And Chapman feels good about his velocity, showing that with several pitches clocked at 101-102 mph.