Nationals Explode for 13 Runs, Crush Rockies in Washington

The Washington Nationals broke out of their offensive slump in a big way with a 13-3 victory over the visiting Colorado Rockies.

We had a scoreless tie in tonight’s game until the top of the 4th inning. The Rockies’ Willi Castro broke that tie with his 15th home run to right field. 1-0 Colorado.

The Rockies got another run in the top of the 5th when Ezequiel Tovar hit his 10th home run to center field. 2-0 Colorado.

But the Nationals came back with a vengeance. They led off the bottom of the 5th with consecutive singles from Jacob Young and Jorbit Vivas. Nasim Nunez then laid down a sacrifice bunt that turned into a two-base throwing error by 3rd baseman Willi Castro. Young and Vivas both scored on the play. CJ Abrams followed with a double to right field, scoring Nunez. Abrams stole 3rd base and later scored on a ground out off the bat of Abimelec Ortiz. Daylen Lile and Brady House later hit back-to-back doubles, scoring Lile. 5-2 Washington.

The Nationals piled it on in the bottom of the 6th. Jorbit Vivas singled to right and Nasim Nunez walked. Vivas was forced out at 3rd base with CJ Abrams ending up on 1st. Abimelec Ortiz then walked, loading the bases. Dylan Crews also walked, scoring Nunez from 3rd. Daylen Lile then singled to right field, scoring Abrams and Ortiz. 8-2 good guys.

The Nats just kept on scoring. In the bottom of the 7th. Keibert Ruiz singled to right and moved to 3rd base as Jacob Young doubled to left field. Jorbit Vivas then singled to center, scoring both Ruiz and Young. 10-2 Nationals.

The Rockies scratched out a run in the top of the 8th. Mickey Moniak singled to center. TJ Rumfield walked. Troy Johnston was hit by a pitch. Bases loaded. Connor Norby followed with a single to right, scoring Moniak. 10-3 Washington.

Washington got that run back plus a couple in the bottom of the 8th. Abimelec Ortiz led off the inning with a single to left. Dylan Crews drew a base on balls. Daylen Lile then smacked a 3-run home run to right field, his 16th. 13-3 Nats.

And that’s how it ended. Where have all those runs been hiding? And CJ is back in the lineup!

Cade Cavalli got the win for the Nationals, his 12th of the year. He went 5 innings giving up 2 runs on 5 hits while striking out 7 Rockies.

Ryan Felter started for the Rockies beleaguered pitching staff. He lasted 5 2/3 innings, surrendering 5 runs on 6 hits. He walked 4 and did manage 6 strikeouts.

Blake Adams had a rough inning of relief, giving up 5 runs on 5 hits while walking 2 Nationals. This was his major league debut. Hopefully, he’ll have better days.

Dylan Liles was tonight’s offensive star for the Nationals. Liles went 3 for 5 with a double and a home run. He drove in 5 runs, his career best for a single game.

The two teams pick it up again tomorrow, same time same place.

Dave’s Dime…The Colorado Rockies

The Washington Nationals opened a four-game series with the Colorado Rockies this evening. The Colorado Rockies MLB franchise is located only 65 miles north of where I was born and raised.

Denver received the MLB franchise in 1993. They played their first two seasons in the old Mile High Stadium. Coors Field was ready for occupation in time for the 1995 season opener.

In 2007, the Rockies won their only National League pennant. They’ve also earned five wild card spots: 1995, 2007, 2009, 2017, and 2018.

The franchise is owned by the Monfort brothers, Charles and Richard. They became the primary owners in 2005. The original owner of the team was Mickey Monus, who was later embroiled in some kind of accounting scandal that had to do with his Phar-Mor discount drugstores. Boy, those discount drug stores will get you every time…

The Monfort brothers made their money in the cattle business. Their father, Ken, owned Monfort of Colorado for many years before selling the company to ConAgra in 1987. His son, Dick, became president of ConAgra Red Meats that same year. Brother Charlie became president of ConAgra Foods International in 1996, but left two years later to devote his time to the Rockies. Charlie was named CEO of the franchise in 2003.

The Monfort brothers have been known for their frugality. They rely more on the fans and their loyalty instead of attempting to attract free agents, which is a difficult task in itself. They also have a tendency to promote from within rather than looking outside the franchise for baseball executive experience.

And when they have been able to attract free agents, the results have been less than stellar. The signing of Kris Bryant in 2022 is known today as one of the worse free agent signings in MLB history. Not something you want to be known for.

Bryant was given a 7-year $182 million dollar contract. He’s spent way more time on the disabled list than anywhere else. And the Rockies still have to pay him for 3 more years. Bryant was a star for the Chicago Cubs from 2015-2021 but has been a major dud for the poor Rockies.

If you have some spare time, look up the list of injuries Bryant has dealt with since his trade to Colorado. It’s unbelievable. Bryant was last placed on the injured list in February of this year. He hasn’t played since.

The Rockies have a horrible minor league system, and they have a propensity for trading away franchise players, often for cash. Troy Tulowitzki and Nolan Arenado would be two examples.

Also, Coors field itself is one of the main reasons for the team’s struggles. As advertised, the stadium is a mile high…5,280 feet.

Pitchers don’t want to go there because that high altitude affects how much a baseball will

break and/or move.

And then hitters and pitchers complain about how difficult it is to readjust to the altitude in Denver after a long road trip. And when they do go on a long road trip, the pitchers don’t really know how their pitches will react. That’s why the Rockies have always had a horrible record on the road. Their franchise record as the visiting team is 1,009 wins and 1,634 losses. That’s a .381 winning percentage.

Coors Field is officially listed as being 5,200 feet above sea level. The stadium with the next highest altitude is Chase Field, the home of the Arizona Diamondbacks. It’s 1,100 feet above sea level. That’s quite a difference.

The San Francisco Giants have played at Oracle Park since 2000. It’s 14 feet above sea level. Oakland Coliseum, which thankfully isn’t used for baseball anymore, is below sea level. It was built on a landfill. Really…a landfill?

The Colorado Rockies aggregate record is 2,414 wins and 2,898 loses, for a winning percentage of .454. They’ve had a total of 9 winnings seasons out of 34 years as a franchise. In 2025 they posted one of the worst season records in history by winning only 43 games and losing 119. That’s a win-loss percentage of .265. That’s tied for the 7th worse record in the Modern Era (1901-present).

The Chicago White Sox managed the 5th lowest winning percentage since 1901 in 2024. But two years later, they’re leading their division. How does that happen?

The Rockies led the National League in attendance from their inception in 1993 through 1999. Then the newness wore off. In 2019 the Rockies were still 4th out of 15 National League teams in total attendance. This past year they were 9th. That’s really not too bad considering their struggles. You got to hand it to those Rockies faithful.

Colorado does have two former players and a former manager in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Larry Walker played for the Rockies for 9 ½ years, from 1995 until 2004. He spent the first 6 years of his career with the Montreal Expos and finished off his playing days with 2 ½ seasons in St. Louis.

Todd Helton spent his entire 16-year career with the Colorado Rockies. He was with the team from 1997 until 2013. I’d say he’s the best overall player in the history of the franchise. And he was once replaced as the starting quarterback for the University of Tennessee Volunteers by Peyton Manning. That was back in 1994.

Also, one of their longtime managers, Jim Leyland, was voted into the Hall of Fame in 2004 by the Veterans Committee. He only managed the Rockies for one season…1999…but I guess that still counts. He was an outstanding manager for 22 years.

I have to give a special shoutout to Kyle Freeland. Kyle has pitched for the Rockies his entire career…from 2017 until today. You got to give kudos to a guy, especially a pitcher, for sticking it out all those years in a hitter-friendly park with all that adversity. Kyle actually threw his first complete game earlier this year, on August 2nd, against the Kansas City Royals. His career record with the team is 69 wins and 100 losses. But he just keeps showing up and giving it his all.

So that’s just a little bit of Colorado Rockies history. My favorite team since its inception. Of course, the Nationals are my second favorite…