Cave's homer, Rox 'pen lead way in victory over Mets

DENVER -- Jake Cave has made a habit of coming up with big hits late in games over the past month, so it was out of character for him to hit a go-ahead home run in the fourth inning of Tuesday’s series opener, pacing the Rockies to a 6-3 win over the Mets at Coors Field.

It was Cave’s fifth home run of the season, all coming since July 4, and four have either tied the game or given the Rockies the lead.

“To put it simply, he's being himself,” manager Bud Black said of Cave’s clutch performance. “What Jake brings is a veteran presence with everyday energy, everyday intensity. Whether he's playing or not, he brings it every day, from the time he walks through the doors. It's the guy plus the talent, which is a good combination.”

The Rockies added an insurance run in the fifth, when Brendan Rodgers hit a double to score Ezequiel Tovar, and another in the eighth with Elias Díaz’s run-scoring single to center. Rodgers, Díaz and Kris Bryant had multihit nights for the Rockies.

With starter Kyle Freeland leaving the game uncharacteristically early in the fifth inning due to a blister on his left index finger, the Rockies needed an extra effort and a new look from the bullpen, and that’s what they got. Colorado relievers combined to shut down the Mets for 4 1/3 innings to hold the lead.

Freeland threw 4 2/3 innings and allowed three runs on four hits and two walks while striking out seven. He left after two hits and two strikeouts in the fifth frame, just the second time since April 8 he hasn’t completed at least five innings.

He was followed by Justin Lawrence, Angel Chivilli, Tyler Kinley and Victor Vodnik, who converted his sixth consecutive save opportunity. The Rockies ‘pen got younger at the Trade Deadline, and the quartet of relievers that closed out the game provided a sense of optimism for the club.

“It's good for them,” Black said. “They'll remember this one. We threw four pitchers, two rookies, basically, with Chivilli and Vodnik in the seventh and the ninth. This breeds confidence when you have a game like this.”

It was the eighth time the bullpen has blanked its opponent over the Rockies’ last 12 home games, dating back to July 3. The ‘pen has a 2.49 ERA (43 1/3 innings, 12 earned runs) across that stretch.

“You just hope it's a carryover,” Black said. “Every game's unique, but it'd be great to get a lot of these guys on the roll. When the bullpen is productive and doing their thing, you usually have six guys throwing well and maybe two guys scuffling a bit. This year, it's been a little bit 50-50.”

Some of the credit goes to the batterymates behind the dish, with Díaz catching Tuesday and Jacob Stallings backing him up for a fearsome tandem.

“We just try to help, to teach a little bit,” Díaz said. “They have a veteran in the bullpen too, Kinley, and I know that he teaches the young guys, especially here in Coors Field, where the ball moves a little less.”

Freeland was unsure what to expect of the blister, noting it was a pretty big one, reaching under the nail as well as at the fingertip.

“It developed in the fourth,” Freeland said of the blister. “I didn't know that it was developing, and it never got hot on me, which usually these things kind of do. When I got in the dugout, I saw that it formed, popped it, got rid of it, shaved down the nail a little bit to get rid of the corner, and then it ended up just really blowing up in the fifth, getting really big. Unfortunately, it was on a pitch that I use a lot, curveball. As we saw it getting bigger and kind of losing feeling in that area, I had to make a decision.”

Freeland went on the IL for a week in 2019 with a blister issue.

“I get blisters all the time,” he said. “It's just trying to minimize them and keep them at bay as much as possible to where it's not affecting any of your pitch mix or your start leading up to it. A lot of pitchers deal with it. Unfortunately, I've had to deal with it my entire career. It's part of my game. I just got to deal with it.”