Rockies bats bail out Bettis in much-needed win

ARLINGTON -- After the Rockies entered Friday's series opener against the Rangers stuck in a rut and losers of 10 of their last 13 games, they desperately needed a strong start from right-hander Chad Bettis on the mound.
But Bettis found himself in an early five-run hole against the Rangers at Globe Life Park after giving up two-run homers to Jurickson Profar and Joey Gallo, and an RBI single to Isiah Kiner-Falefa in a shaky first inning.
However, the Rockies picked up Bettis by scoring six runs in the second and Ian Desmond turned in a two-homer performance in a 9-5 win. Bettis settled in after the first and didn't allow a run for the remainder of his start. He also struck out six in 5 2/3 innings of work. Bettis, a Lubbock, Texas, native, secured his first win since May 5 in his return to his home state.
"There truly was a determination in there after the first inning," said manager Bud Black of Bettis. "There was a determination in the first inning. The start didn't work out for him obviously. Made some bad pitches. But after the first, I think there was a mindset of 'Hey, I'm going to keep going inning by inning and keep us in this game.'"

Desmond hit his first homer in the second inning to put the Rockies on the board. He said there wasn't a change of mood in the dugout when Colorado trailed by five after the first.
"Luckily, we bounced back with a couple runs," Desmond said. "I hit the homer, created a little bit of momentum back on our side. The guys put up really good at-bats, and Chad went out there and pitched his butt off. He's been grinding for us all year long."
A red-hot Trevor Story put the Rockies on top for good when he singled to left and scored Nolan Arenado. Entering Friday's game, Story led the National League with 50 RBIs and was fourth in the league in home runs (14). 
Story extended his hitting streak to nine games with the single and also added an RBI double in the seventh.

"It was special," said Story, who grew up in Irving, Texas, and lived about 15 minutes from Globe Life Park. "I grew up loving the Rangers, so coming here, I've always dreamed of playing in this stadium. It was kind of surreal at first, kind of nervous at first. But after that, it's all business."
Demond added on to Colorado's lead in the fifth with his second homer of the night. Desmond is batting .289 (17-for-57) with six homers and 16 RBIs in his past 17 games.
Desmond, who spent the 2016 season with the Rangers, said there was a little bit of comfort playing at Globe Life Park again.
"I had a good time here, got a lot of good memories," Desmond said. "Just overall, lot of good feels. Lot of emotion, so it was a good time to have a good game."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Story's RBI single in the second capped off a six-run inning for the Rockies. The Rockies' six runs in the second were their most in an inning since the bottom of the second on Sept. 27, 2017 against the Marlins. They were also the most runs the Rockies have scored in an inning on the road since scoring seven in the top of the third on May 24, 2017 against the Phillies.

SOUND SMART
Desmond became the first Rockies hitter ever to homer twice at Globe Life Park and the first Rockies hitter with a multi-homer Interleague performance on the road since Charlie Blackmon at Yankee Stadium in 2016. Troy Tulowitzki is the only other Rockies hitter to homer twice against the Rangers, which came on May 5, 2014 at Coors Field.

HE SAID IT
"You know what, yeah, there was definitely that vibe [of comraderie] for sure. We weren't going to lay down, that's for sure. We knew Bettis was going to keep it close and he ended up throwing up zeros after that [first inning]," -- Story, on the mood in the Rockies dugout after falling down 5-0 in the first
UP NEXT
Left-hander Kyle Freeland makes his first career start against the Rangers at 2:05 p.m. MT Saturday at Globe Life Park. The 25-year-old is 6-3 with a 2.93 ERA in his last nine starts. Freeland made four Interleague starts as a rookie last season, going 4-0 with a 2.03 ERA. Freeland will face left-hander Mike Minor (4-4, 5.65 ERA).