Jhoulys Chacin has been very inconsistent the second half of this season. In the series finale against the Cincinnati Reds, the 23 year old right-hander was dominant.
After giving up two runs on four hits and a walk in the first inning, Chacin completely closed the door on the Reds’ offense by retiring 13 straight batters and only allowing two more hitters for the rest of the game. He finished the game with nine strikeouts and his second career complete game.
Unfortunately for the Colorado Rockies, they faced the NL ERA leader in Johnny Cueto, who was just as dominant. Colorado only managed five hits the entire game, and again failed with runners in scoring position.
With the bases loaded in the fifth inning, Rockies outfielder Carlos Gonzalez struck out swinging to end the rally. He also grounded into a double play with two runners on and no outs in the eighth inning. Seth Smith prevented the shutout with a solo homerun in the top of the ninth inning off Cincinnati closer Francisco Cordero.
With the series split, Colorado now heads for a three game series against the St. Louis Cardinals.