Charlie Blackmon stays hot, leads Rockies to win over Braves

That aged Charlie Blackmon magic is back.

The wooly close fielder stayed blistery Saturday night, blasting a two-run homer and scoring 2 runs successful the Rockies’ 7-6 triumph implicit Atlanta astatine Coors Field.

The Rockies improved to 45-23 astatine the ballpark successful LoDo, and arsenic the Braves are discovering, it’s not a spot to pad part leads. Fortunately for the Braves, Philadelphia mislaid to Miami again connected Saturday, allowing the Braves to support their two-game pb successful the National League East.

The Rockies won contempt a so-so commencement from German Marquez and a shaky eighth inning from reliever Daniel Bard, the deposed closer.

Atlanta loaded the bases against Bard with 1 retired connected walks by Freddie Freeman and Austin Riley and a azygous by Adam Duval. But Robert Stephenson came to the mound to rescue Bard and the Rockies. Dansby Swanson deed a sacrifice alert to center, but Stephenson constricted the harm by striking retired Joc Pederson to clasp Colorado’s pb astatine 7-5.

New person Carlos Estevez, who had not allowed a tally successful a career-high 14 consecutive appearances coming into Saturday, gave up a solo homer to Travis d’Arnaud successful the ninth, but hung connected to notch his 5th save.

Blackmon launched his two-run rocket to halfway successful the 3rd inning disconnected Ian Anderson to enactment Colorado ahead, 4-3. The close fielder has deed location runs successful 3 consecutive games and has six homers implicit his past 17 games. Blackmon deed conscionable 4 homers successful the archetypal fractional of the season.

Blackmon besides drew a locomotion to pb disconnected the seventh and scored connected Trevor Story’s triple into the right-field corner. That turned retired to beryllium the winning run.

C.J. Cron, the National League subordinate of the period successful August, stayed blistery successful September, hitting a leadoff homer disconnected Anderson successful Colorado’s two-run 2nd inning. Cron’s homer, his 26th of the season, traveled 453 feet to left-center.

The Rockies’ produced their 2nd tally of the inning erstwhile Ryan McMahon doubled, precocious to 3rd connected a groundout and scored connected Marquez’s sacrifice bunt.

Marquez labored done 5 innings, needing 99 pitches, including 3 chaotic pitches. Marquez gave up 4 runs (two earned) connected 5 hits, including a solo location tally to Ozzie Albies successful the third. It was Albies’ 25th homer of the season.

The Rockies’ defence fto Marquez down successful the first, resulting successful 2 unearned runs. Cron’s one-out mistake connected Freddie Freeman’s grounder to archetypal allowed Albies — who led disconnected with a azygous — to beforehand to third. Albies scored connected Austin Riley’s groundout and past Freeman scored connected Adam Duval’s double.

The Rockies, who pb the four-game acceptable 2-1, volition look for the bid triumph connected Sunday day astatine Coors.