Rockies-Mets: Jorge De La Rosa Shows Maturity, Wins 13th Game

Heading into the final month of the regular season, the Rockies see themselves in the same position as the San Francisco Giants: tied.

The Rockies would be lying if they said they were not taking an occasional glance at the scoreboard during the first couple innings of Tuesday's game at Coors Field.

Right before game time, the Phillies held a 1-0 lead over the Giants in the seventh inning. With Brad Lidge faltering for the Phillies, that lead did not seem safe.

Once the out-of-town scoreboard operator put up the "F" and everyone knew the Giants had lost, the Rockies decided to break out their bats.

After Jorge De La Rosa struggled through the first inning, giving up two early runs, the Rockies looked likely to continue a disturbing trend of going behind early and failing to come back.

Instead, the Rockies answered in the bottom half of the first inning, scoring a run of their own, then embarrassed Mets starter Mike

Pelfrey, in the bottom of the second, scored three runs to give them a 4-2 lead.

The tying run came on a Carlos Gonzalez bullet to right field. It landed in the second deck, a shot that the scoreboard reported at 410 feet. If the ball had flown without the stadium getting in the way, it would have been closer to 460 feet.

In the fourth, Todd Helton essentially put the game away for the Rockies, hitting a long three-run home run on the first pitch that he saw in the at-bat.

The game was a huge one for the Rockies, the main reason being that it showed the maturity of starting pitcher Jorge De La Rosa.

His line looked clean: six innings, two runs, one earned on three walks and six strikeouts. Not bad. However, De La Rosa came out of the game after throwing 100 pitches, only 50 for strikes.

If a starting pitcher is having a good day he should throw two strikes for every ball. De La Rosa was 50/50 on Tuesday night. While it's not something to celebrate, it really does make a difference for the Rockies.

If De La Rosa would have had a similar outing in April, he would have given up six or seven runs. The first inning would not only have yielded two runs, the Mets would have exploded and put a four or five spot on the board.

For this Rockies team to go to the playoffs, they need workmanlike performances from De La Rosa and the rest of the pitching staff. Instead of giving up the big innings, when the starter is not at his best, they need to find a way to bear down and get outs, however they come.

The game was a testament to the fact that De La Rosa is becoming a very good Major League pitcher, something three organizations prior to the Rockies had given up on.

The Brewers, Diamondbacks, and Royals all said that De La Rosa was a lost cause and that his mental issues would never allow him to harness the talent that he has from the left side.

The Rockies took a chance on him, and are being rewarded by watching a star bud in front of their eyes.

With the win, combined with the Giants' loss, the Rockies moved back in front in the Wild Card standings. They must continue their dominance of lesser teams in order to extend this lead before heading into San Francisco for another three-game series against the Giants later in September.