Colorado Rockies vs Philadelphia Phillies Box Score on May 24, 2017

The Sports Xchange
May 24, 2017

PHILADELPHIA -- Coming off a terrific rookie season that saw Trevor Story hit .272 with 27 home runs and 72 RBIs in 97 games last year, the Colorado shortstop struggled out of the gates in 2017.

Hitting just .180 through his first 111 at-bats, the 24-year-old went on the disabled list with a strained left shoulder earlier this month.

It appears two weeks off might have been exactly what he needed.

Story returned to the Colorado lineup on Wednesday night, doubling in his first at-bat and scoring the opening run of what became a seven-run third inning to help the Rockies past the Philadelphia Phillies 7-2 at Citizens Bank Park.

Colorado, which improved to an National League-best 31-17, will go for the four-game sweep on Thursday.

Rockies starter Tyler Chatwood was outstanding, holding the Phillies (15-29) hitless until an Andrew Knapp single with two outs in the fifth inning.

Chatwood (4-6, 4.50 ERA) struck out eight Phillies in seven innings before being removed because of a high pitch count, giving up one walk as he continued his string of getting a decision in every start this season.

It was the second time this year he held his opponent without a run, along with a complete-game shutout against the San Francisco Giants in April.

The Phillies' only runs came in the eighth inning, a two-run homer by Michael Saunders. By that point, they needed quite a few more runs.

After a quiet opening two innings, the Rockies' bats woke up big time in the third against Phillies starter Jeremy Hellickson.

After Story's inning-opening double and a Tony Walters walk, Chatwood sacrificed the two to second and third.

Then came a string of five straight hits -- a two-run single from Charlie Blackmon, a single by D.J. LeMahieu, an RBI single from Nolan Arenado and then the backbreaker, a three-run homer to right by Carlos Gonzalez, which was followed by a triple from Ian Desmond.

By the time the inning was over, the Rockies had sent 11 men to the plate, producing seven runs and six hits.

Colorado finished with 12 hits, their sixth game in a row with 10 hits or more. The hits came off the bats of 10 different Rockies; only Gonzalez (3-for-5, three RBIs) had multiple hits.

Hellickson (5-2, 4.28 ERA) lasted through the fifth inning before he was pulled for a pinch hitter. He allowed eight hits and seven runs (all earned) while striking out two batters and walking a season-high four.

In five May starts, Hellickson is 1-2 with a 7.30 ERA.

Starting pitching is just one of numerous issues plaguing the Phillies, who have dropped 20 of their last 24 games to fall into the cellar of the NL East. Wednesday's game was their fifth in a row scoring three runs or fewer, and they've only scored more than five runs once in their last 12 games.

NOTES: The teams will conclude the four-game series on Thursday, with Phillies RHP Vince Velasquez (2-4, 5.98 ERA) going up against Rockies LHP Tyler Anderson (3-4, 6.00). ... Phillies 3B Maikel Franco, batting just .221, sat for the second consecutive game, with Andres Blanco starting again in his spot. ... Phillies 3B Howie Kendrick, on the DL since April 18, began a rehab stint with Triple-A Lehigh Valley. ... Colorado improved to 7-2 on a season-long 10-game road swing that concludes Thursday.