Rockies salvage 7-2 getaway-day win as Doyle rules the day

DENVER — Rockies Report, Game 12:

ROCKIES BOTTOM LINE: (Brenton) Doyle rules.

Colorado’s finest and most-consistent player in this young season delivered early and late to send the Rockies off on their West Coast road trip with a smile, opening with a leadoff homer and closing with a bases-loaded, bases-clearing eighth-inning double in the bottom of the eighth to power Colorado to a 7-2 getaway-day win over Milwaukee in front of an announced 18,593 at Coors Field on Thursday.

Doyle then came home with the Rockies’ final run as recently-promoted Zac Veen smacked a double off the wall to drive him home, capping a 5-run inning that easily answered the Brewers’ game-tying run in the top of the frame.

The Rockies got a quality start, solid work from the bullpen and went .333 with runners in scoring position. It was one of the rare times to date this season when the pieces fell into place.

“That’s what it’s supposed to look like,” manager Bud Black said.

It knocked the bitter taste of Wednesday’s 17-2 throttling out of their mouths.

STARTER’S REPORT: Battling the flu, Ryan Feltner escaped from trouble when it mattered most, and that ultimately defined his day in what turned out to be a quality start in his third appearance of the season.

The only run Feltner surrendered in his six innings of work came in the tip of the third inning, which he opened by allowing consecutive doubles to Christian Yelich and William Contreras, the latter of which tied the score at 1-apiece.

Feltner allowed an RBI double, then a pair of walks to load the bases, then went down 3-0 to Joey Ortiz as he threw 10 consecutive balls at one point.

But one pitch away from walking in a run, Feltner locked in, throwing a strike and then inducing a line-drive shot that went straight to third baseman Ryan McMahon, who snared it for the third out. Feltner subsequently struck out Oliver Dunn and Eric Haase to escape the bases-loaded jam.

“He found a way to really make pitches after he was really teetering,” Black said, “Two walks and he got the bullet from Ortiz right at Mac … He cinched his belt and got it done.”

IT WAS DECIDED FOR THE ROCKIES WHEN: Doyle drilled his RBI double off the left-field wall to increase Colorado’s lead to 6-2, part of a 5-run barrage off Brewers reliever Joel Payamps. Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy didn’t let any of his starters go longer than five innings during the series, and his fatigued bullpen finally broke down in the eighth inning Thursday.


ROCKIES NUMBER TO NOTE: 1 — RBI for Michael Toglia, as he finally cracked that column Thursday with an eighth-inning double. Batting .140 coming into the game, Toglia went 3-for-4 with a double.

ROCKIES UNIFORM: Black hat with black bill, white pinstriped jersey and pants. Colorado is 2-3 in this look.

WHAT’S NEXT: The Rockies begin a six-game road NL West road swing at San Diego on Friday night. Germán Márquez is scheduled to make the start, with the first pitch scheduled for 7:40 p.m. MDT.