Chris Nelson will always remember his first career stolen base.
In the eighth inning of a 5-5 game versus the Reds on Thursday, the Rockies’ utilityman took off from third base against right-hander Nick Masset, who had looked towards second base, and swiped home without a play at the plate, giving the Rockies a 6-5 lead they’d hold on to for their seventh straight victory.
Nelson, a 2004 first-round pick who made his major league debut back in June, entered the game in the eighth as a pinch-runner for Jason Giambi. Despite a strong season in Triple-A this year, the Rockies decided not to give him a real look, even though Troy Tulowitzki, Eric Young Jr. and now Ian Stewart have all spent time on the DL and Clint Barmes has been largely ineffective. Nelson has started just one game, that coming in June. He’s gone 4-for-7 in his very limited major league action.
At Colorado Springs, the recently turned 25-year-old hit .313/.376/.492 with 12 homers and seven steals in 319 at-bats.
With the come-from-behind victory, the Rockies are now 76-64. They’re 3 1/2 games back of the Padres in the NL West and four games behind the Braves in the wild card.
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- Buccofan - Sep 10, 2010 at 2:42 AM
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What had the Reds radio guys apoplectic was that Masset turned his back on the plate and faced second base, when the runners were on first and third. They said Nelson didn’t even need to slide, that he could have scored standing up. A pitcher letting that happen is just pathetic.
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- BC - Sep 10, 2010 at 10:01 AM
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Eric Young Jr. Jesus, I’m old.
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