Las Vegan Tyler Anderson gets first big league win, hits first HR
BBN-ANDERSON-JUL11-16
On the Fourth of July, when the Rockies were playing the Giants in baseball on national television, ESPN’s Rick Sutcliffe was very complimentary of Tyler Anderson, Colorado’s rookie left-handed pitcher from Las Vegas’ Spring Valley High School.
Sutcliffe’s only criticism of the local kid was slight. He said he needed to handle the bat better, to move the runner along in a sacrifice position when a bunt was called for.
Anderson handled the bat pretty well on Saturday night against the Phillies. No, he didn’t get down a bunt and move a runner along in a sacrifice position.
Instead, he hit a two-run homer to right field, tying the game at 2-2 in the fifth inning.
When the Rockies scored six times in the sixth en route to an 8-3 victory, he also picked up the first victory of his big league league pitching career.
Anderson made another quality start in improving his pitching record to 1-3 since being recalled from the minors. He went six innings, scattered nine hits, didn’t walk anybody, struck out six.
He also went 2-for-2 at the plate. Anderson hit a single to right field during his first at-bat in the third inning. After the game, other Rockies dumped buckets of ice water on him.
So to recap, Tyler Anderson got his first major league pitching win and hit first major league hit and his first major league home run all on the same night.
“Absolutely memorable,” he said to baseball reporters after the game. “Not something to dwell on, but something to remember for sure.”
Las Vegas Review-Journal sports columnist Ron Kantowski can be reached at rkantowski@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0352. His motor sports notebook runs on Friday. Follow him on Twitter: @ronkantowski.
