DENVER — Chad Bettis gave the Colorado Rockies the start they wanted while Charlie Blackmon provided the offence they needed.
Bettis pitched effectively into the seventh inning, Blackmon homered and drove in three runs and the Rockies snapped a five-game losing streak with a 5-1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday.
Colorado had lost nine of its last 10 before getting a strong outing from Bettis (3-2), who got his first win since carrying a no-hitter into the eighth inning at Philadelphia on May 29. He allowed one run and five hits, walked two and struck out five in 6 1-3 innings.
He got a big assist from reliever Tommy Kahnle, who got an inning-ending double play in the seventh with runners at the corners.
"I had to save Chad runs, make sure they don’t score," Kahnle said. "That was pretty much my job. I got the ground ball we needed and got the job done."
Bettis allowed five runs in the first two innings against Houston on Monday before shutting down the Astros in his final three innings. He used that finish as a starting point for Saturday.
"I felt I had really good stuff that day and wanted to build off that," he said. "I didn’t want to go completely back to the whiteboard and rewrite everything. Working on the side in between the starts was productive."
Bettis got the Rockies off to a good start by holding Milwaukee scoreless until the sixth. It was the first time in six games a Colorado opponent didn’t score in the first inning.
The offence, which hit .215 in the previous 10 games, gave Bettis enough support to get the win.
Nolan Arenado led off the second with a double, moved to third on a groundout and scored on Michael McKenry’s sacrifice fly to make it 1-0.
Blackmon made it 3-0 with a two-run homer off Kyle Lohse in the fifth, his ninth of the season and just his second in June. He has five extra-base hits in his last four games.
"I wasn’t looking for anything in particular," Blackmon said. "I just know going up there and trying to hit the ball as hard as you could probably was not the best thing to do. I was ready for anything."
Adam Lind got a run back in the sixth with a two-out home run off Bettis. It was Lind’s 10th of the season and cut the deficit to 3-1.
The Brewers mounted a rally in the seventh when Hernan Perez reached on a one-out double, went to third on a wild pitch and Martin Maldonado walked. Kahnle relieved Bettis and got pinch-hitter Jonathan Lucroy to hit a double play started by Arenado at third.
"That was a tough double play," Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. "Tough ball for Nolan and (second baseman) DJ (LeMahieu) hung in there. DJ’s tough as nails and turned a difficult double play."
Colorado made it 5-1 in the seventh off reliever Michael Blazek on RBI singles by Ben Paulsen and Blackmon to get some breathing room heading into the last two innings.
"A 5-1 lead in the ninth is better than a 3-1 lead," Blackmon said. "We should have won that game with the start (Bettis) gave us, especially the way Kahnle came in and got that double play right away. Those guys did a great job."
Lohse (3-9) had his best outing in a month but is 0-5 with a 7.59 ERA in his last seven starts. He has not won since tossing eight shutout innings against the New York Mets on May 15.
"It’s frustrating to lose a ballgame, but I try to look at the positives," Lohse said. "I found a lot personally out of that outing today."
TRAINER’S ROOM
Brewers: RHP Wily Peralta (strained left oblique) has started throwing but has not been on the mound. Manager Craig Counsell said Peralta should start throwing from the mound next week. … OF Khris Davis (torn meniscus in right knee) will start swinging a bat in the next "couple of days," Counsell said. Counsell said it’s the last step in his recovery.
Rockies: Reliever Rafael Betancourt (vertigo symptoms) will pitch Sunday in a rehab assignment with Triple-A Albuquerque. Weiss said Betancourt would need just one outing, two at the most, before he’s ready. … 1B Justin Morneau (concussion symptoms) has begun off-field activities but there is no timetable for his return.
UP NEXT
Brewers: RHP Matt Garza (4-8, 5.07) is 2-4 with a 5.25 ERA in six career starts against Colorado. He was the pitcher of record in a 5-2 loss to the Rockies on April 7.
Rockies: LHP Chris Rusin (2-2, 5.14) has allowed 13 earned runs and 20 hits in his last two starts. His ERA has risen 3.69 in that span.
