By Pat Graham, Associated Press
Trevor Story hit a three-run homer and Tyler Anderson allowed four hits over seven superb innings, helping the Colorado Rockies beat the Miami Marlins 6-0 on Tuesday night to maintain their slim lead for the second NL wild card.
The Rockies notched their first win over the Marlins in five tries this season and stayed 1½ games ahead of Milwaukee, which beat Cincinnati earlier in the evening.
Story had the big blow in a four-run first inning and Nolan Arenado added a two-run homer in the fifth as the Rockies chase their first playoff berth since 2009.
Anderson (6-6) faced the minimum through five innings courtesy of two double plays. He has a 1.19 ERA in four appearances since coming back from knee surgery.
The bullpen took it from there, with Chris Rusin pitching a perfect eighth and Mike Dunn working around a two-out double by Giancarlo Stanton in the ninth. The Marlins' slugger finished 1 for 4 and remained at 57 homers.
It was a shaky outing for reliable Miami starter Jose Urena (14-7), who yielded six runs over five innings. The right-hander allowed a total of six runs in four previous starts this month.
Before the game, Carlos Gonzalez likened the Rockies' struggles with runners in scoring position to having the flu.
"We're sick right now," he said.
But this helped make them well — going 2 for 6 with runners in scoring position Tuesday. They were hitting .215 in September entering the game.
"Right now, we have that flu," said Gonzalez, who finished 3 for 4 with a double. "But we're taking medicine to get rid of it and get back to normal."
