Rockies’ Chase Anderson rebounds with five solid innings vs. Yankees

Chase Anderson knew he needed to rebound and knew he needed to finally give the Rockies a chance to win.

The veteran right-hander delivered in Colorado’s 8-7, 11-inning win over the Yankees on Sunday afternoon at Coors Field. The 35-year-old pitched five scoreless innings, allowing three hits, walking two and striking out one.

“I looked at today like, ‘It’s the second half of the season and I want to provide this team with quality innings and be the starter that can stabilize the rotation,’ ” Anderson said. “To go out there and be able to put up five good innings was not only huge for me, but also for the team.”

Anderson ran into big-time trouble in the third when Oswaldo Cabrera and Jose Trevino rapped out one-out singles and Anderson walked Giancarlo Stanton to load the bases. But when Anderson got Anthony Rizzo to fly out to right fielder Kris Bryant to escape the jam, Anderson pumped his fist as he left the mound.

“(It was about) knowing that I could get out of jams and the frustration of the last four or five starts coming out right there,” he said. “Being able to keep the team in the game right there was huge for me.”

Anderson’s start was a 180-degree turn from his previous four outings, in which he lost each game, allowed 27 earned runs, gave up eight homers, and posted an 18.23 ERA. The 27 runs were tied for the second-most earned runs allowed over four starts in franchise history.

Anderson said the key Sunday was, “My ability to show the fastball for effect and not put too much of it over the plate. Show it in, show it up, and show it down, and then use the cutter and the changeup.”

Manager Bud Black was thrilled with Anderson’s performance.

“His game is predicated on changing speeds, hitting spots, disrupting timing and getting the ball in good areas,” Black said. “He knows what he’s doing and the games when he’s been beat up it’s been about (missed) location.

“Today, there were a couple of critical at-bats that could have gone the other way, but they didn’t.”

Toglia blasts Cole. First baseman Michael Toglia, called up from Triple-A Albuquerque on Friday, hit a one-out, solo homer off Yankees ace Gerrit Coles in the second inning. It was not only Togila’s first home run of the season, but it was also his first since Sept. 7, a string of 105 at-bats that was the longest drought of his budding career.

Toglia, a switch-hitter, batting from the left side, connected on Cole’s 2-1, 95.8-mph fastball, sending it just over the fence in left field. It was Cole’s only major mistake in the game.

“You have to go up there with confidence against anyone you face,” Toglia said. “I think I did that today.”

Cole pitched six innings, allowing one run on two hits and striking out 11. At one point, he struck out seven of the eight batters he faced. It was Cole’s 24th game with double-digit strikeouts as a member of the Yankees, surpassing Ron Guidry for the most in franchise history. Guidry accomplished his strikeout mark in 368 games (323 starts) and Cole did it in 95 games (all starts).