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Rockies earn MLB’s first win on a pitch-clock violation in wild night at Coors Field

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Rockies earn MLB’s first win on a pitch-clock violation in wild night at Coors Field


This ballpark has had its share of crazy nights. Put this one near the top of the list.

Ryan McMahon’s based-loaded walk, which ended with a pitch-clock violation, completed a two-run rally in the bottom of the ninth to deliver the Colorado Rockies an 8-7 victory against the Washington Nationals in front of 34,509 at Coors Field.

It is the first walk-off win via the rule in MLB history. This is the second season with a pitch clock, and a ball is awarded when the pitcher does not throw in time. McMahon had a 3-2 count with the bases loaded, but Washington closer ended an ignominious outing with the Nationals’ final gaffe in a night full of them.

“Was that the first one? I hadn’t seen that before,” McMahon said. “Honestly, you hate to see a game end that way, but I’m happy it worked out in our favor.

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“It’s only fitting that we get the first shot-clock violation to win a game.”

Finnegan leads the majors with nine pitch-clock violations this season. He’s also third in saves with 21, but did not record an out Saturday night against Colorado.

“Those situations, it just can’t happen. It can’t happen,” Finnegan said. “Just immediately felt awful about letting the team down in that big spot there. To lose the game in that way, it just can’t happen.”

Colorado trailed 7-5 entering the bottom of the eighth inning after the bullpen yielded two runs in both the seventh and eighth. McMahon homered in the eighth to give the Rockies a chance in the ninth.

They knocked around Finnegan with four straight singles to tie the game before McMahon worked the walk-off walk.

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“That’s against a guy who’s having a really good year and has really good stuff,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “Just a lot of really good at-bats. We squared the ball up against a guy that’s been really good. (That was) quality.”

Cal Quantrill pitched six solid innings in the win. Brendan Rodgers had one of the team’s three home runs in his return from injury.

Quantrill continued to be Colorado’s most effective pitcher this season. He allowed three runs on seven hits and a walk in six innings. Quantrill finished with six straight outs after yielding a home run to CJ Abrams to lead off the fifth inning.

That is Quantrill’s 10th quality start of the season. He’s tied for the second-most in the National League, behind Philadelphia’s Zack Wheeler and San Francisco’s Logan Webb.

“He battled again,” Black said. “They seemed to have an idea about what to do with his split-finger (fastball), but he continued to make pitches. He’s a pitcher’s pitcher.”

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Quantrill left with a 4-3 lead. His chances of collecting a seventh win were gone before the Rockies recorded another out in the seventh.

Jake Bird and Justin Lawrence combined to allow four runs in relief, the last two coming on Luis Garcia Jr.’s homer.

Rodgers celebrated his return from a strained hamstring with a three-run blast in the bottom of the third inning to give Colorado a 4-2 advantage. Mitchell Parker grooved a first-pitch fastball to Rodgers, and the Colorado second baseman sent it 436 feet into the second row of seats in center field section next to the pine trees for his fourth homer of the year.

Hunter Goodman greeted Washington relief pitcher Jacob Barnes with a 446-foot home run deep into the left-field seats to lead off the seventh inning and draw the Rockies back even at 5-5. Goodman has found a way to unlock his power at the MLB level this month.

Goodman now has five home runs in his past eight games after hitting three in his first 45 contests with the Rockies. He had 70 home runs in the minors over the past two seasons.

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Before Finnegan’s violation, the Nationals also ran into four outs — three caught stealings by catcher Jacob Stallings — and gave away another on a weirdly-timed bunt.

The Nationals gave them an opening, and then the Rockies earned it. They won for just the time sixth time in 21 games this month.

“We’ve been punched in the mouth a couple times as a team, but we keep coming,” McMahon said. “And we’re just going to continue to do that.”

Bird, Bouchard injured. Colorado lost a pair of players during the game to injuries. Bird faced three batters before leaving with groin tightness. Sean Bouchard left with back soreness after trying to bend over and collect a ball in the right-center gap in the third inning.

Kitchen recalled. The Rockies recalled Austin Kitchen before the game Saturday. It’s his first time on a major-league roster. He won a College World Series at Coastal Carolina but was not drafted. He spent a year pitching for the Steel City Slammin’ Sammies in a four-team independent league in 2020 before signing with the Rockies in 2021. The Rockies designated relief pitcher Geoff Hartlieb (0-0, 9.00 ERA in nine innings) for assignment to make room for Kitchen.

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Sunday’s pitching matchup
Nationals RHP Jake Irvin (5-6, 3.24 ERA) at Rockies LHP Kyle Freeland (0-3, 13.21 ERA)

1:10 p.m. Sunday, Coors Field

TV: Rockies.TV (streaming); Comcast/Xfinity (channel 1262); DirecTV (683); Spectrum (130, 445, 305, 435 or 445, depending on region).

Radio: 850 AM/94.1 FM

Freeland will make his first start for the Rockies since April 14, having missed more than two months with a left elbow strain. The 31-year-old Freeland made three rehab starts at Class AAA for Albuquerque, allowing three runs over 10 innings. Freeland was Colorado’s opening-day starter. He yielded 25 runs (23 earned) in his four starts before the injury, including 10 on opening night.

Irvin, 27, is in his second year in the Nationals’ rotation. He yielded four runs on eight hits and four walks against Arizona last time out, but before that reeled off a string of five straight strong starts — just five runs allowed total with 31 strikeouts across 31 2/3 innings. He has faced Colorado once in his brief MLB career, allowing four runs in six innings July 26, 2003.

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Pitching probables

Monday: Off

Tuesday: Rockies TBD at Houston TBD, 6:10 p.m.

Wednesday: Rockies TBD at Houston TBD, 12:10 p.m.



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Denver, CO

New ice cream shop with a ‘waffle theater’ bets big on downtown Denver

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New ice cream shop with a ‘waffle theater’ bets big on downtown Denver


For most food manufacturers, it makes more financial sense to bake, brew, cook or create their product somewhere where the square footage is a little less expensive, like a business park, and to sell it where the rent – and the foot traffic – is higher.

Kent Beidel, who owns a string of mountain-town ice cream parlors called Sundae, did the opposite when he opened his newest and, by far, his biggest location in downtown Denver.

“We wanted to be right in front of people and hear them say, ‘Oh my god, they make the ice cream right here,’” he explained. “It’s backward … it’s hard. But it’s unique, and it’s really cool.”

Sundae opened in early June in a 5,100-square-foot space that includes a retail shop, a waffle cone-making “theater” where people can watch the staff turn out fresh cones, a pint-mixing classroom and a commercial kitchen – visible to customers on three sides through glass windows – that could one day supply multiple stores around Denver.

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Beidel is betting those attributes will help the business stand apart from the competition in Denver, where there are already several big names making and selling scoops in multiple locations.

But that’s not the only gamble he took. Sundae is located on Sixteenth Street, the 44-year-old pedestrian mall that has become both a symbol of the city’s urban decay since the pandemic and a beacon of hope for its future after a $175 million renovation.

“Sixteenth Street is interesting,” said Beidel, who has watched it change over the past year since he first signed his lease at 1600 Glenarm Place. “It’s coming back. It still has a way to go, but we are seeing momentum start to build. Even in the last month, the foot traffic and the feeling downtown has perked up. … We are getting great feedback.”

To help, the Denver Downtown Development Authority — as part of a much larger business incentive plan — loaned Sundae $750,000. “It’s a loan,” he said. “We have to pay it back. … But we couldn’t have done this location without that support.”

Beidel has been in the food business for 22 years. Before ice cream, he was the founder of Loaded Joe’s, a restaurant and coffee shop staple in Vail. But in 2016, he sold Loaded Joe’s and took over two former Marble Slab Creamery locations in Vail and Edwards, rebranding them as Sundae. In 2020, he opened a third shop in Glenwood Springs.

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“That was our first chance to build from scratch and decide what it should look like,” he explained, adding that Glenwood, which includes a kitchen, eventually began making ice cream for Sundae’s next two locations in Basalt and Snowmass.



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Denver, CO

Denver Country Club caddie earns full-ride Evans Scholarship, becomes first in family to attend college

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Denver Country Club caddie earns full-ride Evans Scholarship, becomes first in family to attend college


DENVER — What started as a summer job has turned into a life-changing opportunity for Denver-area student Vanessa Olivar.

The 18-year-old Denver Country Club caddie has earned the prestigious Evans Scholarship, a full tuition and housing scholarship awarded by the Western Golf Association to caddies who demonstrate strong character, academic achievement, financial need and a strong caddie record.

Watch Bradey King’s story on how Olivar persevered to nab this scholarship in the video below.

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Denver Country Club caddie earns full-ride Evans Scholarship

Olivar is one of 15 students from Colorado to receive the scholarship this year and will attend the University of Colorado Boulder this fall.

When she first heard about caddying through her high school’s assistant principal, Olivar said she wasn’t sure it was the right fit.

“I didn’t know anything about the game of golf,” she said. “At first, I was a little doubtful and nervous, but I thought it would be a great summer job. I quickly found out that it was more than just carrying a golfer’s bag.”

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Over the past three years, Olivar learned the responsibilities that come with the job, from carrying clubs and providing yardages to building relationships with members and fellow caddies.

“I learned a strong work ethic, and the relationships that I built through caddying have really shaped who I am today,” she said.

Her dedication paid off when she received the news that she had earned the Evans Scholarship.

“I got that flag saying, ‘Congratulations,’ and I was so excited,” Olivar said. “Words couldn’t express how excited my family and I were for this great opportunity that I worked so hard for over three years.”

The scholarship carries even greater significance because Olivar will become the first person in her family to attend college.

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“I’m a first-generation college student,” she said. “Coming from immigrant parents, I kind of had to navigate this world by myself.”

Her parents immigrated to the United States when they were 18, and Olivar said their sacrifices inspired her to pursue higher education.

“Being able to tell my parents they don’t have to pay for my college takes that weight off their shoulders, but also mine,” she said.

Western Golf Association officials say Olivar exemplifies the qualities the Evans Scholarship is designed to recognize.

“The scholarship is based upon four principles: Their caddie record, their academic record, their financial need, but really what’s most important is their character,” said Brian Wilkinson, the Western Golf Association Director at Denver Country Club. “Vanessa expresses the great character and leadership that we’re looking for in young women and men.”

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At CU Boulder, Olivar plans to major in public health with a minor in business before pursuing dental school.

She said the opportunity has changed the trajectory of her future.

“I knew I wanted to go to college, and I wanted to have a further education,” Olivar said. “I just didn’t know how I was going to do that. I didn’t know caddying was eventually going to change that for me. It’s a scholarship that has changed my life forever.

Denver7

Denver7 | Your Voice: Get in touch with Bradey King

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Denver7’s Bradey King reports on the entire sports landscape in Colorado, including Denver’s pro teams, but is always looking for stories off the field and in the non-professional ranks. If you’d like to get in touch with Bradey, fill out the form below to send her an email.





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Denver, CO

Denver area events for July 13

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Denver area events for July 13


If you have an event taking place in the Denver area, email information to carlotta.olson@gazette.com at least two weeks in advance. All events are listed in the calendar on space availability. Monday Music in the Gardens — With Pamela Machala, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., 17th Street Gardens, 1945 17th St., Denver; cpvmd.org/music-in-the-gardens-2026. Denver Cocktails Tour — 4:30-6:30 p.m., […]



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