DENVER - Carlos Gonzalez hit three doubles, Nolan Arenado had three hits for the second consecutive night and the Colorado Rockies beat the Atlanta Braves 5-3 on a rain-soaked Thursday at Coors Field.
Troy Tulowitzki singled to extend his hitting streak to 21 games longest in the majors this season for the Rockies, who dealt with another weather delay at home.
Jace Peterson had two hits and two runs batted in, and Chris Johnson had three hits for the Braves.
A rainstorm came through two pitches into the bottom of the first inning and sent the players and fans scurrying for shelter. The delay lasted 2 hours, 6 minutes, and ended the night early for both starters.
David Hale, the scheduled starter Friday for Colorado, took over for Kyle Kendrick in the second but left with one out in the third with a mild left groin strain. Hale (3-4) went 1 2/3 innings to get the win.
Jake Brigham (0-1) relieved Braves starter Alex Wood after play resumed, and the Rockies jumped on the rookie with three doubles in the first to take a 2-0 lead. Drew Stubbs homered, and Tulowitzki hit a sacrifice fly in the second to give Colorado a 4-0 lead.
Tulowitzki singled in the fourth to reach base for the 36th consecutive game.
Peterson had a two-run double as part of a three-run fifth to trim the deficit to a run. Colorado got one back on Nick Hundley’s RBI double in the bottom of the inning to make it 5-3.
John Axford, Colorado’s eighth pitcher, struck out Peterson for his 15th save.
The strong storm threatened to take the tarp as the grounds crew tried to lay it across the infield. A few Rockies players as well as manager Walt Weiss and first base coach Eric Young ran out from the dugout to help secure the tarp along the baselines.
Rain fell throughout the game, and only a few fans in the announced crowd of 30,334 stuck around for the end. It was a familiar sight at Coors Field, which has endured 14 weather delays totaling 22 hours, 24 minutes this season, not counting four postponements.
