The Rockies broke open the bank in the offseason to acquire Ian Desmond to play first base this year, but it was Mark Reynolds who broke things open for the Rockies on Opening Day. Reynolds, starting in place of the injured Desmond, smacked a two-run home run to open the scoring in an eventual 7-5 Rockies victory over the Brewers in Milwaukee.
Reynolds, who started 102 games at first base for Colorado last year, earned the Opening Day start when Desmond broke his hand during Spring Training. Reynolds was 2-for-3 with three RBIs and two runs scored, including the second-inning home run, to help lead Colorado to victory. Nolan Arenado was also 2-for-3 with two runs scored in the game. Alexi Amarista made the most of his one at-bat in his Rockies debut, belting a run-scoring double in the ninth inning to give Greg Holland an insurance run to work with.
Holland retired the Brewers in order despite issuing a leadoff walk to earn his first save for the Rockies. Adam Ottavino worked a scoreless eighth, striking out three straight batters after issuing back-to-back walks to open the inning. Carlos Estevez worked a scoreless sixth to earn the win and Mike Dunn retired the side in order in the seventh to earn a hold. Jon Gray cruised through his first four innings, allowing just two hits, but ran into trouble in the fifth. Scott Oberg minimized the damage in the fifth, but not until five Brewers had crossed the plate to give Milwaukee the lead.
Colorado scored two runs to reclaim the lead in a topsy-turvy seventh inning that saw the go-ahead run cross the plate on a throwing error when Charlie Blackmon stole second base with a runner on third.
Colorado opens the season with a win for the third year in a row, and the second time in that span by defeating the Brewers. Colorado cruised to a 10-0 victory on Opening Day two years ago in Milwaukee. In 2013 they lost in walk-off fashion to the Brewers, also in Milwaukee. In fact, Colorado has not had a true Opening Day at home since 2011 when they lost to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Colorado has three more games in Milwaukee before heading to Coors Field to open the home portion of the 2017 season on Friday against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
