The Colorado Rockies appeared to have this one in hand.
Last night, the Rockies outhit the Tigers 10-5 but managed to lose 6-2 because those hits were all singles. Today, the Rockies found a little more firepower, logging 12 hits including two home runs and some extra-base hits.
Unfortunately, it was a classic Colorado loss where the bats are working but the pitching isn’t. The Rockies surrendered 11 runs on 18 hits to Detroit. The Rockies held the lead for the majority of the game, but a whirlwind
eighth inning swung the game seven runs, from a three-run Rockies lead to a four-run deficit.
After a wasted opportunity to stop the losses from piling up, the soundtrack to today’s game in Motown was, ultimately, a sad one.
“Higher Ground”
Tanner Gordon came into the game looking like a road warrior yet again, piling up a couple of strong innings to start things off. Through the first two innings, he allowed some traffic but kept things scoreless. Gordon allowed a quick single to Kevin McGonigle to begin the game but fired off two strikeouts in the inning as well. After an Eduardo Valencia double and a Spencer Torkelson single put runners on the corners, Gordon gave up a walk, which is uncharacteristic for his 4% walk rate, to load the bases. A clutch double play kept zeroes on the board.
For their part, the Rockies offense kept on trying ‘til they reached their highest ground, taking a 3-0 lead to give Gordon some early run support.
After stranding runners on second and third in the first inning and a 1-2-3 inning in the second, the Rockies got to work in the third. Jake McCarthy was hit by a pitch and Connor Norby singled to put runners on the corners. No more small ball would be needed, however. A Hunter Goodman home run — his 38th of the season — brought everyone home.
“Reach Out (I’ll Be There)”
The three-run cushion didn’t last long. McGonigle, the American League Rookie of the Year favorite, got a solo shot to left field off of Gordon to cut into the lead. Gordon responded with two outs, but couldn’t escape the inning. A trio of singles from Riley Greene, Valencia, and Max Clark were good enough to score a run and make it a 3-2 ballgame.
Things nearly got much, much worse. With Clark and Valencia on first and third, Torkelson nearly launched a three-run homer that would have given Detroit a 5-3 lead. McCarthy tracked it down, timed his leap, reached out, and committed a robbery.
The defensive play absolutely stopped the momentum from swinging too far in Detroit’s direction. Colorado parlayed that into growing the lead in the fourth. Jordan Beck took first with a bunt and was brought home by an Adael Amador double to make it 4-2 Rox.
“War”
As Edwin Starr sang: “War! Huh! What is it good for? Absolutely nothing.”
By the middle innings, the game had turned into a back-and-forth battle between the two teams, which was no good for the Rockies who were trying to hold onto their lead. The Tigers would not go quietly, fighting back to tie the game and threatening to jump ahead.
Brett Callahan doubled to kick off the fourth inning, but Gordon held his own for the moment, striking out the next two batters. Gordon worked in his off-speed pitches effectively, getting John Peck to strike out swinging on a changeup low and inside, and catching McGonigle looking at a curveball right at the bottom of the zone.
Unfortunately, two-out runs were Gordon’s kryptonite today. Hao-Yu Lee doubled to score Callahan and was brought home himself on a Colt Keith single to tie the game at 4-4. Gordon was replaced by Juan Mejia in the bottom of the fifth, ending his day with 4.0 innings pitched, a whopping 10 hits, four earned runs, and five strikeouts to a lone walk.
Gordon has been susceptible to hits in many of his starts as he was today, but he did his part to work out of jams and keep the game competitive. While not in line for a decision, he held his own in key situations and kept the Rockies in it.
“You Keep Me Hanging On”
After the scoring flareups from Detroit in the third and fourth innings, the bullpen kept Colorado hanging on to the lead, albeit with some scattered drama.
When Mejia took over in the fifth, he immediately allowed the basepaths to become crowded. He got behind the count against Valencia after throwing three straight balls. After strikes on the next two pitches, Mejia walked Valencia. Clark doubled as the next batter up, forcing a mound visit to calm Mejia down. It did the trick as Mejia locked in for three straight outs.
Mejia attempted to start the sixth but was replaced by Brennan Bernardino after issuing two straight walks on 14 pitches. Bernardino worked out of the inherited jam masterfully, continuing to be such an important piece of the Rockies’ bullpen. He logged three straight outs, including a strikeout to prevent any damage done in the sixth, maintaining the Rockies two-run lead. Bernardino allowed a couple of hits in the seventh but prevented any runs.
An Ezequiel Tovar solo shot in the top of the eighth helped the Rockies grow their lead to three. The home run was right near the foul pole and close to being called for fan interference, but a review called it good, putting Colorado up 7-4.
“Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”
Unfortunately, no mountain or lead was high enough for the Tigers to overcome. Despite the three-run lead and several scoreless innings from the bullpen, a disastrous eighth inning would be all it would take for the Rockies’ fortune to crumble. This one couldn’t have been any worse.
Jaden Hill came in to relieve Bernardino. Unfortunately, it was Hill’s worst outing since a five-run catastrophe against the Milwaukee Brewers back in June.
Hill immediately surrendered back-to-back doubles to Lee and Gleyber Torres, making it a 7-5 game rather quickly. Greene singled to bring it to 7-6. The Rockies began warming up Jordan Romano, but they couldn’t get Hill out of the game fast enough. Hill gave up a single to Valencia and walked Clark, setting the stage for Roman with the bases loaded and no outs. Hill’s day ended at 0.0 innings pitched as he faced five batters but couldn’t record an out. He gave up five runs on four hits.
Manager Warren Schaeffer talked about Hill’s performance, noting that Detroit jumped on him with a good game plan: “Four hits and a walk with very little pitches. They had a good plan. They went out there and put the bat on the ball early in the count. And (we) just couldn’t get any outs.”
Romano didn’t fare much better after inheriting a terrible situation. After a pitch clock violation awarded an automatic ball, he walked Torkelson to walk in a run and tie the game. He next walked Ben Malgeri on seven pitches to push another run home and give Detroit their first lead of the game at 8-7.
A Peck sacrifice fly extended it by one, but the real damage was done on a Lee triple that scored two more. Romano managed two strikeouts but gave up two runs on a hit and two walks. The Tigers went into the final frame with an 11-7 lead and closed the game out there.
“Tracks of My Tears”
Cue some Smokey Robinson, because this was a sad, jarring loss for this Rockies team.
Even though they’re a young, developing team, it’s hard to see them squander games that should have been in the bag. This game often turned on a dime, partially because the Rockies’ pitchers weren’t able to close out innings — a problem that haunted them throughout the game. Colorado has still struggled to get their bats and pitching to work at the same time.
Schaeffer pointed to “positives all through this game” for a growing team, highlighting Amador’s big at bats, Tovar’s home run, Rumfield’s three-hit game, and Bernardino’s strong six outs.
The end of season woes continue to grow for the Rockies. They’ve now lost six games in a row, nine straight on the road, and 19 of their last 23.
Up Next
The Rockies take on the Motor City Kitties for game three of the series. Detroit swept Colorado at Coors Field in 2025. The Tigers will try to treat the home fans at Comerica Park to the same result with a sweep on the line in Sunday’s matchup.
Colorado will start Gabriel Hughes, currently winless on the season. Hughes is 0-7 in 11 starts with a 5.81 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, and 48 strikeouts.
While there has been some rotation shuffling in recent days for Detroit, they are expected to start Jackson Jobe as of now. Jobe has a 1-2 record across six starts with a 4.45 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, and 26 strikeouts.
We’ve got morning baseball on deck with a 10:10 a.m. MT first pitch.
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