After a pair of wild games that went in their favor, the Colorado Rockies aimed to secure a series sweep against the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday evening. Unfortunately, another lackluster outing from their starting pitcher and an offense that struggled to get going left them trailing early and failing to catch up as they lost 11-4.
Another Rough Outing for Michael Lorenzen
All hopes for a bounce-back performance for Michael Lorenzen in his hometown venue were quickly dashed as the right-hander struggled once again.
Things started ominously
as Lorenzen walked Jorge Soler to start the bottom of the first inning. It was apparent from the get-go that he didn’t quite have command of his pitches and struggled to find the zone. After allowing a one-out single to Wade Meckler, Lorenzen escaped the first inning unscathed to strand the two runners on base.
Then the second inning happened.
As Lorenzen continued to search for comfort, moving around the rubber and lengthening his extension, the Angels kicked things off with back-to-back singles from Donovan Walton and Nick Madrigal before Jose Siri laced an RBI double to left field. A wild pitch then allowed Madrigal to score, followed by an RBI single from Logan O’Hoppe to give the Angels a 3-0 lead.
Lorenzen finally got the first out of the inning thanks to an ABS challenge from Hunter Goodman that secured a strikeout of Soler.
Mike Trout then drew a walk, but Lorenzen got a strikeout out of Meckler for the second out of the inning. However, Vaughn Grissom placed a ground ball into left field for a hit that resulted in a run when a throw from Sterlin Thompson wasn’t handled by Goodman, giving the Angels a 4-0 lead, and allowing both trail runners to move up to scoring position.
Another wild pitch scored the Angels’ fifth run, followed by an Oswald Peraza single to make it 6-0. The inning finally ended on a flyout to center field from Walton.
Lorezen tossed 61 pitches through the first two innings, the highest number in his career, but manager Warren Schaeffer stuck with him in the hopes he could just eat some innings. Lorenzen tried to oblige with a quick third, but his night came to an early end when Grissom hit a two-run homer in the fourth to make it an 8-1 game.
“He was obviously behind in counts, left some balls up, and didn’t put the ball where he wanted to.” Schaeffer said after the game. “His command was shaky.”
Lorenzen ended up going just 3.1 innings, allowing eight runs on 10 hits while issuing just two walks and striking out five. He threw 85 pitches, 52 of which were strikes.
“He’s in a period of searching right now,” said Schaeffer. “I have extreme confidence in him that he’s going to come out of it. He’s done it before.”
Offense musters a couple of two-out knocks
It’s been a common theme for the Rockies’ offense to start slow this season, and tonight was another instance of that stereotype.
Facing rookie right-hander Walbert Ureña, the Rockies had a tough task getting things rolling. Through the first 4.2 innings, Colorado had no hits and just one baserunner. Finally, Goodman secured the first hit with a double to center field on a chest-high sinker. Troy Johnston then followed up with an RBI double of his own to get the Rockies on the board, trailing 6-1 at the time.
The Rockies continued trying to make the game interesting in the next inning. Edouard Julien drew a one-out walk, one of three that Ureña allowed. After Jake McCarthy struck out, Tyler Freeman delivered another clutch hit with two outs, tucking a two-run home run beyond the left field wall to make it 8-3. For Freeman, it was his third home run of the season.
That was all the Rockies could muster against Ureña, however, as he ended up allowing just three runs on three hits while striking out seven batters. The Rockies made him work, throwing 99 pitches, but they weren’t able to capitalize and do more damage against him.
After a scoreless seventh inning against former Rockie Drew Pomeranz, reigning NL Rookie of the Month TJ Rumfield got something started for the Rockies with a one-out double in the eighth inning. After Goodman moved him over to third on a groundout, Johnston delivered another two-out hit to drive in Rumfield to make it 11-4.
Aside from a two-out double by Julien, the Rockies went quietly in the ninth to end the game.
The Rockies managed seven hits, including four extra-base hits, but also went 2-for-8 with runners in scoring position. They also struck out nine times and drew three walks.
Bullpen and defense clocks in
Keegan Thompson ended up replacing Lorenzen in that fourth inning as the bullpen clocked in to eat a bulk of innings.
He ended up working 2.2 innings, allowing five runs on three hits with three strikeouts, throwing 30-of-45 pitches for strikes. He left the game with the Rockeis trailing 11-3, but things could have looked much more dire had it not been for a couple of stellar defensive plays in the outfield.
The first batter he faced in the fourth inning lofted a ball deep to center field that would have been a triple at least if it had hit off the wall, but the speedy McCarthy tracked it down with a leaping grab.
The following inning, Trout sent a ball to left field that looked just high enough for a two-run home run, but Sterlin Thompson made a leaping grab to rob the hit and end the inning.
Seth Halvorsen fired a scoreless seventh inning, allowing one hit and recording a strikeout. He then gave way to rookie TJ Shook, who threw just five pitches for a 1-2-3 eighth inning.
In total, the Rockies’ pitching staff gave up 16 hits and had eight strikeouts against three walks. The bullpen alone allowed just three runs on six hits over 4.2 innings with three strikeouts and a walk.
Up Next
The Rockies head back home, where they will enjoy the day off on Thursday.
The Milwaukee Brewers come to town for a weekend series starting Friday with Ryan Feltner (2-1, 4.85 ERA) making his second start since returning from the injured list. Brandon Sproat (1-4, 6.24 ERA) takes the hill for the Brew Crew.
First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 pm MDT. See you then!
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