The Rockies scored early and late, but ran into a buzzsaw of Cooper Hjerpe making his MLB debut in the middle. Kyle Leahy was chased after 2.2 innings, but it didn’t matter. And as they do, they attempted to battle back late. Jake McCarthy broke through in the eighth with a solo homer, and he drove in two runs in the ninth, but ultimately Rockies pitching (and defense) gave up too many runs to overcome. 17 of the 18 combined runs scored on two outs.
Tanner Gordon dealt with traffic
After a rain-shortened outing on Monday, Tanner
Gordon was a bit up-and-down in his start. He dealt with some early traffic but had a 1-2-3 third and clean fourth.
In the first inning, he gave up a leadoff single to Bryan Torres but then got Iván Herrera to ground out to second. But then Alec Burleson hit a ball to right field that Troy Johnston laid out to catch.
Initially, it was called a catch. But the Cardinals successfully challenged, and that put runners on first and third with one out. Luckily, though, Gordon sat down Jordan Walker and Leo Bernal to end the inning.
Things didn’t get better in the second, however. Gordon recorded two quick outs of Joshua Báez and Nolan Gorman, but then Thomas Saggese doubled and Nathan Church singled to score him (eventually reaching second himself). But then Gordon struck out Torres to end the inning with minimal damage.
Things really fell apart in the fifth, though, in part due to questionable defense (more on that later). Gordon once again got two quick outs, but then Herrera singled, Burleson doubled, Walker walked and Bernal singled to score two runs. And with that, Gordon’s night was over with two men still on base.
“I thought TG was good,” manager Warren Schaeffer said after the game. “The main issue of the day was the inability to put hitters away. (There were) a ton of two-strike counts. The Cardinals scored nine runs with two outs. That six-run inning was two outs with nobody on, two strikes on the hitter, and then six runs later… So you have to learn from that and be able to put hitters away when you get two strikes. Give it to TG, he got a head ahead in a great way, but you’ve got to give credit to that team.”
5th inning defensive adventures
This series has not been a defensive showcase for either team. Unfortunately, it was on the Rockies’ end today. In the first inning, there was the non-catch by Johnston and he struck again in the fifth.
As noted above, after two quick outs, Herrera singled and then Burleson doubled. Jordan Walker then walked, and Leo Bernal singled to Johnston. He laid out again, but the ball went under his glove, allowing Herrera and Burleson to score.
Two batters (and two runs) later, Jimmy Herget replaced Gordon with two men on base. He immediately gave up a single to Joshua Báez, but an error by Cole Carrigg in center field allowed Báez to reach third (though the two runs were earned and charged to Gordon).
The biggest damage came on the next batter, though, as Nolan Gorman smacked a 426-foot home run to put the Cardinals up 7-5.
Six of their 10 runs came with two outs in the fifth, and all of their 10 runs in the game came with two outs.
The offense scored early and late, but not in the middle
The Rockies offense scored early and often, but they ran into a buzzsaw in Cooper Hjerpe making his MLB debut and didn’t record a hit (or a run) while he was on the mound.
To kick things off, Jake McCarthy singled and advanced to second on an error by Torres at second base. Then, Troy Johnston and Cole Carrigg struck out back-to-back, but TJ Rumfield doubled to score McCarthy. Moniak then singled to score Rumfield, but Adael Amador struck out to end the inning.
Fast forward past a 1-2-3 second inning, and the bats came out with two outs in the third. McCarthy flew out to center and Johnston struck out again, but Carrigg and Rumfield singled back-to-back to set the stage for Mickey Moniak, who smashed his 22nd home run of the year 436 feet to center field, putting the Rockies up 5-1.
That chased Kyle Leahy from the game, and Cade Winquest got Amador to ground out to end the inning.
After that, Hjerpe came in to start the fourth and did not allow a single baserunner across four innings. He became the second reliever in the Modern Era with 4+ perfect innings in his MLB debut (the other being some other guy named Max Scherzer in 2008). Hjerpe also struck out six of the 12 batters he faced, on top of Leahy’s six. In total, the Rockies struck out 15 times today and did not walk once.
“That guy was nasty,” Schaeffer said of Hjerpe. “The sinker was really good. It was just a tough angle and deception. We had a lineup full of lefties today, so it was tough on those guys. But he was great. That’s a great first outing for that guy. We had no answer for him.”
Luis Gastelum replaced Hjerpe in the eighth inning, and McCarthy took full advantage — launching a 435-foot homer into the second deck in right field to cut the lead to 10-6.
That was the first Rockies run to come with less than few outs.
“You name it, Jake does it,” Schaeffer said of his leadoff man. “He’s been fantastic for us this year, and I wouldn’t be more proud of him because last year wasn’t good for him. It’s a great bounce-back year for him, and he’s a leader behind closed doors. Everything you want in a baseball player, Jake McCarthy gives it to you.
And McCarthy stayed hot in the ninth, scoring two runs with two outs and two strikes to cut the lead 10-8. Hunter Goodman — who entered as a pinch hitter in the seventh — was hit by a pitch and then pinch hitter Zac Veen singled to center and advanced on defensive indifference.
Unfortunately, Troy Johnston recorded a golden sombrero to end the threat (and the game).
“I think the biggest thing is to be prepared as a pinch hitter,” Schaeffer said of Veen’s clutch hit. “He’s nonstop with his head in the iPad, talking with (Brett Pill) and (Jordan) Pacheco, getting ready for every single reliever that he could potentially face that night. He’s not pouting when he doesn’t play. He’s accepting his role, and I think there’s really something to that. And he’s been big for all three games. He’s always doing something good to help the team, and he’s been playing really good defense. I’m really happy with the place that Veener’s in right now.”
Up Next
The Rockies head out east one final time to take on the New York Yankees after an off day tomorrow. It’ll be a battle of young right-handers, as Gabriel Hughes is scheduled to face Cam Schlittler. First pitch on Tuesday is at 5:05pm MT.
See you then!
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