Gabriel Hughes gave the Colorado Rockies a start they could win with Friday night.
The offense did not do enough with it, and the bullpen could not keep the game close once he left.
Hughes allowed two runs across 5.1 innings, but Colorado managed only six hits and no walks in a 7-2 loss to the Cincinnati Reds at Coors Field.
The Rockies fell to 39-60. Cincinnati improved to 44-52.
Colorado tied the game in the fifth and remained even into the sixth. The Reds then hit consecutive home runs against Jimmy
Herget and scored in each of the final four innings.
Meanwhile, Brady Singer retired the first 12 Rockies and never allowed the offense to build sustained pressure.
Hughes continues to look like a big-league pitcher
Gabriel Hughes gave up a leadoff single to Elly De La Cruz and an RBI double to Sal Stewart before recording an out, but the inning did not get away from him.
JJ Bleday moved Stewart to third with a flyout. Hughes then struck out Spencer Steer and froze Eugenio Suárez with a called third strike to strand the runner.
Hughes retired eight straight hitters beginning with those final three outs of the first inning.
Cincinnati continued creating traffic, but Hughes repeatedly worked through it. Tyler Freeman threw Stewart out at third base to end the third inning after Bleday singled sharply to right.
Hughes stranded Suárez following a one-out double in the fourth, then picked De La Cruz off first to finish the fifth.
He opened the sixth by striking out Stewart with an 84.5 mph sweeper below the zone. Hughes walked Bleday on his 82nd and final pitch before the Rockies went to the bullpen.
Hughes finished with 5.1 innings, five hits, two earned runs, two walks and six strikeouts. The second run charged to him scored after he left.
The pitch mix supported the line. Hughes used six pitches, led by 41 four-seam fastballs. The pitch averaged 92.3 mph, topped out at 94.6 and produced 12 called strikes and three whiffs.
He paired it with a slider and sweeper in the mid-80s and a curveball that averaged 78.7 mph. The separation gave hitters three distinct velocity bands to cover, while his breaking pitches accounted for five of the six strikeouts.
The arsenal worked because Hughes attacked the zone. He threw 63% of his pitches for strikes, put 59% in the zone and delivered first-pitch strikes to 15 of the 21 hitters he faced.
Cincinnati hit seven balls hard, but Hughes paired eight whiffs with 16 called strikes and did not allow a home run. More importantly, he continued showing that traffic does not have to become a big inning. He looked like a big leaguer.
“There is a lot to love with how he carries himself,” manager Warren Schaeffer said postgame. “It is a really difficult environment when you first get to the big leagues, and you are making your first two starts after putting in a lot of time in the minor leagues. So for him to show the confidence out there on the mound is a big deal.”
Singer keeps the Rockies quiet
Brady Singer controlled the game with a sinker-slider combination that accounted for 81 of his 96 pitches.
The sinker averaged 91.7 mph, while the slider sat at 82.4. That separation kept Colorado from settling into one speed, and the slider generated 11 whiffs on 26 swings.
Singer finished seven innings with four hits, two runs, no walks and six strikeouts. He generated 17 whiffs and posted a 31% called-strike-plus-whiff rate.
Colorado put 20 balls in play against him, but 11 were grounders and the average exit velocity was 85.2 mph.
TJ Rumfield finally broke up the no-hit bid with a bloop single to begin the fifth.
Kyle Karros followed with a grounder that could have become a double play, but De La Cruz’s throw pulled Stewart off first. Karros ran hard and remained aboard.
Willi Castro then singled to right, moving Karros to third, and Troy Johnston tied the game with a sacrifice fly. De La Cruz later mishandled Freeman’s grounder, but Ezequiel Tovar grounded into a forceout to end the inning.
Colorado had tied the game, but it never forced Singer away from his preferred plan.
The sixth inning changes the game
The Rockies turned to Jimmy Herget after Hughes walked Bleday.
The game changed almost immediately.
Steer drove a 90.6 mph sinker 404 feet to left for a two-run homer. Suárez followed by sending an 80.3 mph sweeper over the left-field wall, turning a 1-1 tie into a 4-1 deficit.
Herget retired the next two hitters, but the Reds had created the separation Singer needed.
Cincinnati added another run in the seventh after Tovar’s throwing error put Ke’Bryan Hayes on second. De La Cruz followed with an infield single off Victor Vodnik, and Stewart drove Hayes home with a sacrifice fly.
The run was unearned, but it widened a game Colorado was already struggling to chase.
Castro supplied the Rockies’ best answer in the bottom half. He lifted an 83.1 mph slider 382 feet to left for his eighth home run, cutting the deficit to 5-2.
The next two Rockies grounded out.
Colorado creates chances but does not finish them
The Rockies produced scattered opportunities after Singer’s early dominance, but none developed into a full rally.
Jake McCarthy singled to begin the sixth and stole second after Mickey Moniak flew out. Hunter Goodman struck out, and Rumfield flew out to leave McCarthy stranded.
Colorado threatened again against Brock Burke in the eighth. McCarthy reached on a hit-by-pitch, and Cole Carrigg lined a pinch-hit single to center.
Carrigg then made a nifty slide to avoid the force at second on Goodman’s grounder, leaving runners at second and third with two outs rather than ending the inning with a double play.
Rumfield flew out to right.
The Rockies finished 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position, recorded no two-out RBI and did not draw a walk.
Cincinnati kept adding runs.
Steer opened the eighth with an inside-the-park home run after his drive kicked away from McCarthy in deep right-center. Freeman retrieved the ball, but Tovar’s relay came home on an in-between hop that Goodman could not handle.
De La Cruz added a 434-foot solo home run against Jeff Criswell in the ninth.
Johnston doubled with two outs in the bottom half, but Freeman grounded out to end the game.
Final notes
Castro led the Rockies by going 2-for-4 with a home run and one RBI. He was Colorado’s only player with multiple hits.
McCarthy went 1-for-3, was hit by a pitch and stole his 16th base. Carrigg singled in his only plate appearance and remained in the game in center field.
Goodman finished 0-for-4 with three strikeouts.
The Rockies recorded six hits, struck out eight times and stranded six runners.
Steer drove in three runs and homered twice, including the inside-the-park homer. De La Cruz went 4-for-5 with two runs and his 16th home run.
Singer earned the win and improved to 4-9. Hughes fell to 0-1 despite delivering another encouraging start.
The offense was flat, and the bullpen allowed a close game to become a comfortable Cincinnati win. Still, Hughes gave the Rockies something meaningful to carry forward.
His arsenal had enough shape and velocity separation. He attacked the strike zone. He missed bats and managed traffic.
The result was disappointing.
The start was not.
Up next
The Rockies and Reds continue their series Saturday afternoon at Coors Field.
Cincinnati will start right-hander Chase Lowder, who enters at 3-6 with a 4.91 ERA and 59 strikeouts.
Colorado is expected to start right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano, but the Rockies had not officially announced their starter.
First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 p.m. MDT. The game will be available on Rockies.TV and Reds.TV.
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