In welcoming the Cleveland Guardians to Coors Field, the Colorado Rockies hoped to break a six-game losing streak that involved being swept by the Tampa Bay Rays and Los Angeles Dodgers.
That did not happen as they dropped their seventh consecutive game, losing to the Guardians 9-1.
The offense: Mostly MIA
There were some walks and some scattered hits, but mostly, the Rockies were flummoxed by the Guardians pitching.
The Rockies were off to a quick start in the first inning. Jake McCarthy got things started with a lead-off
walk, and two batters later, TJ Rumfield followed suit. Willi Castro (looking good in some “Rugrats” cleats) hit an RBI single to bring home McCarthy and give the Rockies a 1-0 lead.
Tanner Gordon cruised through the second inning, but in the third, surrendered a solo homer to Petey Halpin (3) to tie the game at one.
The Guardians scored again in the fourth with a Travis Bazazzana two-RBI single, and the score was 3-1 Guardians.
The Rockies threatened in their half in the fourth after a Jordan Beck single and Mickey Moniak walk, but Braxton Fulford flew out to left field to end the inning with the Guardians still boasting a two-run lead.
Having found a groove, the Guardians kept building on it in the fifth as Gordon allowed a lead-off walk followed by a single (that was the result of Cole Carrigg losing the ball in center field). Jo Adell singled to bring home the runner, making the score 4-1 Guardians with two on and one out.
Gordon finished the inning without any additional damage.
Back from concussion protocol, Kyle Karros singled with two outs in the fifth, and Carrigg followed that with a double as Rumfield stepped to the plate and walked to load the bases.
With that, Stephen Vogt went to his bullpens, and Joey Cantillo’s night was over.
Cantillo’s final line was 4.2 IP allowing four hits and one run (earned). He struck out five and issued four walks on 89 pitches. He relied most heavily on his curveball (39%) and his changeup (26%).
However, Castro grounded out to end the inning, and the score remained 4-1 Guardians.
Gordon returned to the mound for the sixth inning. He allowed one hit to Travis Bazzana and then walked to move the runner to second. After getting a fly out, Gordon was done for the evening, and Mark Manfredi entered in relief.
Bazzana welcomed Manfredi to the game by stealing third, and then Manfredi walked the first batter he faced, Halpin. Steven Kwan grounded out but brought the run home, which made the score 5-1 Guardians. After walking Chase Dalauder, Manfredi struck out José Ramírez looking, and the inning was over.
The Rockies failed to make any headway in the six, and Zach Agnos entered the game to handle the seventh inning.
It did not go well.
After getting an out, he walked Matthew Lowe and surrendered to Bazzana his his third hit of the evening. Then Patrick Bailey stepped to the plate and hit a three-run homer.
The score was 8-1 Guardians.
In their half of the seventh, the Rockies got two outs before Karros and Carrigg managed to walk. But Rumfield grounded out to short to end the threat.
Neither team scored in the eighth inning
Nathaniel Lowe kicked off the ninth with a double, and Bazzana hit an RBI single to bring him home and make the score 9-1. (For those keeping score at home, it was a monster night for Bazzana, who went 4-for-5 with three RBI.)
And with that, Brett Sullivan — the Rockies answer to Shohei Ohtani — entered to get the last two outs. He started by issuing a ground-ruled double to Bailey, but the Guardians did not score.
The Rockies finished the night one run (earned) on six hits. They walked seven times and had nine strike outs. In addition, they were 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left 11 runners on base.
“It’s all about scoring runs, and we just couldn’t come through with the big hit,” manager Warren Schaeffer said after the game.
Tanner Gordon: Started strong but then struggled
Gordon got off to a brisk start in the first and second innings on just 15 pitches. However, he began to slow down in the third and labored in the fourth, when his pitch count was at 57 pitches. It did not improve from there.
His final line was 5.1 IP allowing five runs (all earned) on nine hits. Gordon walked two and struck out two as well on 82 pitches. (Given that this was his first start since moving into the rotation from the bullpen, leaving the game after five innings made sense.)
According to Baseball Savant, Gordon relied primarily on his four-seamer (51%), followed by his changeup (36%), and slider (15%) with an occasional curveball (4%).
His ERA is 5.66.
“I thought TG was good,” Schaeffer said. “I thought he was efficient through the first couple of innings and then he gave up that hit to Bazzana.”
The bullpen: Couldn’t stop the slide
The Rockies bullpen has had better games.
Mark Manfredi threw 0.2 innings with a final line of two walks and one strikeout with no hits or runs allowed.
As for Zach Agnos, he went 2.1 IP giving up four runs on four hits. He walked one and struck out three on 48 pitches.
Brett Sullivan continues to gain innings in his quest to be recognized as a two-way player. (I believe he needs 19 more innings to qualify.) His final line was 0.2 IP allowing no hits, runs, or walks. He has a 4.70 ERA.
Golf: Discussed
The mandated “golf talk” took place in the top of the fourth inning and involved Mike Trout’s golf course with some analysis of Jo Adell’s swing.
Up next
Join us tomorrow for Game 2 when Tanner Bibee will face Gabriel Hughes.
First pitch is at 6:10 pm.
See you then.
Oh, one more thing.
Here’s a Purple Row After Dark-esque question: It’s Players’ Weekend, so we’ve seen lots of personalized bats and cleats. If you were an MLB player, how would you personalize your bat?
Let us know in the comments.
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