One of the strengths of the Colorado Rockies this season has been their ability to come back and win games late. They’ve been able to come up clutch and overcome deficits, making baseball more fun this season.
Including Wednesday’s 11th-inning walk-off victory, the Rockies have come from behind to win 33 games (compared to 30 last season). It’s a big reason why the Rockies have 11 more wins than they earned in 2025 with 23 games left on the schedule.
However, August didn’t go as well. It wasn’t the
worst month of the season record-wise, though. That distinction belongs to May when the Rockies went 8-20, but August was close behind at 9-19.
Because the Purple Row community is awesome, you gave us a great idea to break down:
ArkieRockie, you are 100% right.
The Rockies have been able to cash in with runners in scoring position this season, but that significantly dropped off last month. Overall, the Rockies are in the middle of the pack at No. 12 with a .256 batting average with RISP. They rank No. 13 in average runners left on base per game at 6.8. In August, the Rockies hit .210 with RISP, which was the worst in MLB for the month. Their average number of runners left on base in August jumped to 7.47 per game.
There’s no clear answer as to why production with RISP was so bad. Like most things in life, it’s complicated.
With runners at second and/or third, the Rockies walked more — which is good — but struck out more, too — which hurts. Hitting into eight double plays isn’t very helpful, either.
At the same time, if you examine when the Rockies couldn’t come up with that big hit to bring runners home, it happened a lot in close games. The Rockies lost eight games by two or fewer runs in August. In those close losses, the Rockies went 9-for-59 with RISP. That’s an absolutely abysmal .153 batting average. They also left 59 runners on base for an average of 7.5 per game.
Can you imagine a timely hit in three or four of those eight games? If that’s three more wins, perhaps it breaks up that gnarly seven-game losing streak in the middle of the month or the five-game skid to end the month.
When it comes to individual Rockies, it helps to see who has been the best Colorado batter to have at the plate when the team needs runs. The answer is three Rockies: TJ Rumfield, Jake McCarthy and Troy Johnston.
When it comes to RISP, Rumfield is tops with a .336 batting average and has the second most RBIs at 47. McCarthy has driven in the most runs with 57, with an impressive .321 average. Johnston is hitting .330 with 40 RBIs.
In August, Rumfield walked 19 times, seven more times than any other month this season. If he’s drawing more walks, then he’s also not driving as many in with hits. While McCarthy is still hitting well, his RBIs dropped from 22 in July to 11 in August. Johnston’s playing time has decreased in the past two months, giving him fewer at-bats, which could also hurt Colorado’s RISP performance.
There are likely dozens of other factors that came together to make a perfect storm of RISP despair.
The good news is that September is off to a better start. In the Rockies win over Baltimore on Sept. 1, Rumfield homered with Mickey Moniak on second and McCarthy singled with Veen on third. Colorado went 2-for-11 with RISP and left nine on base, but they held the Orioles to 0-for-3 with RISP and stranded eight runners.
In the walk-off win on Wednesday, McCarthy hit an RBI triple, Cole Carrigg singled with Goodman on third, Zac Veen doubled with Carrigg on second, and Rumfield, Adael Amador and Brett Sullivan were all clutch in the 11th inning. They went 4-for-11 with RISP, leaving eight runners on base.
If the Rockies want to avoid 100 losses and build momentum to carry into 2027, they’ll need to rebound in September and return to their above-average production with RISP.
On the farm
Triple-A: Tacoma Rainiers 9, Albuquerque Isotopes 8 (10)
Roc Roggio hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the 10th, but it wasn’t enough to complete a come-from-behind win on Thursday night. The game went back and forth from the beginning when Tacoma jumped out to a 1-0 lead and Albuquerque rallied back in the bottom of the frame to go up 3-1 when Drew Avans homered, Sterlin Thompson hit an RBI double and Roggio hit an RBI single.
When Thompson hit a two-run double in the eighth, the Istopes went up 8-6. But the Rainers tied it up in the ninth and scored three runs in the top of the 10th to come out on top. Roggio and Conner Capel finished with three hits each and Tyler Freeman doubled, walked and scored two runs.
Double-A: Reading Fightin’ Phils 10, Hartford Yard Goats 5
A six-run sixth inning gave Reading a 9-2 lead and the Yard Goats weren’t able to come back on Thursday night. Kyle Karros went 1-for-2 with a walk, an RBI and a strikeout in his first rehab start since going on his second stint on the IL after suffering a concussion on Aug. 12. Jack O’Dowd hit a two-run homer and doubled, Dyan Jorge hit an RBI single and drove in another run with a fielder’s choice and Roynier Hernandez added two hits.
High-A: Everett AquaSox 5, Spokane Indians 2
Everett’s Anthony Donofrio tripled with the bases loaded in the fourth inning to put the AquaSox up 4-0. After six innings, they increased the lead to 6-0, partially thanks to two Spokane errors. The Indians actually out-hit Everett 6-5, but only managed to score two runs. The first came in the eighth inning when Roldy Brito led off with a single and Robert Calaz doubled to prevent the shutout. Spokane got another base runner when Tommy Hopfe walked, but two strikeouts and a groundout ended the inning. In the ninth, Kelvin Hidalgo walked and Max Belyeu doubled to drive him in.
Low-A: San Jose Giants 8, Fresno Grizzlies 5
Completing a night when the Rockies farm system was swept, Fresno got behind 7-1 after three innings and wasn’t able to rally enough to come back. Cort MacDonald hit a two-run home run, Daniel Jackson hit a solo homer, and Ashly Andujar added an RBI single and sac fly. Both Jackson and Andujar recorded two hits for the Grizzlies.
Connor Norby finally faces foe from 2024 trade | Purple Row
Connor Norby is making a splash with the Rockies, despite just playing in 21 games since being traded to Colorado from Miami for RHP Victor Vodnik Aug. 3. He’s got an interesting backstory from his days with the Marlins, which includes the infielder recently playing against the player he was traded for in 2024: Trevor Rogers.
Ranking the 10 most impactful Trade Deadline moves, one month later | MLB.com
The Rockies don’t often make national, positive top-10 lists, but they did this time. And it’s for the trade in which Colorado acquired Connor Norby at the trade deadline. The infielder reached base in his first 16 games with the Rockies and has put up impressive numbers in all 21 games in purple.
Goodman already has history under his belt, but more is in reach | MLB.com
With 36 homers, Hunter Goodman could go beyond the Rockies homer record for a catcher in a single season, which he already owns, to join an exclusive club of National League catchers who hit or passed the 40-HR mark. He just needs four more before the season comes to a close at the end of this month.
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