These Rockies are not those Rockies.
Those Rockies opened the season 11-3 by doing most everything right — key hits at key times, solid pitching from starters and relievers, along with crisp fielding.
But these Rockies have lost five of their last six games after falling 6-4 to Texas on Saturday night at Coors Field. After winning their first five series of the season, they have now lost the last two.
These Rockies batted 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position Saturday night and left Trevor Story stranded after he hit a triple and a pair of doubles. Colorado is 4-for-32 (.125) with runners in scoring position over its last three games, all loses.
“We didn’t string a lot of hits together, but (the runs) were out there,” manager Bud Black said. “We just couldn’t get the single or the (sacrifice) fly to keep a little bit of momentum going to jumpstart the offense. I mean, 1-for-13 sort of speaks for itself.”
Catcher Tony Wolters, whose two-run double put Colorado ahead 2-0 in the second, still believes the Rockies are in a good place, despite their current skid.
“We came (into the season) with a fire, we want to win every series,” said Wolter, who went 2-for-4. “That’s pretty hard to do, but we’re up for the challenge. But as a team, I feel like we’re coming together.
“We’re hanging out in the clubhouse, talking about how we’re going to attack (the opponent). Communication is really good between everyone. We’re ready to win, we expect to win.”
Colorado made things interesting in the ninth on Ryan McMahon’s RBI double to score Raimel Tapia, who reached on catcher’s interference by Jose Trevino. But Rafael Montero struck out Wolters, got Garrett Hampson to fly out and struck out Story to end the game.
The Rangers clinched the game on Derek Dietrich’s three-run homer off reliever Carlos Estevez in the eighth. Estevez gave up four hits in the inning.
“Carlos had a rough outing, he didn’t locate a fastball to their first basemen,” Black said. “That was a big blow. That sort of changed the complexion of the game in the later innings.”
German Marquez, the Rockies’ No. 1 starter, was far from dominant and had to deal with a lot of traffic, but made pitches when he had to keep Colorado in the game.
“I just battled tonight … I just kept working,” said Marquez, now 2-3 with a 2.25 ERA.
The right-hander has surrendered two or fewer earned runs in each of his first five starts of the season, tied with Shawn Chacon (2003) for the second-longest such streak to begin a season in Rockies history. In 2010, Ubaldo Jimenez went 12 starts allowing two or fewer earned runs to open that season.
Still, Marquez’s fastball command was off from the very beginning and his off-speed pitches were not sharp later in the game.
“Overall, it was a night where a very good starting pitcher wasn’t on the top of his game,” Black said. “You’ll see that, from time to time, across baseball with all major league starting pitchers. Yet German went six (innings) and gave up just three runs.”
The Rangers rapped out nine hits vs. Marquez but scored just three runs (two earned), going 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position.
Justin Edmonds, Getty Images
Starting pitcher German Marquez of the Colorado Rockies delivers to home plate during the fourth inning against the Texas Rangers at Coors Field on Aug. 15, 2020 in Denver.Texas scored twice in the fifth to take a 3-2 lead, utilizing an RBI single by Shin-Soo Choo and taking advantage of a throwing error charged to third baseman Nolan Arenado. Arenado snared Willie Calhoun’s line drive and attempted to double-up Isiah Kiner-Falefa at first for the double play. Arenado’s throw short-hopped first baseman Daniel Murphy, who couldn’t handle the throw.
Marquez escaped major trouble in the third, fourth and sixth innings, using the double play as his escape route.
In the third, Calhoun chopped the ball to Arenado at third, who tagged out Choo in a rundown then threw out Calhoun trying to advance to second. It was your basic 5-2-5-4 double play.
In the fourth, Marquez walked two straight to open the inning but deftly fielded Dietrich’s hot smash back to the mound, turning it into a more conventional one-six-three double play to end the inning.
In the sixth, Arenado snuffed out the threat by fielding Elvis Andrus’s grounder, tagging Rougned Odor as he tried to advance to third and then fired across the diamond in time to nab Andrus at first.
The Rockies tagged on a run in the eighth when Charlie Blackmon led off with a triple to snap an 0-for-11 skid and then scored on Arenado’s sacrifice fly.
The Rangers will look to sweep the three-game series Sunday afternoon at Coors.
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