Colorado Rockies closer John Axford allowed two runs in the top of the ninth inning of a tie game on Wednesday, sending his club to a 10-8 loss to the Texas Rangers.
Axford came on to get three outs and put the game back into the hands of the Rockies' offense, which scored four times in the bottom of the eighth to erase an 8-4 deficit. Instead, the veteran right-hander issued a leadoff walk that led to the go-ahead run, one of the two that scored on a one-out, bases-loaded single from Elvis Andrus.
Rockies manager Walt Weiss opted to intentionally walk Prince Fielder with runners on the corners and one out, a risky decision for which Andrus made Axford and company pay. Andrus, always a threat to bunt, forced the Rockies' infield in before swatting a grounder past a diving Nolan Arenado.
Weiss' decision, while unconventional, wasn't necessarily a bad one on the surface; Fielder entered the game hitting .341, almost 100 points higher than Andrus. On the other hand, loading the bases for a player who is competent enough at bunting to draw the infield in is an interesting move, especially with lefty killer Boone Logan available in the bullpen to face Fielder.
It didn't work out either way, which is a shame considering the resiliency of the Rockies' offense.
The unit fought back to cut a 5-0 deficit to 5-4 in the fifth inning. Then, after Texas added three runs, two at the hands of the Rockies' bullpen, Nick Hundley (solo) and Carlos Gonzalez (three-run) hit big homers to get the Rockies back into it once again.
If only those deficits didn't exist in the first place...
Only one error showed on the scoreboard for the Rockies at the end of the day, but that doesn't tell the story of the early part of the game.
Wilin Rosario in the first inning failed to make a play on a fairly routine grounder off the bat of Mitch Moreland. which resulted in two runs. In a later at-bat, Rosario cut off a throw from Carlos Gonzalez that could have resulted in an out at home plate instead of the end result, a sacrifice fly. Those gaffes, combined with a couple of poorly played bunt singles to start the game, ended up being a big part of the final result.
Jorge De La Rosa wound up with a line that looks much worse than it should have been. The 34-year-old lefty, who entered Wednesday with a 3.02 ERA in his previous 11 starts, was charged with six runs - all earned - in six innings. He struck out eight and walked two.
Hundley, whose throwing error in the fifth gave Texas a 6-4 lead, did all he could to atone for his error, going 3-for-4 with a home run. Gonzalez drove in three runs with his aforementioned blast and Drew Stubbs chipped in a couple of hits.
For what it's worth, Rosario went 1-for-4 with a run scored and a strikeout.
Rougned Odor finished with three hits for Texas and finished a double short of the team's second cycle in as many games. Rangers starter Martin Perez allowed three earned runs in six innings.
Source: FanGraphs
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