In two games to start the current road trip, a short one that only features three games against St. Louis, the Sim Rockies have only scored one run. It’s impossible to win like that even with the best of pitching. After sweeping the Pirates over the weekend, the Rockies (32-42) have now lost two straight in St. Louis after being shutout 2-0 on Tuesday and falling 3-1 on Wednesday.
Different day, same problems
On Tuesday, the Rockies were held to three hits. So it’s good news that they actually totaled seven on Wednesday, which was more than six from the Cardinals. Charlie Blackmon and Nolan Arenado both had two-hit games, while Chris Owings, Sam Hilliard, and pitch-hitter Daniel Murphy each added one hit. The Rockies also drew four walks, giving them plenty of baserunners. They just couldn’t get them home. The only run game in the top of the third when Arenado hit an RBI double to right-center to plate Blackmon. St. Louis righty Carlos Martínez improved to 8-4 on the year after only allowing one run on four hits and three walks with three strikeouts in five innings. The Cardinals used five other pitchers (John Brebbia, Tyler Webb, Ryan Helsley, Andrew Miller, and Giovanny Gallegos) to silence the Rockies over the final four innings.
Pretty decent pitching
Chi Chi González had a pretty decent day on the mound for the Rockies, holding the Cardinals scoreless for the first four innings. In the bottom of the fifth, Matt Carpenter hit a solo home run to tie the game at 1-all. After former Rockie Dexter Fowler followed with a double, Tyler O’Neill hit another home run to give the Cardinals all they needed for the win. González finished the inning, taking the loss and falling to 2-6 on the season after giving up three runs on three hits with one walk and five strikeouts. The good news is that the bullpen was nearly flawless in the final three innings. Antonio Senzatela, Carlos Estévez, and James Pazos pitched the six, seventh, and eighth respectively, and while they each gave up a hit, no one gave up a run. Even better, Estévez and Pazos recorded three strikeouts apiece.
Odds and ends
In trying to find some good news, Arenado’s RBI was his 50th of the season, which is the best on the team. Arenado leads the Rockies in home runs (21), batting average (.322), runs (49), hits (85), on-base percentage (.397), slugging percentage (.636), OPS (1.034) and WAR (3.4). In more news from Wednesday’s game to bum out Rockies fans, Trevor Story struck out three times in the game, while Ryan McMahon fanned twice. The Rockies are still in last place in the NL West, eight games back of the division-leading Padres. With the win, the Cardinals improved to 32-41, leaping over the Rockies to make Colorado the worst team in the National League.
Up Next
The Rockies will look to prevent a sweep in the series finale against St. Louis on Thursday. Evan Grills (2.37) will get the start for the Rockies, looking to add to his 3-0 red-hot rookie record. The Rockies will hope for more luck offensively against Cardinal Miles Mikolas (3-6). The game will not be broadcast, but you can catch the results on Purple Row.