Going into this three-game series with Arizona, the Sim Rockies needed to sweep the Sim Diamondbacks to climb out of last place in the NL West. Instead, the Rockies (26-36) only got one win in the three-game series and remain in the division cellar because of the same old problems: not enough run production. The pitching didn’t help on Wednesday either.
It all started so well
For six innings, this game looked really good. Sam Hilliard hit a double to score Ryan McMahon on the first inning and Charlie Blackmon hit a solo homer to give the Rockies a 2-0 lead in the top of the fourth. In his second game back since returning from Triple-A, Germán Márquez kept the Diamondbacks at bay through three innings before surrendering his first run on a sacrifice fly in the fourth. It was OK though because the Rockies still had a 2-1 lead. Despite a two-run double from pitch hitting David Peralta in the fifth inning, the Rockies clawed their way back when McMahon hit a solo homer to tie the game at 3-all after six innings. Things seemed alright.
You are not making everything groovy, Wild Thing
Just like in his last outing, a 7-3 win over the Giants, Márquez was decent through five innings, only giving up five hits with one walk and one strikeout. Antonio Senzatela pitched a scoreless sixth inning, setting the stage for Carlos Estévez to try to keep the score tied so the Rockies could hope for more runs (let’s be honest, the highest likelihood was a solo homer to win it). Unfortunately, things fell apart instead. With Ketel Marte on base, Tim Locastro hit an RBI triple to right-center to give Arizona a 4-3 lead. That might have been manageable, but Eduardo Escobar then smashed a three-run homer to make it 7-3. In earning his fourth loss of the year, Estévez gave up four runs on three hits with one walk and one strikeout in 2/3 of an inning. Jeff Hoffman entered to stop the scoring, but the Rockies couldn’t muster any kind of comeback.
The good, the bad, and the ugly
The good: McMahon now has 16 homers on the season and 36 RBI, which are both second on the team behind Nolan Arenado.
The bad: Márquez’s ERA now stands at 7.43 on the season and Estévez is just above him at 6.47.
The ugly: The Rockies had twice as many strikeouts (14) as hits (7) in the game.
Up next
The Rockies will now head to Chavez Ravine to take on the Dodgers in the final leg of a 17-day stretch of no off days and a 10-game road trip. Game one of the four-game series will be broadcast on YouTube tonight at 8:15 p.m. MT. Kyle Freeland (3-3, 2.79) will get the start for the Rockies while Clayton Kershaw (4-2, 3.77) will be on the mound for Los Angeles.