Brewers 10, Rockies 9: Back-and-Forth Blues

It was a four-and-half hour back and forth affair that saw a multitude of lead and pitching changes... only for the Colorado Rockies to completely blow it against the Milwaukee Brewers at the very end with a bullpen collapse in the eighth and false hope in the ninth. With this game clinching a series loss, the Rockies have now lost four in a row and are ten games below .500 at 43-53 on the season.

Kuhl Kollapses, Gomber Grinds

Rockies starter Chad Kuhl had a difficult and short afternoon in Milwaukee. He wasn’t sharp and was laboring to get pitches to the plate with a slow delivery. His day was done after just 2 ¹⁄₃ innings, during which he gave up five earned runs on five hits including a home run and two walks. He did strike out four batters. Kuhl gave way to Austin Gomber, who had recently moved to the bullpen. Gomber pitched a very solid 3 ²⁄₃ innings of relief while looking more like his old self. He struck out three and only walked one while giving up an earned run on two hits. The one earned run he allowed came on one bad pitch that got clubbed for a solo home run. Lucas Gilbreath took over for the seventh and did allow a run on back-to-back doubles, but managed to preserve a Rockies lead into the eighth inning.

Consequential Colomé Collapse

Alex Colomé had two outs in six pitches and two groundouts to start the eighth only to completely melt down. After a walk and two straight singles, Colomé allowed a double that was misplayed by Yonathan Daza for the Rockies to lose their lead and the game. Jake Bird finished the inning with a strikeout but the damage was done. Colomé was credited with the loss.

Bryant leads the offense to a close ballgame

Despite the Rockies starting the game down 3-0 after the first inning, they slowly grinded back into the game and eventually a lead. Kris Bryant led the effort with a 3-for-5 afternoon that included his fifth home run of the season: a two-run shot in the fifth inning that barely cleared the outfield wall. Elias Díaz had a 2-for-5, three RsBI day at the plate. Díaz drove in the tying run in the sixth and the go-ahead run in the seventh. Brendan Rodgers and José Iglesias were both 2-for-5, with Rodgers scoring twice.

Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory

Despite being the main offensive driver for the Rockies, Kris Bryant also brought the game to an end in agonizing fashion. After Brewers closer Josh Hader struck out Randal Grichuk and Elias Díaz to start the top of the ninth inning, hope seemed lost. Garrett Hampson then demolished a 403-foot triple that barely stayed in the park, then was driven home with a Yonathan Daza bloop single to right field. Down by one run with two outs, it all came to Kris Bryant. Who whoopsied a check swing into the infield for a sputtering death knell.

Coming Up Next

The Rockies will finish the series in Milwaukee tomorrow with Kyle Freeland on the mound against the Brewers’ left-handed starter Aaron Ashby. The Rockies will be looking to avoid a sweep and fifth consecutive loss as they desperately try to convince the league they can be a competitive team like GM Bill Schmidt and owner Dick Monfort say they can be. First pitch is at 6:10 PM MDT.