Chicago – The box score lies. The most important inning isn’t always the last.
Oftentimes, at-bats and pitches in between influence its relevance. The biggest outs arrived much earlier for the Rockies during a gloomy 11-6 defeat Sunday before the season’s largest crowd (40,322) at Wrigley Field.
With their offense graduating from a drip to a drizzle, Colorado needed to turn off the Chicago Cubs’ faucet in the sixth.
The Rockies owned a 6-5 cushion, their dugout alive with optimism.
Then Marcos Carvajal came in.
The 20-year-old rookie arguably hasn’t pitched in a meaningful game since May 4, wearing a loss in the 12th inning against the San Diego Padres. Jay Witasick, the Rockies’ most dependable reliever, was available. He hasn’t allowed an earned run in 12 2/3 innings.
Manager Clint Hurdle wanted the right-hander to work overtime, but believed he couldn’t have Witasick punch the clock until the seventh.
“I never considered him from the sixth. Where do we go from there?” Hurdle said. “I don’t feel we are in position to do that. Then we have a five-man bullpen for St. Louis (today). We just wanted to get through the sixth.”
The well-intentioned plan disintegrated as Carvajal failed in the clutch. He entered the game with the lowest ERA among Rockies relievers and left with a blown save, tagged for four runs while retiring only one batter.
“I don’t know what happened. I just didn’t have it,” said Carvajal, who surrendered run-scoring singles to white-hot Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez. “I didn’t feel any different in that situation.”
Witasick defended the decision to go with the kid. He explained the importance of showing confidence in each reliever’s role, that bypassing Carvajal would have future ramifications.
“You have to live and die with guys, find out if they are big-leaguers,” Witasick said. “That’s part of the teaching that is going on here.”
In that context, the Rockies spent the past 10 days getting schooled. Not even Otto – the bus driver on “The Simpsons” – could have navigated a more frightening ride through the country.
The Rockies went 2-8, hit .199 and went a troubling 9-for-74 with runners in scoring position. Not exactly an ideal primer for welcoming the St. Louis Cardinals, a National League bully, into town.
“It doesn’t matter who we play right now. We have to start doing the little things well,” veteran Desi Relaford said. “I don’t sense anybody feeling sorry for themselves.”
Such failure is wearing on the Rockies (4-23 on the road). The mounting losses are slowly eroding confidence. The team is on pace for 47 wins, magnifying the disappointment Sunday when the Rockies had a decent shot at a victory.
“The guys are giving the effort. We are just not getting the results,” said first baseman Todd Helton, who finished with two hits on the trip, but felt much better about his at-bats Sunday. “We have to learn how to win.”
Starter Jeff Francis couldn’t hide his disgust afterward. Given three times the run support of any pitcher in the past two weeks, he couldn’t protect a lead, leaving the ball up in the zone. He has been roughed up in his past two starts, his ERA inflating over 5.00 for a rotation that hasn’t met expectations.
“I just didn’t have a pitch I could go with. I didn’t execute anything consistently. That’s frustrating,” Francis said. “Every aspect of the team has struggled. Now we are going through it, but this is a staff that should be able to consistently win ballgames.”
Rockies recap
JD Closser has lost his starting job, and his roster spot remains in danger. The Rockies continue discussing whether they can find enough playing time for the rookie.
“Ultimately the question is are we doing JD a disservice?” manager Clint Hurdle said. “Is he productive when he gets out there, and is it fair to him and fair to the team?”
Closser might have bought himself some time with his first home run and a single. However, he made a throwing error and has yet to catch a base-stealer in 16 attempts.
GOING GONZO: Luis Gonzalez extended his hitting streak to eight games, tying a career high, with a home run.
ILLINI DAY: The University of Illinois’ Final Four basketball team sang during the seventh-inning stretch.
Troy E. Renck can be reached at 303-820-5457 or trenck@denverpost.com.
