Cincinnati – The Rockies arrived at Great American Ball Park with hope. They staggered out Sunday with their season teetering on the verge of collapse.
After their seventh straight loss, a chilling 6-4 defeat that completed a four-game series sweep by the Cincinnati Reds, concern replaced diplomacy.
“Yeah, there’s definitely a sense of urgency. There’s got to be,” first baseman Todd Helton said. “We had a couple of games we could have won and should have won. It puts a little more pressure on us to go out and win a bunch in a row.”
The Rockies now sublet the National League West basement, four games behind the first-place San Diego Padres. Even more telling, Colorado (44-47) sits three games below .500, tying an abyss last reached on June 5. No happy face can hide that angst.
“We can’t let this thing landslide,” reliever Tom Martin said.
There’s no better way to plot the slope of the Rockies’ descent than to study their bullpen. Since June 21, the relievers have gone 2-8 with an 8.52 ERA. Before June 21, the bullpen was 11-4 with a 3.92 ERA and regularly won games like those played the past two days.
Over night, it’s as if a Cabbage Patch doll has become the “Seed of Chucky.”
“We have been terrible for three weeks. It’s no secret,” said setup man Jose Mesa, who was tagged with Sunday’s loss. “We have to win or else we are going to look up and be 15 games out.”
The NL West’s mediocrity makes a tragic fall unlikely. But to continue to waste such brilliant starting pitching is disturbing. Josh Fogg continued his ride through the HOV lane, touched for just one run in seven innings Sunday. Fogg’s season-high pitch count (104) and the uncomfortably humid weather prompted manager Clint Hurdle to summon the bullpen.
He called on Martin and Mesa, who along with slumping closer Brian Fuentes, are the only relievers used regularly anymore. They were operating with little margin for error because of the Rockies’ poor performance with runners in scoring position (1-for-8), which explains why there soon could be some lineup changes as well, according to general manager Dan O’Dowd.
Adam Dunn greeted Martin with a majestic home run, a ball the left-hander called “the hardest ever hit off me.” Moments later, fire alarms blaring and the Rockies protecting a 3-2 lead, Rich Aurilia singled to left with bases loaded, scoring two runs. Royce Clayton followed with a pinch-hit double, leaving the outcome plain.
“You just have to forget about it and move on,” Mesa said. “I don’t think we are feeling the pressure. They are just getting us right now.”
O’Dowd has been trolling for a seventh-inning stabilizer like LaTroy Hawkins, Elmer Dessens or Jeremy Affeldt. The market currently is precluding a trade, O’Dowd said, because teams aren’t ready to deal.
“I don’t think the market place has unfolded yet, so there’s not much we can do,” O’Dowd said. “We will continue to look at what we have internally. We will talk about it for a few days and if by then we think it’s the right thing, we will do something.”
In-house candidates include Triple-A Colorado Springs closer Nate Field, though he tore a fingernail during a blown save Saturday, as well as Manuel Corpas and left-hander Steve Colyer. The simple answer is for the existing crew to get better.
“All teams go through this with bullpens,” Rockies pitching coach Bob Apodaca said. “And the good ones get through it.”
Falling Rocks
The Rockies suffered their season-high seventh straight loss Sunday. They are in danger of slipping out of contention in the NL West while wasting solid starting pitching. The numbers during the losing streak:
* Starters: 0-3, 3.20 ERA
* Relievers: 0-4, 14.50 ERA
* Hitters: .251 average (60-for-239)
* Outscored: 41-24
* Division fall: From half a game behind to four games back
Staff writer Troy E. Renck can be reached at 303-820-5457 or trenck@denverpost.com.
