Pittsburgh – Of all the reasons that the Rockies are not going to win the National League West, the most obvious to the naked eye is their streaking.
They haven’t won more than four consecutive games this season. It’s hard to make up ground when you never shift into high gear. Wasting an opportunity to win a series and build on an impressive victory, the Rockies fell 6-5 to the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park Wednesday.
Any chance of salvaging this road trip rides on a three-game series at Arizona beginning Friday. The Rockies are 1-9 over their last 10 games . They appeared to have wilted under the pressure of a division race. .
While the bullpen and offense are primarily responsible for the funk, starter Jason Jennings turned in a clunker Wednesday, his first in months. Jennings had posted a 2.10 ERA since May 29, third-best in baseball. Yet, when finally given run support, he slipped in the sixth.
Trailing 4-3, the Pirates tagged Jennings for three runs, all coming with two outs. Joe Randa, a forgotten man on the trading block, and catcher Ronny Paulino provided key RBI hits.
They muted the Rockies’ three-run sixth that featured an RBI double from Ryan Shealy. With as many as five teams interested in Shealy – the Blue Jays, Orioles, Royals, Pirates, and Giants – the first baseman made a nice audition tape. He doubled to center in the third inning as well.
However, with bases loaded in the ninth, Matt Holliday and Shealy struck out against Pirates closer Mike Gonzalez, who is 15-for-15 in save opportunities this season.
Staff writer Troy E. Renck can be reached at 303-820-5457 or trenck@denverpost.com
