Milwaukee – Their linescore taunts them, filled with more zeroes than a Powerball jackpot.
Never mind making a playoff run, the Rockies could barely manage a run, falling meekly 4-1 to the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night, their fourth consecutive loss on a winless road trip.
Before Matt Holliday’s ninth-inning home run spared them the indignity of a second straight shutout, the Rockies’ drought had reached chilling proportions. Between Saturday’s sixth inning and Holliday’s blast, Tiger Woods won his 12th major, the Mets acquired two players – Guillermo Mota and Shawn Green – and Mike Bell made a move towards becoming the Broncos’ starter.
“We have to get it going starting (today). We have no choice,” first baseman Todd Helton said. “We just have to put one good month together. That’s how we look at it.”
Problem is, with their postseason dreams hanging in the balance, the Rockies have saved their worst for last. Their scoreless streak had reached 20 innings when Holliday smoked his 23rd home run over the center-field fence. They have dropped a season-high seven games under .500.
“It’s frustrating,” said starter Aaron Cook, who rebounded from a career-worst outing, yielding only two earned runs over six innings. “This is a time we could be proving ourselves.”
Instead, talk of the playoffs seems misguided as the Rockies sank to 6 1/2 games behind the Cincinnati Reds in the wild-card chase. The Reds are on pace to finish with 85 victories. Colorado would have to win 26 of its remaining 37 games to reach that mark, a daunting challenge for a team 15-23 since the all-star break.
Tuesday’s fourth inning played out as if scripted, adding another chapter to the Rockies’ offensive issues. The inescapable summation of the story is that right now Colorado can’t hit when it counts most, leaving manager Clint Hurdle again contemplating lineup changes.
In the fourth, the Rockies loaded the bases with no outs as Yorvit Torrealba strode to the plate. He has produced more RBIs per plate appearance than anyone on the team. He popped out to shortstop against all-star Chris Capuano.
“I jammed myself,” said Torrealba, his team 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position. “If the game is 2-1, it’s a whole different story.”
Ryan Spilborghs met with poor luck, lining to third before Luis Gonzalez grounded softly back to Capuano, dousing the threat. It was amplified by an earlier first-inning failure.
“We just have not been able to come up with the timely hit,” Garrett Atkins said. “Good teams find a way to get through this.”
For most on the roster, this is their first taste of heightened pressure. That leaves the team in a delicate state, explained Hurdle. They are reminded daily of their flaws, so he has eschewed the idea of browbeating them.
“I am responsible for the direction (of the team), not the speed,” Hurdle said. “At some point they have to get tired of getting beat by the Diamondbacks, the Dodgers, the Mets.”
Staff writer Troy E. Renck can be reached at 303-954-1301 or trenck@denverpost.com.
