They don’t do shades of gray. The Rockies, it appears, only work in contrasts.
On the night that they unveiled the banner commemorating their greatest season ever, the Rockies are trudging toward their worst start of all-time.
They have led for two innings this season. They have one win. This opening weekend celebration is going over about as well as New Coke.
Viewed through any prism this stretch is getting old, the Rockies’ ugly 7-2 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks tonight was symbolic of a forgettable week.
The 43,124 fans at Coors Field faced this conundrum following the Rockies’ fourth straight defeat: so many concerns to acknowledge, so little time.
Most notably, an electric offense has gone acoustic. The Rockies have scored eight runs in their first five games. Their previous low was 16 in 2002.
Clutch hitting remains a gnawing sore, exposed again in the eighth inning.
The Rockies mounted their most serious scoring threat since 2007. Todd Helton doubled — he’s been a lonely solo act in this homestand — Matt Holliday beat out infield single and Brad Hawpe walked, loading the bases with no outs against Arizona reliever Tony Peña.
What happened next is hard to fathom for anyone who watched this team last season or in Tucson. Garrett Atkins struck out, Chris Iannetta went down looking and pinch-hitter Ryan Spilborghs grounded out to third. The Rockies are 4-for-42 with runners in scoring position.
If it were only offense, this disappointment would make more sense. It would be easy to dismiss Troy Tulowitzki’s 0-for-18 since collecting three hits on opening day.
But Colorado has not pitched well. Jeff Francis made his official debut – or was it a do-over – facing Arizona ace Brandon Webb. Francis did little to soothe nerves about his haywire act in St. Louis, surrendering a leadoff home run to Chris Young on the fifth pitch. Young added a second home run in the sixth, a dagger to Francis’ briefly encouraging recovery.
The left-hander showed better command, but not results. Arizona tagged him for five runs and 12 hits in 6 1/3 innings. Francis is 2-6 with a 5.34 career ERA in April. And he’s the only pitcher in the rotation who won a single game in the first month last season.
The bullpen continues to be a fluid situation. Luis Vizcaino warmed up in the seventh, then disappeared as left-hander Micah Bowie was summoned to face consecutive right-handers. Kip Wells pitched the eighth, his first appearance since Tuesday’s start, and struggled. He overthrew catcher Chris Iannetta on comebacker with bases loaded, a cringe moment that rarely appeared a year ago when the Rockies posted the best fielding percentage of all time.
Colorado didn’t lose four straight games last season until June 25th. Franklin Morales stands behind the Diamondbacks and a potential sweep.
Troy E. Renck: 303-954-1301 or trenck@denverpost.com
