The question was about shortstop Troy Tulowitzki. The answer was cold insight into the Rockies’ underwhelming start.
“We have a group of grinders. We’ve seen this happen before in April. It’s not just Tulo. More is less. Less is more,” general manager Dan O’Dowd said Tuesday. “Their (personality) makes them better when they get it going, but it also makes their tailspins last a little longer.”
The Rockies remain in a funk. They are doing the equivalent of riding a stationary bike, pedaling hard, but going nowhere fast. Their 8-6 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies tonight counts only once in the standings. But the degree of pain was measurably higher.
The Rockies were within two outs of improving to 6-0 in one-run games. Manuel Corpas, last year’s ninth-inning sensation, had the Phillies in his aim. And just like that, he dissolved before the fans’ eyes. He blew his third save of the season. He coughed up just two all last year after taking over as closer in July.
The game became weird in the seventh — a female fan ran onto the field and went Brandi Chastain, waving her shirt above her head before security led her off.
Garrett Atkins returned sanity with a two-run home run that shoved Colorado ahead 6-5. But for the third consecutive game, the Rockies couldn’t protect a lead.
After So Taguchi and Chase Utley reached, Corpas intentionally walked Ryan Howard. That left the bases loaded for Pat Burrell, baseball’s second-hottest hitter behind Utley. Quiet on the night with only a walk to his credit, Burrell lined a double into the gap just beyond a diving Willy Taveras. That left the Phillies ahead 8-6 and former Cherry Creek star Brad Lidge in position to secure his first-ever save at Coors Field in 10 games.
Troy E. Renck: 303-954-1301 or trenck@denverpost.com
