Numbers, it’s often said, don’t lie. In the Rockies’ case, they reveal painful truths.
Their 12-7 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday night was the Rockies’ seventh defeat in their last eight games and 11th loss in their last 13. At 11-19, the defending National League champions are closing in on last season’s lowest point, when they fell nine games (18-27) under .500 on May 21.
Can you handle more truth? The last-place Rockies fell to 4-13 against National League West opponents and 0-5 against the sizzling Dodgers, a team that has outscored them 45-25. The Dodgers have won eight straight and 10 of their last 12.
With 132 games left in their season, the Rockies insist they haven’t reached DEFCON 1, but a chorus of boos at Coors Field suggests “Rocktober” memories are fading fast.
“It’s not fun losing,” said right fielder Brad Hawpe, who provided a bit of cheer, going 3-for-5, hitting his second homer of the season and driving in four runs. “We are a quality team and we have a lot of good players. To go out there and lose and to have as tough a stretch as we’ve had lately is upsetting. But you don’t blame anybody. As a team, we just aren’t winning.”
Asked for his thoughts about the Rockies already falling 10 games behind first-place Arizona in the NL West, manager Clint Hurdle said: “I think your first focus has to be your own club. I can’t control what Arizona does. We’ve still got to focus on the product here.”
With a wafer-thin pitching staff, Colorado had hoped for a solid effort from left-hander starter Jorge De La Rosa, recently acquired from the Royals organization. He failed to deliver in his debut with the Rockies, putting them in a quick 4-0 hole. De La Rosa’s final numbers: four innings pitched, a career high-tying nine runs on nine hits, three walks and a homer.
“I was trying to be aggressive, but I was overthrowing in the first two innings,” De La Rosa said. “I just have to forget this game and come back for the next game.”
Los Angeles’ four-run first involved a little bit of luck. Rafael Furcal led off the game with an infield hit that dribbled down the third-base line. Juan Pierre followed with a line-drive bunt over the head of charging third baseman Garrett Atkins. Matt Kemp loaded the bases with a sharp single to left. De La Rosa managed to strike out Jeff Kent, but walked Russell Martin to drive in a run. James Loney, who is fast becoming the Rockies’ No. 1 nemesis, cleared the bases with a double to deep left-center.
But there was nothing unlucky about the rest of De La Rosa’s outing. The Dodgers beat him like a piñata. He was pulled from the game in the fifth after giving up a three-run homer to Loney on a hanging slider that Hurdle called “the deal breaker.” Loney finished 2-for-5 with six RBIs.
The Rockies tied the game 6-all in the third on a leadoff home run by Matt Holliday and a two-run homer by Hawpe to drive in Atkins.
Patrick Saunders: 303-954-1428 or psaunders@denverpost.com
Recap
Loney at his best vs. Rockies
James Loney saves his career days for the Rockies. The Dodgers first baseman followed up his three-run, first-inning double with a three-run homer in the fifth, giving him six RBIs. Earlier this season at Los Angeles, Loney hit a base-loaded, walk-off single to beat the Rockies 3-2 in 10 innings. But all of that pales in comparison to the game he had on Sept. 28, 2006, at Coors Field. In that game, as a rookie, he tied a Dodgers franchise record with nine RBIs.
The 800 club.
When the Rockies’ Todd Helton turned his blooper into a hustling double in the second inning, it became the 800th extra-base hit of his career. Helton is the 12th active player to reach the milestone.
Looking Ahead
TODAY: Dodgers at Rockies, 1:05 p.m. TV: KTVD-20
Aaron Cook is the Rockies’ rock. While most everything else has crumbled in the early going, Cook (4-1, 2.41 ERA) has been solid. Tuesday’s 3-2 victory over the Giants marked the fourth time Cook started a game and the Rockies ended a losing streak. Cook is 4-0 with a 1.80 ERA over his last five starts. The Dodgers’ Derek Lowe (2-1, 2.88) is 5-5 with a 5.08 ERA in 13 starts vs. the Rockies. Brad Hawpe is 11-for-25 (.440) with three homers and nine RBIs against the right-hander.
