DETROIT — The Rockies rolled into the Motor City with all the gusto of a 1976 Chevy Chevette. In a 7-1 loss to the Tigers on Friday night at Comerica Park, they showed all the horsepower of a ’75 Ford Pinto.
Despite manager Clint Hurdle’s lineup tinkering, the Rockies lost their fifth straight game, getting outhit 15-6. Eighty games through their 162-game season, the defending National League champions are 16 games under .500.
Tigers starter Eddie Bonine no-hit the Rockies for four innings before Garrett Atkins led off the fifth with a looping single to center. Atkins moved to third on Chris Iannetta’s single, but the threat ended when slumping shortstop Troy Tulowitzki grounded into a double play — a moment symbolic of the Rockies’ struggles this season. Tulowitzki went 0-for-3, his average falling to .148.
Bonine, who improved to 2-0, was a model of efficiency, pitching eight innings, giving up one run on five hits. He struck out two and walked none. Colorado scored its lone run in the seventh, utilizing a double by Brad Hawpe and a two-out RBI single by Jeff Baker.
That wasn’t nearly enough to overcome a shaky start by Ubaldo Jimenez. Coming off an eight-inning game, Jimenez was never sharp, needing 103 pitches to get through four innings. He gave up four runs on nine hits. Jimenez fell to 2-7, and his ERA rose to 4.71.
Prior to the game, Hurdle admitted that time is running out for the Rockies to turn their season around.
“We have not performed anywhere near the levels that we need to execute to be the team that we can be,” he said. “It’s time for that to start. Every day that we miss that opportunity, it’s one that we can’t recapture. . . . It’s time for us to play, and play well. We do know what we’re capable of doing, but we need to go ahead and light that fuse. It’s been kicked over for a while. And sooner or later, you run out of sand.
Unlike the Rockies, who continue struggling to produce with two outs and runners in scoring position, the Tigers repeatedly came through in the clutch. Miguel Cabrera hit a two-out, run-scoring single in the first; Ivan Rodriguez did the same in the third; and Magglio Ordoñez’s two-out single in the fourth put the Tigers ahead 4-0.
In an attempt to jumpstart the Rockies’ stagnant offense, Hurdle tinkered substantially with the lineup. Todd Helton, who admitted he could use a day off, didn’t play for just the fourth time this season. Batting cleanup for the first time this season was Hawpe, who went 1-for-4.
At the top of the order were Willy Taveras and Scott Podsednik, the Rockies’ speediest players. Taveras went 1-for-4 and stole his 36th base of the season. Podsednik went 0-for-4, his average dipping to .225.
“I don’t want to be overreactive, but I don’t want to be stubborn,” Hurdle said. “We have not sparked as an offense like we need to spark, so I’m going to continue to look for different ways to make this happen.”
Helton said he was not surprised to see his spot at first taken by Jeff Baker.
“We’ve been planning this since Chicago,” Helton said, referring to the Rockies’ road trip against the White Sox on June 13-15. “I needed a day off and (Hurdle) has known that.”
Hurdle said he had Helton on the bench Friday night to take advantage of the Rockies’ off day Thursday.
“I wanted to give him back-to-back days (off),” Hurdle said. “We want to try some different things to get him going. This would be one of them.”
Helton is 10-for-61 in his last 17 games, dropping his average from .295 to .267. Helton said getting out of his funk is not a mechanical issue.
“It’s not hands, it’s not body,” he said. “It’s all mental. I’ve kind’ve got to stop thinking about all that stuff. I just have to focus on seeing the ball and hitting the ball.”
Patrick Saunders: 303-954-1428 or psaunders@denverpost.com
