MIAMI — The Rockies are locked in the cage-match stretch of the season, a fierce battle to stay relevant. And yet glance to the mound on Saturday night, and it looked like recess. Or a spring training, split-squad game in Phoenix.
Valerio De Los Santos is a great story if he’s trying to make the team as the staff’s 12th pitcher. But he’s hardly the man you want taking the ball as a fifth starter in a division race.
De Los Santos became De Loss Santos, his quirky wildness at the epicenter of the Rockies’ 5-3 stumble to the Florida Marlins.
It was ’80s night, with big hair, spandex and neon colors sprinkled throughout Dolphin Stadium as the crowd waited for The Bangles postgame concert. With white-knuckle fingers crossed, the Rockies were hoping for a blast from the past from De Los Santos in his second start in eight years.
He was an unsettling roller-coaster ride. It’s hard to say what was more startling, that he threw 96 pitches through four innings or that he allowed only four runs. By comparison, the Marlins’ Ricky Nolasco required just 93 pitches in eight innings, while fanning a career-high 13 Rockies.
At one point in the third, Santos threw 12 straight balls. He avoided a complete meltdown by striking out eight Marlins. It marked only the third time in Rockies’ history that a starter has worked four innings with that many K’s.
That’s not the kind of number the Rockies want to remember. It only enforced the need to call the Minnesota Twins about Livan Hernandez, who was designated for assignment Friday night. The Rockies have interest, but would prefer to sign him as a free agent rather than assume the roughly $1.7 million on his contract.
Regardless, the Rockies need help. That could mean a promotion of Franklin Morales. Or it could be a trade, with Cincinnati’s Josh Fogg as a target. But for this team to call itself a contender — a loose definition to be sure — improvement is necessary. The Rockies began the night eight games behind the division-leading Diamondbacks, who played a late game Saturday against the Dodgers.
The Rockies’ offense consisted of Matt Holliday and little else. He blasted two homers for the 11th time in his career and the second time against the Marlins this season.
De Los Santos’ abbreviated outing exposed the Rockies’ leaky middle relief. The Marlins added two runs off Jason Grilli. The deficit grew in significance as Nolasco toyed with the Rockies for eight innings.
Troy E. Renck: 303-954-1301 or trenck@denverpost.com
