Jeff Francis meant hope. That’s what a team believes, what a team sells when an impact player returns. If not split the atom, there’s a chance he will catch lightning in a bottle, changing everything.
Into this backdrop stepped Francis. He walked out a disappointment. Francis looked nothing like the pitcher who once helped carry the Rockies into the playoffs. He’s simply carrying the burden of a lost season, punished for mistakes in a demoralizing 6-3 loss to the Washington Nationals in the first game of a Thursday doubleheader at Coors Field.
With the loss, the Rockies fall eight back from the division-leading Diamondbacks. Both teams play tonight. Ubaldo Jimenez starts the nightcap opposite of Odalis Perez.
Making his first appearance since June 28 after landing on the disabled list with a sore shoulder, Francis couldn’t keep the ball in the park.
Two sloppy pitches turned a potential encouraging outing into a teeth-gnashing defeat. After enduring zero turbulence through four innings, Francis watched Lastings Milledge ruin his return. The Nationals’ mercurial outfielder belted a full-count fastball onto the left-field concourse in the fifth, rivaling Chris Iannetta and Matt Holliday for the longest home runs at Coors Field this season.
The two-run missile shoved the Nationals ahead 2-0. Milledge struck again in the sixth with a solo shot, again depositing a fastball over the left-field wall. Francis has allowed a team-high 19 home runs this season. Only four times in his last 13 starts has an opponent not gone deep. He logged 5 1/3 innings, allowing five runs on eight hits. His curveball appeared better than before, but lacking velocity on his sinker and four-seamer — 84 to 89 mph — left him with no margin for error.
Even if Francis had been better, it might not have mattered. The Rockies avoided their first home shutout since May 15 of last season, but little else. Matt Holliday’s 22nd home run in the eighth inning was the only blemish on starter Jason Bergmann’s linescore. Catcher Yorvit Torrealba belted a two-run home run in the ninth. Bergmann won for only the second time in 17 starts, striking out seven in seven innings.
Troy E. Renck: 303-954-1301 or trenck@denverpost.com
