So let’s just reach into the swirl and pick out a sequence to explain why the Rockies lost again.
There’s never one reason, which is what makes this disappointing start feel like a trend rather than an aberration. The Rockies stumbled to the Houston Astros 5-3 today on a sun-bleached afternoon at Coors Field.
“We have to step it up now or we are going to be in a very bad spot,” first baseman Todd Helton said. “We have to find ways to win ballgames and we are for sure not doing that right now.”
The objective vibe after the worst way to head off on a 10-game road trip: it’s always something.
Last night the Rockies were dreadful off the mound, allowing 24 hits, one shy of the Astros’ team record. It was a performance that called into question the role of long reliever Glendon Rusch, whom manager Clint Hurdle admitted needs to get better. After the game, multiple players said that the Rockies had cut ties with Rusch, though general manager Dan O’Dowd could not be reached immediately to confirm the transaction.
There will be casualties from this start, so it would not come as a surprise.
On Thursday, it was the first-inning defense that failed them. No one takes more infield and works on the fundamentals as tirelessly as the Rockies. The attention to detail actually leaves some players grumpy, even if they understand it can be a necessary evil. Yet, there they were in the first inning looking as if it was March on a Tucson backfield.
Garrett Atkins, who ended a 20-at-bat hitless homestand with a fourth-inning single, committed two errors as the Astros paper-cut him to the death with bunts. Throw in a double-steal right out of youth baseball by the Astros and the Rockies were down 3-0 before swinging the bat.
With Jason Hammel settling down, the Rockies crawled back against Wandy Rodriguez with RBI doubles from Todd Helton (three hits shy of 2,000) and Brad Hawpe. They trailed 4-3 after four innings, then the offensive faucet turned off.
Rodriguez, one of the game’s more promising young left-handers, finished with a career-high 11 strikeouts. The Rockies’ bullpen collared Houston in the middle innings before Carlos Lee launched a solo home run in the eighth off Alan Embree. At least it stayed in the stadium. His foul ball off Huston Street in the ninth appeared to bounce off the concourse and completely out near the Buckaroos gift shop.
Any magical comeback vanished when former Rockie LaTroy Hawkins struck out Brad Hawpe with the tying run on first base.
The loss drops the Rockies to 13-20, a precarious spot entering a 10-game roadie in cities — Pittsburgh, Atlanta and Detroit — where they have traditionally struggled.
“This is an opportunity for a new group of guys to fight their way out of this,” Hurdle said before the game. “I am going to back them and support them. Regardless if people think there is a lack of leadership, this is not a case of a lack of leadership, it’s a case of a lack of results. If there’s fight in these guys, they need to bring it. And I think there’s fight in them.”
Troy E. Renck: 303-954-1301 or trenck@denverpost.com
