Casey Stengel, who managed the New York Mets during their infamous 40-120 inaugural season in 1962, famously said: “They have shown me ways to lose I never knew existed.”
After Monday’s fiasco at Coors Field — a 16-6 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers — Rockies manager Clint Hurdle might be thinking the same thing.
The good feelings flowing from the Rockies’ series win over the weekend in Detroit were washed away by a sea of hometown boos and 19 hits by the Dodgers.
Then again, Dodgers pitchers combined to walk 11 batters, seven by starter Eric Stults, which might have prompted Dodgers manager Joe Torre to offer up another Stengelism: “Can’t anybody here play this game?”
The Rockies fell behind the Dodgers 7-0 when starter Jorge De La Rosa melted down in the fourth inning. They rallied to cut the L.A. lead to 7-6. They gave it all back in the seventh when relievers Jason Grilli and Alan Embree imploded.
“That was the most frustrating thing, to come back like that and then give it right back,” catcher Yorvit Torrealba said.
The Rockies fell to 1-6 against the Dodgers this season and are 12 games out of first place in the National League West. Making matters worse, Todd Helton, one of the bright lights of the Rockies’ season, left the game in the fourth inning, suffering what the club called “migraine symptoms.”
De La Rosa’s Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde pitching persona was never more on display. He was nearly untouchable for three innings, allowing one hit and striking out six with his biting slider. But his dark side emerged in the fourth when the Dodgers scored seven times.
The Dodgers started the inning with four singles, a sacrifice fly and another single. De La Rosa’s most egregious mistake was then walking Stults, who was attempting to sacrifice bunt, on four straight pitches to load the bases. Former Rockie Juan Pierre promptly smacked a three-run triple to the gap in left-center. That was it for De La Rosa, who fell to 0-5 as his ERA ballooned to 5.26.
“I threw too many pitches up over the plate,” De La Rosa said. “I was out there trying to throw strikes. It’s tough right now.”
Hurdle said De La Rosa’s problems usually begin when men are on base and he’s forced to pitch from the stretch.
“I don’t know whether it’s mechanical, I don’t know whether it’s mental, I just know the combination is not working very effectively when he’s getting in the stretch,” Hurdle said.
Give the Rockies credit for not quitting. They scored once in the fourth on Clint Barmes’ double. They combined three walks, a two-run double by Brad Hawpe and a run-scoring single by Garrett Atkins to score four in the fifth. In the sixth, Matt Murton doubled and scored on Troy Tulowitzki’s sacrifice fly, slicing the Dodgers’ lead to a run.
But the Dodgers scored eight runs in the seventh, their most in an inning this season, to lock up the victory.
Patrick Saunders: 303-954-1428 or psaunders@denverpost.com
Endless innings
The Rockies, now eight games under .500 at 18-26, have been victimized by a number of big innings this season:
Date/opponent Inning Runs
Result
April 19 at Dodgers 7th 5
Rockies lose 14-2
May 8 vs. Marlins 5th 5
Rockies lose 8-3
May 17 at Pirates 7th 10
Rockies lose 11-4
May 20 at Braves 4th 9
Rockies lose 12-4
May 25 vs. Dodgers 4th/7th 7/8
Rockies lose 16-6
