ANAHEIM, Calif. — This is no longer a road trip. It’s Freud for thought.
Who are the Rockies?
Are they the team that reduced five teams to bugs on their windshield while racing back from obscurity? Or are they the club that spent the season’s first six weeks digging a hole worthy of a front-end loader?
On a cool Wednesday night, they were the victims of identity theft, the Angels adopting Colorado’s June persona in an 11-3 beatdown.
It marks the first time the Rockies have lost back-to-back games since June 3. And it comes at an intriguing time, with Colorado headed to Oakland this weekend to face its former best player Matt Holliday before a redemption series against the Dodgers, who have blitzed them eight times in nine games this season.
When the Rockies return home on July 3, the picture of them could be as illuminating as the fireworks scheduled for Coors Field.
“We have created an awareness of what we need to do,” manager Jim Tracy said. “But we have work to do if we want to have something special to play for in September.”
The Angels’ fist met flesh in the first against an unlikely victim. Jason Marquis began the evening tied for the National League lead in victories with nine. There was nothing fluky about his start, a slightly longer stride inching him toward his first-ever all-star berth.
But Marquis had no fastball command, leaving him unable to set up his other pitches. Of the eight batters Marquis faced in the first, three scored. Vladmir Guerrero, emerging from his power coma, doubled and later hit his first home run since April 12.
In his shortest outing of the season, Marquis retired only 10 hitters, tagged for eight runs on nine hits. The offense offered little help beyond Garrett Atkins’ sixth home run and Dexter Fowler’s eighth-inning triple.
When compared to this season’s body of work, Marquis’ performance appears an aberration. But it raises an interesting question that could ultimately define the Rockies and determine whether they are buyers or sellers next month (clearly they need bullpen insurance given Alan Embree’s struggles and Manuel Corpas’ balky elbow).
What exactly is a realistic expectation of the rotation? During the 17-1 stretch, the starters went 15-1 with a 3.40 ERA. Prior to June 4, they were 15-22 with a 4.63 ERA.
If the water level is near 4.00, the Rockies should contend. If not, June will be nothing more than a summer fling, forgotten when the leaves change.
“You never know when a roll is going to happen. To sustain it, we had to have all five guys pitching well,” pitching coach Bob Apodaca said. “Now we need to be consistent. It all starts with the starting pitching.”
Troy E. Renck: 303-954-1301 or trenck@denverpost.com
