Groans. Murmurs. Grinding teeth. A collective gasp.
This is what anxiety sounds like. The Rockies’ feel-good story turned painful in the seventh inning when reliever Alan Embree was struck flush with a line drive, shattering his right tibia and ending his season.
That the Rockies lost 4-1 on Friday to the Atlanta Braves seemed insignificant afterward.
“This makes it even more painful,” Rockies manager Jim Tracy said.
The enduring image of the night was Embree, the Rockies’ oldest player and a popular wise man in the clubhouse, leaving the field on a cart.
The initial diagnosis was a deep bruise, but X-rays revealed a compression fracture. He will have surgery today, with a possible rod placed in the leg. At 39, his teammates are hoping he hasn’t thrown his last pitch.
“He has a strong arm, and a bigger heart,” reliever Joel Peralta said. “If he wants to come back, he will be back. This is horrible news.”
What stuck with everyone in the ballpark and on the field was the ugly sound. It was as if the ball struck the bat twice. It splatted off Embree’s leg. He stayed upright for a moment before falling awkwardly to the ground.
“He was shaking in pain. You knew something was really wrong,” shortstop Troy Tulowitzki said. “It was so loud. You just hate to see anything like this happen.”
Two years ago, Rockies pitcher Jason Hirsh broke his shin when Milwaukee’s J.J. Hardy rocketed a shot off him. He remained in the game, only learning later of the fracture.
“This wasn’t anything like that,” catcher Yorvit Torrealba said. “This was really, really bad.”
Initially, Jorge De La Rosa will be used in the bullpen to help cover Embree’s absence. The Rockies are also likely to recall Randy Flores, optioned out earlier this week, for further reinforcement this weekend.
That’s the easy part. The harder part is piecing together a patchwork bullpen with Embree lost for the season. Counting Friday, he had strung together five consecutive scoreless outings.
“He was pitching better than he had all year,” Tracy said. “This hurts.”
Embree’s injury overshadowed another sputtering performance by the offense. The Rockies managed just one run off Atlanta’s Derek Lowe, Todd Helton smacking his first home run since June 20. Even Helton’s blast wasn’t the most memorable thunder.
Scary lightning strikes and rumbling clouds delayed the game for 52 minutes. The loss, the Rockies’ third on this homestand, fell into Ubaldo Jimenez’s lap. Once again, he was a tough-luck loser, victimized by one sloppy pitch. Garret Anderson’s two-run double in the first-inning proved the difference.
“The difference in the game is that they capitalized on a few mistakes and we didn’t,” Tracy said. “But that’s not what I will take from this night.”
Troy E. Renck: 303-954-1301 or trenck@denverpost.com.
