The joint was jumping, rally caps were in place and the spirit was willing. But for the second consecutive game, clutch hits were conspicuously absent.
The Rockies fell 4-3 to the Atlanta Braves on Saturday night at Coors Field, going 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
In a 4-1 loss to the Braves on Friday, the Rockies’ RISP number was 1-for-9.
“On the offense, I think it was a combination of tough luck and a few things that got away from us,” manager Jim Tracy concluded.
His prime example of tough luck
occurred in the first inning, when, with two on and two out, Troy Tulo-
witzki smoked a line drive that appeared to have a homing device directing it to the webbing of Braves shortstop Diory Hernandez’s glove.
Examples of the Rockies failing to deliver a key hit were scattered throughout the game. In the eighth, for instance, with the Rockies trailing 4-3, Chris Iannetta came up with Todd Helton on second and Ian Stewart on first. But Braves reliever Manny Acosta jammed Iannetta, busting his bat and inducing a weak dribbler to second for the third out.
That the Rockies were put in a position where they had to rally is a credit to Atlanta starter Jair Jurrjens.
Though he might sound like a character out of a “Star Wars” movie, the young right-hander has the Rockies’ number. He’s now 4-1 with a 2.95 ERA against them in five career starts.
“He keeps you off balance,” Stewart said. “He throws so hard that you go up there looking for a fastball, but the first time up he threw me a changeup and I grounded out.”
The Rockies finally got to
Jurrjens in the seventh inning.
Tulowitzki unloaded a leadoff home run, his 15th homer of the season, slicing Atlanta’s lead to 4-1. Next, Stewart doubled off the center-field wall, ending
Jurrjens’ evening. In came reliever Peter Moylan, who gave up a run-scoring single to Seth Smith. The Rockies cut the Braves’ lead to 4-3 when Smith advanced to third on Garrett
Atkins’ pinch-hit single and scored on a passed ball.
But that’s all the Rockies could produce.
Jason Marquis, attempting to become the first Rockies pitcher to reach the all-star break with 12 victories, didn’t have his best stuff. That was obvious in the second inning when the Braves scored two runs on four hits, including a leadoff double by Brian McCann. Marquis’ sinker, perhaps the best in the National League this season, had little drop on it.
But Marquis kept the Rockies in the game. He pitched six innings, allowing three runs and seven hits.
“I didn’t have my best sinker tonight, so I had to rely on my slider and my cutter,” Marquis said. “But I battled through it and tried to give my team as good a chance as possible. It just didn’t work out.”
The Rockies wasted some early chances against Jurrjens. In the third, Dexter Fowler laced a one-out triple to the right-field corner, but Clint Barmes struck out and Helton grounded out, leaving Fowler stranded.
Patrick Saunders: 303-954-1428 or psaunders@denverpost.com
