The Rockies are no strangers to history. They are attempting to come from further back than any team in baseball history to win a division title. But they broke a mark at Coors Field that they’d rather forget.
Not only did they lose to the Mets 8-3, they lost to Pat Misch.
Until Thursday, no other major-league team could say that.
Ever.
“I thought we were going to kill him,” Rockies outfielder Carlos Gonzalez said. “It was a (bad) day all the way around.”
In Misch’s first 12 major-league starts, the Mets and Giants, his previous employer, were winless. This matched the longest streak of futility to begin a career, matching Seattle’s John Cummings in 1993-94, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
That Misch bested all-star Jason Marquis made it even more difficult to digest. This was a clear mismatch, the kind of game a team scrapping for a playoff berth needs to win. Instead, Misch became the most unlikely star since opera singer Susan Boyle, leaving the Rockies a game ahead of the San Francisco Giants in the wild-card standings.
“I just didn’t have it,” said Marquis, whose fastball command was lacking. “It’s tough, but what are you going to do? It’s over now.”
It won’t get any easier tonight, despite being at home. The Rockies face Arizona Diamondbacks ace Dan Haren in the opener of a three-game series. Haren has limited the Rockies to two earned runs in 20 innings this season. And Arizona has played well at Coors Field, splitting six games.
“You want to win every game at this point. But I choose to look at the bright side,” Rockies manager Jim Tracy said. “We won a series. That’s what we have to continue to do.”
What the Rockies really need is a more potent, if not consistent, lineup to compensate for recent injuries to the pitching staff. Closer Huston Street (biceps tendinitis) likely won’t be back until the middle of next week, at the earliest, replaced by Franklin Morales. And Jose Contreras is keeping the seat warm, beginning Saturday, until Aaron Cook’s shoulder allows him to return to the rotation later this month.
The last 19 games have been a struggle for the lineup, the average floating around .250 with too many strikeouts. The Rockies have gone 10-9 during this stretch, watching their wild-card lead evaporate. Colorado managed just four hits off Misch in seven innings, among them back-to-back, seventh-inning home runs by Chris Iannetta and Ian Stewart.
“That’s when we finally begin to figure Misch out,” Tracy lamented.
In the eighth, Clint Barmes rapped his 22nd home run — he has 12 homers and 14 singles in the second half — to draw the Rockies to within three runs. A leaky bullpen doused any chance of a late rally, though a surprisingly sparse crowd — 22,566, the smallest since May 27 — witnessed the disappointment.
“We have to move on. Put it behind us,” Stewart said. “We have to focus on the next game because every one is important at this point.”
Troy E. Renck: 303-954-1301 or trenck@denverpost.com
Looking ahead
TODAY: Diamondbacks at Rockies, 7:10 p.m., FSN
Say this for Jason Hammel (8-7, 4.40 ERA). He doesn’t flinch when facing the best. He outpitched Matt Cain last weekend, and now finds himself opposite Cy Young candidate Dan Haren (13-8, 2.78). Hammel has been better of late at Coors Field, but can’t afford any more clunkers, which have left him with a 6.47 home ERA. Haren’s split-finger is one of baseball’s best pitches. He works backward against the Rockies, throwing it early in counts to set up his fastball on the corners. Colorado has scored just two earned runs off the righty in 20 innings this season.
Troy E. Renck, The Denver Post
Saturday: Diamondbacks’ Doug Davis (7-11, 3.78) vs. Rockies’ Jose Contreras (5-13, 5.42), 6:10 p.m., FSN
Sunday: Diamondbacks’ Yusmeiro Petit (3-8, 5.47) vs. Rockies’ Jorge De La Rosa (13-9, 4.60), 1:10 p.m., FSN
Monday: Reds’ Justin Lehr (4-1, 4.43) vs. Rockies’ Ubaldo Jimenez (13-10, 3.28), 1:10 FSN
Tuesday: Reds’ Homer Bailey (5-4, 5.90) vs. Rockies’ Jason Marquis (14-10, 3.75), 1:10 p.m., FSN
