LOS ANGELES — The Rockies didn’t have a whole lot at stake entering this afternoon’s regular-season finale vs. the Dodgers.
So the 5-3 loss was little more than a footnote to the amazing comeback story that landed the Rockies in the playoffs.
Going in, the Rockies already knew they were the National League wild-card team. They’ll open the NLDS Wednesday afternoon at Philadelphia. Game time is 12:37 p.m., MDT.
They also knew they had already set a franchise record for victories (92) and road victories (41). Regulars Todd Helton, Troy Tulowitzki, Clint Barmes, Carlos Gonzalez and Yorvit Torrealba didn’t even play.
But for some Rockies, especially starter Jason Marquis, today’s game held meaning. Marquis will likely be part of the postseason rotation, but he didn’t back up his case very well today. He also failed to reach 16 victories, which would have been a career high.
Marquis, whose splendid first half of the season made him an all-star, had a rough day. More precisely, he suffered through a bad first inning. With Marquis lacking fastball command again, the Dodgers teed off for four runs on four hits in the inning. Marquis also hit Matt Kemp and walked Andre Ethier.
Marquis settled in after that, finishing with four runs allowed on eight hits over four innings. Still, it was a step back from his last start when he allowed two runs on six hits in six innings against the Brewers.
Jason Hammel, hoping for a postseason roster spot either as a starter or as a reliever, came in for Marquis and pitched two scoreless innings, giving up two hits and striking out two.
It was a good day for outfielder Brad Hawpe, who’s still trying to find a consistent groove after a long second-half slump. Hawpe hit a solo homer in the second inning off Dodgers right-hander Vicente Padilla. It was Hawpe’s 23rd homer of the season. He added a line-drive single to right in the fourth before manager Jim Tracy took him out of the game.
One nagging element to the loss was the disconcerting number of strikeouts by the Rockies. After whiffing 12 times Saturday night, they struck out 17 times today. The Rockies finished the season with 1,277 strikeouts, the most in team history, surpassing their 1,208 strikeouts in 2008.
Patrick Saunders: 303-954-1428 or psaunders@denverpost.com
