SAN FRANCISCO — The Rockies aren’t hitting, and maybe we should just leave it at that. The franchise with aspirations of claiming its first National League West title this season, with visions of a third playoff berth in five years, continues to lose close games.
The Rockies fell 2-1 Sunday to the Giants at AT&T Park, leaving them 13 games under .500 since their major league-best 11-2 start.
Only when trying to explain this does it gets difficult.
Talent?
The Rockies have desirable parts. All-star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki was recently selected as the top pick in a franchise draft on ESPN. Carlos Gonzalez finished third in the National League MVP voting last year. Seth Smith has been arguably the Rockies’ most consistent hitter. The trio went 1-for-12 with seven strikeouts Sunday, including four by Gonzalez.
“It was a terrible day,” said Gonzalez, who was constantly caught in between, watching Ryan Vogelsong’s fastballs go by early in the count while swinging at sliders in the dirt late. “I have to turn the page.”
Manager Jim Tracy was brief, if not terse, in his postgame news conference. He watched his team do the unthinkable: allow six runs in three games to the defending world champs and fail to win the series. It would have been their first series win since May 17. That, coincidentally, is the last time the Rockies even won back-to-back games.
“We have to hit. Period,” said Tracy, his team’s batting average sitting at .243 through 58 games.
Pitching?
The Rockies’ mound work has been worthy of a postseason team. The club owns a 3.89 ERA despite only a sprinkling of success from ace Ubaldo Jimenez. Jason Hammel flirted with a no-hitter through 5 2/3 innings Sunday before a brief wobble cost him a win. He threw seven consecutive balls in the sixth, leading to Freddy Sanchez’s game-tying single.
“I am disappointed in myself for not being able to shut them down there,” Hammel said.
It’s a testament to the sputtering lineup that the Rockies pinch hit for Hammel after just 81 pitches.
The bullpen’s slight hiccup proved costly, leaving the Rockies 7-13 in one-run games. Matt Lindstrom walked leadoff hitter Pat Burrell in the eighth after an 0-2 count. Emmanuel Burriss pinch ran for Burrell and went to second on Vogelsong’s sacrifice bunt. Lindstrom appeared to strike out Andres Torres on a check-swing passed ball. But plate umpire Mike Muchlinski said there was no swing, so Chris Iannetta didn’t appeal.
“He was saying, ‘No, no, no.’ When they do that, you know it’s not going to change,” Iannetta said. “I have to catch that ball. It changed the complexion of the inning.”
With Burriss on third, Torres singled to right-center for a 2-1 Giants lead.
Closer Brian Wilson then struck out Smith and Gonzalez and induced a harmless groundball from Tulowitzki.
Iannetta’s home run was the lone bug on Vogelsong’s windshield. Vogelsong has allowed just three earned runs over his last 39 1/3 innings.
And that brings this question full circle. Why aren’t the Rockies winning? They aren’t hitting. They need more power — two of their four extra-base hits in the series were doubles by pitcher Juan Nicasio — and more productive outs. Or else.
“We just are not getting the job done offensively,” Todd Helton said. “We have to make the adjustment and get better, and we need to do it soon.”
Troy E. Renck: 303-954-1301 or trenck@denverpost.com
Looking ahead
MONDAY: Rockies at Padres, 8:05 p.m., Root
Clayton Mortensen (1-3, 3.69 ERA) has helped soothe the sting of poor performances and injury setbacks. He has been a pleasant surprise but has reached a key juncture. The rail-thin right-hander likely needs to pitch well to remain in the rotation given Aaron Cook’s return and Juan Nicasio’s solid showing. The Dodgers punished Mortensen for elevated sinkers in his last outing. Clayton Richard (2-6, 4.52) hasn’t gotten on track since an abbreviated spring training because of injury. He hasn’t enjoyed much success against the Rockies (5.64 ERA in 44 2/3 innings), as they have exercised patience. Troy Tulowitzki is 7-for-12 off the left-hander with three home runs and nine RBIs. Troy E. Renck, The Denver Post
Upcoming pitching matchups
Tuesday: Rockies’ Ubaldo Jimenez (1-5, 4.98 ERA) at Padres’ Tim Stauffer (1-4, 3.99), 8:05 p.m., Root
Wednesday: Rockies’ Aaron Cook (season debut) at Padres’ Dustin Moseley (2-6, 3.00), 4:35 p.m., Root
Thursday: Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw (6-3, 3.05) at Rockies’ Jhoulys Chacin (6-4, 3.19), 6:40 p.m., Root
Friday: Dodgers’ Chad Billingsley (5-4, 3.70) at Rockies’ Jason Hammel (3-5, 3.66), 6:40 p.m., Root
