The Rockies spent an entire spring training focusing on winning the type of game they lost Wednesday night.
Tight, low scoring, with a key play or two bound to make the difference. Instead of making that key play, the Rockies experienced another frustrating night in what is becoming a frustrating season.
They lost 3-2 to the White Sox in a game that resembled the series opener, when the Rockies won by the same score in 13 innings. This time, the Rockies could have put the game away long before the ninth, but instead lost it in the final inning.
“We just didn’t make the plays,” Huston Street said. “It comes down to executing. It comes down to making plays, to getting hits when you need to get hits. You can say everything else you want to say, but that’s what it’s going to come down to. You’ve got to play good baseball to win.”
Once again, the Rockies didn’t do it. They finished 28-30 in one-run games in 2010, prompting manager Jim Tracy to embrace small ball during the spring. Move runners. Drive them in from third with fewer than two outs. Make the fundamental plays.
The Rockies were going to do all those things. Instead, they’re 12-15 in one-run games, compared with 22-12 for the National League West-leading Giants. Moral to the story: Despite Jorge De La Rosa’s injury and the disappearance of Dexter Fowler, Ian Stewart and Jose Lopez, the Rockies have had their chances.
They just haven’t capitalized on them.
They lost this one when Seth Smith caught A.J. Pierzynski’s shallow flyball on the run in right field and came up firing to the plate. But Smith left Chris Iannetta in no-man’s land trying to scoop the ball on a short hop. The ball popped high in the air, allowing Carlos Quentin to score.
“The guy’s out by at least 15 feet,” Tracy said.
But no. Smith had two options: Air-mail the throw or long-hop it, giving Iannetta a chance to catch it and brace for the inevitable collision.
“I was trying to make it a longer hop,” Smith said. “Running in and not knowing exactly where you are on the field makes it a little tough, but I would like to have made a better throw. It’s baseball. There’s no sense digging into it more than this. We just got beat.”
The loss, which ensured the Rockies (39-41) of a losing record at the halfway point, spoiled Ubaldo Jimenez’s finest home outing of the season. Jimenez worked seven innings and faced more than three hitters only twice, but a walk and a fastball that plunked Quentin led to two runs in the fourth.
Jason Giambi and Ty Wigginton homered to tie it, but the Rockies’ inability to convert two opportunities with a runner on third and fewer than two outs saddled them with another loss that didn’t have to be.
The silver lining: Jimenez appears to have turned a corner. He was borderline brilliant for most of the night and finished June 3-2 with a 2.45 ERA after going into the month 0-5.
“I’ve been able to repeat my delivery,” Jimenez said. “Everything is the same, all my pitches. For sure, I feel really good. Every time I get to the mound, I feel really comfortable. I’m confident I’m going to give my team a chance to win.”
Jim Armstrong: 303-954-1269 or jmarmstrong@denverpost.com
Looking ahead
THURSDAY: White Sox at Rockies, 1:10 p.m., Root
Aaron Cook (0-3, 5.48 ERA) is still searching for command of his sinkerball. It has been a frustrating hunt, as his last outing showed. He allowed six runs in 5 2/3 innings against the Yankees. Without his sinker, Cook must rely on so-so secondary pitches, and that has put his spot in the rotation in jeopardy. White Sox right-hander Jake Peavy (4-1, 4.23) makes just his seventh start of the season after coming off the disabled list. He’s making his scheduled start despite pitching four innings of relief against Washington on Saturday, when he allowed just one hit, striking out seven and picking up the win in his first big-league relief appearance. The former Padre is 3-4 with a 3.59 ERA at Coors Field. Todd Helton has a decent history vs. Peavy, hitting .326 with three homers in 43 at-bats.
Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post
Upcoming pitching matchups
Friday: Royals’ Danny Duffy (1-2, 4.61 ERA) at Rockies’ Juan Nicasio (2-1, 5.08), 6:10 p.m., Root
Saturday: Royals’ Luke Hochevar (5-8, 4.96) at Rockies’ Jhoulys Chacin (8-5, 3.10) 6:10 p.m., Root
Sunday: Royals’ Luke Hochevar (5-8, 4.96) at Rockies’ Jason Hammel (4-7, 4.13), 1:10 p.m., Root
Monday: Rockies’ Ubaldo Jimenez (3-7, 4.35) vs. Braves’ Tommy Hansen (9-4, 2.62), 5:10 p.m., Root
