Today’s gloomy weather was a perfect match for the Rockies’ effort against Seattle. And for the dark cloud that already hangs over their season.
In another listless performance, the Rockies lost 10-3 to the Mariners, falling for the third straight game on the homestand.
Prior to the game, manager Jim Tracy said it would be “an education day” for Christian Friedrich as the 24-year-old lefty made his first start at Coors Field. The Mariners taught Friedrich some tough lessons.
Tracy continued to preach patience, particularly for the Rockies’ young pitchers.
“If we lose our patience, if we fly off the handle with young kids, it is only going to make it worse,” Tracy said.
Turning point. The Mariners used a walk and three straight singles off Friedrich to score two runs and take a 4-0 lead in the third.
On the mound. Friedrich entered the game having allowed just two earned runs and 11 hits over his first two big-league starts. Today, he gave up eight runs on nine hits. He clearly wasn’t as comfortable pitching at Coors as he was on the road. But Friedrich said it was poor command of his fastball and curve, not the ballpark, that were to blame for his failed start.
Two walks haunted Friedrich. He gave up one to Jesus Montero in the second and Montero promptly scored on a two-run homer by Kyle Seager. In the third, Friedrich walked Casper Wells, and Wells scored on a Seager single.
Friedrich got the hook in the sixth, leaving the bases full for Esmil Rogers. Rogers quickly poured gas on the fire, serving up three singles. By the end of the inning, Seattle led 9-0.
Friedrich said he’ll bounce back from the difficult day.
“I have had outings worse than this before,” he said. “Obviously this is a bigger stage, so it hurts the ego a little bit. But you try to remember the things you can fix and then go on. That’s what I’m going to do.”
Seattle starter Jason Vargas befuddle the Rockies for all but one of his seven innings, giving up three runs on five hits.
At the plate. Going back to the ninth inning of Friday’s game, the Rockies went 16 innings without scoring a run. Today, they managed just two hits off Vargas through the first six innings. They finally broke out in the seventh with a double by Jason Giambi, an RBI-single by Jordan Pacheco and a two-run homer by rookie catcher Wilin Rosario.
Rosario’s homer, his sixth of the season, was a powerful blast deep into the left-field bleachers. He leads all National League rookies in home runs and slugging percentage (.569).
Seattle’s Seager was 3-for-4 with three RBIs. The Mariners scored 10 runs for the first time this season, and it was their first time in double digits since Sept. 19 in Cleveland last season.
What it means. The Rockies’ season is already on the brink. They were 11-11 at the end of April, 4 ½ games out of first in the National League West. They have since gone 4-13 and now trail the Dodgers by 11 games in the NL West.
“You want a quick fix and you want an instant turnaround, but baseball is not that way,” outfielder Michael Cuddyer said. “You just have to keep working through it, you have to grind through it. You hate saying it, because it’s a cliches, but it’s a six-month season. There is time to work through this.”
