DETROIT — The Rockies came up short in three critical areas Saturday afternoon in a 4-1 loss to the Tigers at Comerica Park. No. 1, they failed to deliver timely hits. No. 2, pitcher Christian Friedrich’s lack of control marred what could have been a terrific start. No. 3, their defense stumbled, giving up a costly run in a relatively tight game.
Turning point. Friedrich’s throwing error set off a Keystone Cops episode in the fifth.
Miguel Cabrera smashed a grounder off Friedrich’s glove, sending Friedrich scrambling after the ball. Friedrich rushed a wild throw to first, allowing Cabrera to take second and advance toward third. Catcher Wilin Rosario hustled down the right-field line to retrieve the ball, but Rosario but fired wildly to Friedrich covering third, and Cabrera coasted home with a sandlot homer.
The sloppy incident boosted the Tigers’ lead to 3-0.
“I don’t know how I didn’t catch the ball. That’s a play I make 99 times out of 100,” Friedrich said. “Then I kind of rushed the throw. As soon as I let go of it I saw that I had more time. If I hold the ball there, the worst-case scenario is that you have a guy on first, and you keep the double play in order.”
On the mound. Friedrich walked a tightrope from the very beginning of his five-inning act.
The rookie left-hander served up a solo homer to Cabrera in the first, and while the Tigers didn’t hit Friedrich hard the rest of the way, his wildness was costly.
Friedrich gave up just three hits, but 50 of his 98 pitches were balls and it caught up to him in the fourth when he walked Austin Jackson to force in a run with the bases loaded. All told, Friedrich walked five Tigers and hit a batter as his record fell to 4-3.
“The walks today are just unacceptable,” Friedrich said. “That’s just me being a little too tentative and feeling like I have to throw a strike instead of just letting my body take care of it. … I just have to think about the next pitch, because when I’m thinking about mechanics out there, that’s when things start to go wrong.”
Detroit right-hander Doug Fister pitched six scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out six. He got the win, improving to 1-3.
“I had never faced him before, so he was new to me,” said Colorado center fielder Dexter Fowler, who struck out twice against Fister. “He had some deception — he throws across his body — so that was a little tough to pick up.”
At the plate. After overpowering the Tigers with 16 hits, and scoring eight runs in the 10th inning Friday night, the Rockies’ bats went back into their typical road hibernation Saturday, with the team managing just six hits.
Colorado’s best earlier scoring chances resulted in zilch in the fifth and sixth innings. In the fifth, Todd Helton doubled and Jordan Pacheco was hit by a pitch, but they were stranded when Fister struck out Rosario and Chris Nelson grounded out to short.
In the sixth, Marco Scutaro reached on a walk and Carlos Gonzalez singled, but Michael Cuddyer grounded into a double play to end the inning.
Gonzalez continued to prove he is one of the game’s elite hitters. He went 3-for-4, including a double in the ninth, raising his average to .335. It was CarGo’s seventh three-game hit of the season.
Cabrera went 2-for-4, and over his last 35 games, he’s hitting .349 with 14 doubles, seven homers and 31 RBIs.
What it means. After snapping an eight-game losing streak Friday night, the Rockies took another step backward. They have lost nine of their past 10 games and are 1-1 on the current nine-game road trip.
SUNDAY
Rockies at Tigers, 11:05 a.m., ROOT, 850 AM
Right-hander Jeremy Guthrie could be pitching to save his spot in the Rockies’ rotation. Following Guthrie’s last disappointing performance, manager Jim Tracy put Guthrie on a short leash. “We need to see improvement,” Tracy said. Guthrie has lost four times in his last five starts, his ERA inflating to 6.91. In his last start vs. Oakland, Guthrie allowed seven runs and eight hits (including three home runs) in five innings. Guthrie will be making his 11th appearance and eighth career start against the Tigers today. He owns a 3-2 record and 3.91 ERA against them. In 2010, as a starter for the Orioles, he dominated Detroit, tossing an eight-inning shutout and a seven-inning shutout and winning both games. The Rockies would be overjoyed to see Guthrie return to that kind of form.
Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post
Upcoming Pitching Matchups
Sunday: Rockies’ Jeremy Guthrie (3-5, 6.91 ERA) at Tigers’ Max Scherzer (5-4, 5.76), 11:05 a.m., ROOT
Monday: Off
Tuesday: Rockies’ Josh Outman (0-2, 8.44) at Phillies’ Cole Hamels (9-3, 3.34), 5:05 p.m., ROOT
Wednesday: Rockies’ Alex White (2-5, 5.56) at Phillies’ Joe Blanton (6-6, 4.93), 5:05 p.m., ROOT
