The Rockies’ April swagger? Extinct.
It has been replaced by a May haze in which the Rockies have been unable to sustain any momentum.
That became painfully apparent Thursday night at Coors Field in a numbing 7-5 loss to Houston in which reliever Wilton Lopez served up back-to-back homers in the Astros’ six-run sixth inning.
A series with Houston that initially looked like a gift from baseball’s interleague gods turned into an embarrassing reality check for Colorado. The Astros may have the American League’s worst record, but they took three of four games from the reeling Rockies, who have now lost five of their past six.
“One of the reasons is that we didn’t play good baseball against them in three games,” Rockies outfielder Carlos Gonzalez said of the Astros series. “All we did was leave a lot of runners on base, and it’s tough to win games like that. You only get so many opportunities in front of you, and if you don’t get the job done, it’s going to be a long series. If you don’t execute, that’s the result you are going to get.”
Once again, the Rockies’ bats fizzled when there were chances to ignite big innings. Double plays ended the second and third, stranding five runners.
“I felt like we had an opportunity to put the game away early. We didn’t, and it cost us,” Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. “That’s happened to us a few times.”
Rockies pitching, so good of late, let them down Thursday night. It culminated in the sixth-inning disaster.
Starter Juan Nicasio, plowing straight ahead for five innings, suddenly lost his compass. He gave up four consecutive hits without recording an out. So out came Weiss with the hook, and in came reliever Lopez.
Instead of putting out the fire, he poured gasoline on it, serving up a three-run homer to Chris Carter (his 10th) and a solo shot to Matt Dominguez (his eighth). A 3-1 Rockies lead quickly turned into a 7-3 Houston advantage as many in the crowd of 26,239 vented their frustration.
Asked why he used Lopez in relief in the sixth instead of usual middle reliever Adam Ottavino, Weiss said he was hoping Lopez could induce groundball outs to stymie the Astros’ rally.
Nicasio, armed with potent stuff but still struggling to harness it on a consistent basis, gave up five runs on seven hits in five-plus innings.
“I didn’t think I did anything different (in the sixth),” Nicasio said, “but they got those back-to-back hits and it hurt us.”
He could find himself in the bullpen or at Triple-A if he doesn’t improve soon. Drew Pomeranz, excelling in Triple-A, and 35-year-old Roy Oswalt, rolling for Double-A Tulsa in his comeback attempt, are eager and waiting.
The third inning showed why the Astros are on pace to lose 113 games, but also illustrated the Rockies’ struggles to put together a big inning. The Astros committed three throwing errors — two by shortstop Ronny Cedeño, the other by catcher Jason Castro — as the Rockies loaded the bases.
And yet the Rockies failed to take full advantage, pushing across just one run in the inning, on a single by Yorvit Torrealba, to lead 3-0. It could have been a game-busting inning, but Dexter Fowler dribbled the ball to Lucas Harrell for an inning-ending double play, pitcher to catcher to first base.
The Rockies got on the scoreboard in the first on Michael Cuddyer’s infield single to second, driving in Gonzalez. In the second, Fowler drove in Torrealba with a sharp single to right to put the Rockies in front 2-0.
Patrick Saunders: 303-954-1428, psaunders@denverpost.com or
LOOKING AHEAD: LOS ANGELES AT COLORADO
Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw (5-3, 1.68 ERA) vs. Rockies’ Jon Garland (3-6, 5.05),
6:40 p.m. Friday, ROOT; 850 AM
Although lefty Clayton Kershaw gave up four earned runs against the Cardinals in his last start and dropped to 5-3, he remains one of the National League’s elite pitchers. His 0.87 WHIP and 1.68 ERA illustrate that fact. But Kershaw hasn’t fared as well against the Rockies (7-3, 3.82), and he has had his issues at Coors Field (3-3, 5.91). Dexter Fowler has done well against Kershaw, hitting .400 (12-for-30), but Troy Tulowitzki has struggled, batting just .211 (8-for-38). The Rockies start right-hander Jon Garland, who’s coming off a rough start at San Francisco (five runs, seven hits, five innings). With Roy Oswalt tuning up in Double-A Tulsa for a possible promotion to the big leagues in June, Garland needs to start pitching better. Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post
Upcoming Pitching Matchups
Saturday: Saturday: Dodgers’ Zack Greinke (2-1, 4.38 ERA) at Rockies’ Jhoulys Chacin (3-3, 3.90), 2:10 p.m., ROOT
Sunday: Dodgers’ Hyun-Jin Ryu (6-2, 2.89) at Rockies’ Jorge De La Rosa (6-3, 3.16), 2:10 p.m., ROOT
Monday: Rockies’ Tyler Chatwood (3-0, 2.12) at Reds’ Bronson Arroyo (5-5, 3.75), 5:10 p.m., ROOT
Tuesday: Rockies’ Juan Nicasio (4-2, 4.79) at Reds’ Homer Bailey (3-4, 3.84), 5:10 p.m., ROOT
