It felt like October at chilly Coors Field on Tuesday night.
But please don’t mistake that for “Rocktober,” because there is no magic in LoDo this year.
Only futility.
Despite pounding out 13 hits, including home runs by Carlos Gonzalez, Jose Reyes and Kyle Parker, and despite three errors committed by the Washington Nationals, the Rockies lost 15-6. It was the most runs they have allowed this season.
The victory snapped the Nationals’ six-game losing streak. It was the Rockies’ eighth loss in their last 10 games. They are 26-32 at Coors Field and are on pace to lose 96 games.
Adding injury to insult, Gonzalez, whose 28th homer of the season arrived in the first inning, left the game with inflammation in his right knee after his at-bat in the fifth. He is day to day.
“I’ll be fine,” CarGo said. “I think I can be in there tomorrow or the next day. I just tweaked it a little bit when I was fielding a ball in the corner in the fourth (on Danny Espinosa’s double). I went one way and then had to change directions too quick.”
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Colorado’s losing formula was a familiar one. The Rockies got a ho-hum start from David Hale and the bullpen gave up an avalanche of runs that ultimately cost Colorado the game. Rockies pitchers issued 10 walks in the game, and eight of those runners scored.
“It’s tough,” manager Walt Weiss said. “The guys are struggling down there right now. It was a one-run game in the seventh and it got ugly after that.”
Weiss wasn’t really sure now to explain the epidemic of walks by his bullpen, which has now given up 169 free passes, the most in the National League.
“I think sometimes this stuff can be contagious and it looks like it’s on the bad side down there right now,” Weiss said.
Washington took a 7-6 lead in the seventh, capitalizing on reliever Justin Miller’s wildness. Yunel Escobar and Ryan Zimmerman drew walks off Miller, and Escobar scooted home on Michael Taylor’s grounder.
The Nationals added four more runs in the eighth, all of them charged to Tommy Kahnle, who briefly held the closer’s job. Kahnle walked three (one intentional), gave up a double to Jayson Werth and uncorked a wild pitch that scored Werth. Kahnle’ ERA soared to 4.99.
It didn’t help that Scott Oberg (5.98) came in and gave up two hits and a balk before closing out the eighth.
If Tuesday night was Hale’s audition for the 2016 rotation, it didn’t go well. The Nationals battered him for a career-high six runs on eight hits, including a two-run homer in the first by Escobar.
The worst statistic: Hale needed 105 pitches (62 for strikes) to get through five innings. By contrast, Chris Rusin needed only 106 in his complete-game shutout over the Padres on Sunday.
“I thought (Hale) threw the ball pretty well,” Weiss said. “There were a couple of times early where the (balls and strike) call could have gone either way. … But his pitch count got elevated.”
With home-plate umpire Gary Cederstrom giving Hale the squeeze in the first inning, Hale walked Bryce Harper and then gave up the two-run homer to Escobar on a full count. Hale needed 26 pitches to get out of the inning.
“I thought I did OK,” said Hale, who was making his first start since coming off the disabled list. “But I got behind some batters and I had some trouble commanding my fastball.”
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Colorado immediately struck back for three runs against Washington starter Jordan Zimmermann. CarGo’s homer drove in Reyes to tie the game 2-2. Then Nolan Arenado (3-for-5) doubled and scored when shortstop Ian Desmond bobbled Nick Hundley’s grounder to short.
CarGo has hit 24 homers since June 1, most in the National League. Counting his home run on Sunday against the Padres, he’s now hit home runs in back-to-back games eight times this season.
Colorado took a 4-2 lead in the second on Reyes’ two-out, solo homer to right, his first as a Rockie and fifth this season. Reyes had is best night since getting traded from Toronto in the Troy Tulowitzki deal late last month. He went 4-for-5 and had an RBI. He extended his hitting streak to eight games, during which he’s hit .344.
“He was aggressive and it looked like his swing was direct tonight and he was getting the barrel to the ball,” Weiss said. “It was the short, quick swing we are used to seeing over the years.”
The Nationals tied the game 4-4 in the third on RBI singles by Escobar and Desmond, and then grabbed a 5-4 lead in the fourth on Espinosa’s run-scoring double. Washington made it 6-6 in the fifth when Desmond scored from third on Hale’s wild pitch.
Arenado’s RBI single in the fifth cut Washington’s lead to 6-5, and Parker’s leadoff solo homer in the sixth tied the game. But then Colorado’s bullpen gave up nine runs over the last three innings.
Patrick Saunders: psaunders@denverpost.com or
