PITTSBURGH — Spoiler alert.
The Rockies almost mounted a shocking comeback Saturday night at PNC Park against the Pirates’ iron-clad bullpen.
Almost.
Nick Hundley hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning off Pirates closer Mark Melancon to take a bite out of the Pirates’ lead.
It wasn’t quite enough, and the Rockies lost 4-3.
The game ended when Charlie Blackmon lined out to second baseman Josh Harrison, who doubled Brandon Barnes off first for an unassisted double play. Melancon had to sweat, but he notched his 43rd save.
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Despite a solid, rebound performance by starter Chris Rusin, the Rockies (51-76) lost for the 15th time in their last 20 games. Streaking Pittsburgh (79-49) won for the 17th time in its last 20 games, staying 3½ games behind St. Louis in the race for the National League Central title.
Rusin was coming off a disastrous start at Coors Field against the New York Mets. He was scorched for a career-high 11 runs on a career-high 12 hits in just two-plus innings. He allowed eight doubles to the Mets, the most by a Rockies pitcher in franchise history.
Saturday night’s first inning looked like a flashback. Harrison and Andrew McCutchen hit back-to-back singles, setting the stage for Aramis Ramirez’s three-run homer to left.
But Rusin settled in, allowing no more runs in his final five innings.
“I did OK, but I threw one bad pitch (to Ramirez) and it cost us the game,” Rusin said. “You can say a lot of things, but the bottom line is that we didn’t win the game.”
Manager Walt Weiss wasn’t surprised that Rusin rebounded.
“(Pittsburgh) got three runs on one swing, but other than that he performed very well,” Weiss said.
Pittsburgh starter J.A. Happ wasn’t flashy, just incredibly consistent, efficient and effective. Happ — 3-1 since being traded to the Pirates from Seattle — has allowed only two earned runs in his last four starts.
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“He had a really lively fastball, tonight and he used it well,” Hundley said. “That was the big thing.”
Once the Pirates’ relievers took the mound, there was little hope for Colorado. Pittsburgh relievers have won 19 consecutive decisions. The last time they lost a game was June 25. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, that’s the longest such streak by any major-league bullpen since 1909, when the World Series champion Pirates relievers had 22 consecutive winning decisions.
Colorado left-hander Jason Gurka, making his major-league debut, gave up a run on two hits in the seventh inning.
