The Rockies’ struggles hitting with runners in scoring position were magnified once again on Wednesday in a loss to the Angels, with Colorado setting a franchise mark for clutch hitting ineptitude.
In the 8-0 blowout, the Rockies were 0-for-12 with eight strikeouts with runners in scoring position — and those eight Ks were the most strikeouts with runners in scoring position in team history in a game in which Colorado went hitless with a dozen or more at-bats with runners in scoring position.
Long stat short, the Rockies — currently second-to-last in the National League in RISP at .220 and also second-to-last in RISP with two outs at .198 — continue to find ways to leave men on the bases.
Five takeaways from the Rockies’ loss on Wednesday:
No. 1 —A slick 4-6-3 double play enabled by a slight shift got Tyler Anderson out of a jam to end the fourth. The Rockies shifted quite a bit against Angels’ hitters in the series, and manager Bud Black noted the strategy has become a pillar of their defensive M.O.
No. 2 —Mike Trout broke his bat on a single in the third, and the barrel flew off and hit catcher Chris Iannetta in the back of the neck in addition to glazing home plate umpireJerry Layne. Trout was seen as he jogged out of the box toward first; Iannetta said after the game he was unhurt.
No. 3 —Carlos Gonzales broke out of a minor 0-for-11 slump with a second-inning double off Jamie Barria and finished the night 2-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts. The outfielder is hitting .226 on the season.
No. 4 — Angels veteran outfielder Justin Uptontore up the Rockies during the two-game series, going 5-for-9 overall with a homer and a pair of RBIs in each contest.
No. 5 —Angels’ two-way phenomShohei Ohtani singled off right-hander Brooks Pounders in the eighth inning for his first MLB pinch-hit. The hit had an exit velocity of 106.0 miles per hour, Of the 47 balls Ohtani has put into play this season, 22 of them have had an exit velocity of over 100 miles per hour.
Quotable —Iannetta on the importance of keeping a steady head as the Rockies search for their early season identity at home:“We can’t ride the emotional roller-coaster. We understand that our body of work over the first five or six weeks of the season is pretty good. We’re five games over .500 and we’re in a good spot going into the next five months of the season. We can’t let one game dictate our season or be the story for our season.”
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