ANAHEIM, Calif. — had seemingly done it again Monday night, swatting a late-game home run — and his first career grand slam at that — to put Colorado in command for a comeback win to open the team’s southern California road trip.
But the Rockies’ bullpen, which had been making baby steps of improvement as of late, didn’t let that narrative stand as Ի combined to allow five runs in an eighth-inning implosion in Los Angeles’ 10-7 win at Angel Stadium.
“It was a back-and-forth game for sure,” manager Bud Black said. “We had some opportunities early, couldn’t cash them in, and then we got the big swing from DJ after they let us back in with some walks. But then we sort of gave it back to them with the walks.”
When LeMahieu strode to the plate with the bases loaded and one out in the eighth inning, the Rockies had been anemic in clutch situations all night. Colorado was 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position up to that point and had stranded nine, providing little help to offset an off-kilter start by .
But LeMahieu put a swift stop to such ineptitude, swatting Jim Johnson’s curveball into the left-field seats to turn a 5-3 Los Angles lead into a 7-5 advantage for Colorado and send a wide swath of red-clad fans headed for the exits.
The hometown crowd that left missed Los Angeles turn the tide for a final time in a game with ample twists and turns, and outfielder Eric Young Jr. — who played for the Rockies from 2009-13 — flared the game-winning, two-RBI single off Oh.
Gray howled through the opening innings of the two-game set, setting down the first nine Los Angeles hitters he faced while recording his 500th career strikeout, becoming the fastest Rockies pitcher to do so.
But the Gray Wolf ran into trouble from that point on with a slider that wasn’t as sharp as it had been as of late.
The Angels tagged the right-hander for four runs in the fourth — catalyzed by Mike Trout’s RBI single ԻShohei Ohtani’s three-run dinger off a piped fastball — and tacked on a Trout solo shot in the sixth for a 5-2 lead.
“That was a dangerous pitch to throw to Ohtani, especially with that location (down the middle),” Gray said. “I’m ticked off most about that, really.”
Los Angeles’ offensive outbursts initially overcame early damage by the Rockies’ bats, as Colorado took a 2-0 lead in the third inning. hit a leadoff home run but the no-out, bases-loaded jam that followed only led to one additional run after a double play grounder and a lineout minimized the threat.
After Colorado retook the momentum with LeMahieu’s grand slam, Ottavino got the first two outs of the eighth while being dinged for a run and walking three. Oh then came on with the bases loaded and Colorado unraveled, as Young Jr.’s hit was followed by a pair of unearned runs on a throwing error by Story turning a 7-5 lead into a 10-7 hole.
“It was one of those nights where I just didn’t have it,” Ottavino said. “I tried to fight through it there, but I couldn’t really calibrate my breaking ball at all, and that led to the walks. I tried to battle, but they didn’t bite at anything off the plate, and I didn’t throw much on the plate.”
And while the sizzling home runs by Ohtani (106.8 mph off the bat) and Trout (111.3) were the deciding highlights for the Los Angeles offense, the feather in Colorado’s offensive cap — beyond LeMahieu’s would-be decisive blast — was Story joining the 20/20 club with a swipe of second in the second.
Story is the seventh Rockies player, and first since in 2013, to accomplish the feat of stealing 20 bases and hitting 20 home runs in the same season. He’s also the seventh MLB shortstop 25 or younger to do it, joining a list that includes (2009), Hanley Ramirez (2007-09), Alex Rodriguez (1997-99) and Nomar Garciaparra (1997).
With the defeat, the Rockies — who entered Monday one game back of the second wild card spot and of first place in the division — dropped to 1 ½ back of idle Milwaukee in the wild-card race but don’t lose any ground to Arizona, as the Diamondbacks fell 2-0 to San Francisco on the road.
“We’ve got to keep our head level, and not let one loss get to us,” Gray said. “We know were too good for that, and we know what we’re destined for.”
Looking ahead
Rockies LHP Kyle Freeland (11-7, 2.96 ERA) at Angels TBA, 8:07 p.m., ATTRM
While Los Angeles has yet to name a starter, the reliable Freeland takes the mound for Colorado seeking a fifth straight quality start. The southpaw is doing an effective job limiting the big swing, as he’s only given up two home runs over his last eight starts, and is making his first outing against the Angels. The right-handed bats of Andrelton Simmons, Mike Trout and Albert Pujols will pose a challenge, however, especially considering Freeland’s splits against righties compared to lefties this season — 13 home runs versus two, and a .254 average compared to .181. When traffic does get aboard, however, look to the left-hander’s increasing strikeout ability (26 over the last three games combined) to get him out of jams. — Kyle Newman, The Denver Post
Wednesday: Off day
Thursday: Rockies TBA at Padres LHP Clayton Richard (7-11, 5.33), 8:10 p.m., ATTRM
Friday: Rockies TBA at Padres RHP Brett Kennedy (0-2, 7.58), 8:10 p.m., ATTRM
Saturday: Rockies TBA at Padres LHP Robbie Erlin (3-4, 3.69), 2:10 p.m., ATTRM
