SAN DIEGO — The Rockies’ misery index went off the charts Saturday afternoon at Petco Park.
Despite a brilliant start by rookie right-hander Ryan Feltner and stellar work by their bullpen, the Rockies lost 2-1 to the Padres in 10 innings in the first game of a split doubleheader.
The end was excruciating for Colorado. With two outs in the 10th, right-hander Carlos Estevez threw a wild pitch and Padres “ghost runner” Manny Machado broke for third from second base. Catcher Elias Diaz threw wildly to third for an error and Machado scored the winning run.
The Rockies have gone 9-23 since May 8, a .281 winning percentage that is the worst in the majors over that span.
Manager Bud Black, while lamenting the Rockies’ lack of a clutch hit — they were 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position — was impressed by Feltner’s start and said that the right-hander would remain with the team going forward.
“What I liked was the fastball aggressiveness, and he had good use of the slider,” Black said. “He had a couple of curveballs and a couple of changeups in the mix, so he used his arsenal.”
Feltner, making his fifth start this season and the seventh of his career, said that Saturday’s game will help him going forward.
“This is a great environment here,” he said. “It’s a great team and they have a good lineup. So being able to see how my stuff plays against a team like this is great.”
Feltner got some well-deserved hugs from his teammates following his afternoon of work. Over six innings, the rookie right-hander allowed one run on two hits and walked just one.
The lone snag in his day was giving up a one-out solo home run to Trent Grisham in the third. Grisham sent Feltner’s 96 mph first-pitch fastball into the right-field seats to give San Diego a 1-0 lead.
Feltner, who trimmed his ERA from 5.85 to 4.85, could have blinked in the sixth but he didn’t. After giving up a two-out single to Jurickson Profar and walking Jake Cronenworth, Feltner faced Machado, the MVP candidate, for the third time in the game. Feltner threw a crisp 0-2 slider that Machado popped up to first baseman C.J. Cron, ending the threat.
“He’s a great hitter, so I knew that I had to adjust my plan a little bit,” Feltner said. “I knew I had to make the right pitches in the right spots. Buddy signaled from the dugout to take some deep breaths and relax. That was big for me.”
Black said that all three pitches to Machado were in near-perfect spots.
While the Rockies out-hit San Diego, 8-3, they continued a trend that has haunted them all season. Namely, the lack of a big hit in a big moment.
Colorado tied the game in the sixth on Brendan Rodger’s RBI double off right-hander Nick Martinez to score Charlie Blackmon, who struck out but reached first on Martinez’s wild pitch. Martinez made an emergency start in place of righty Mike Clevinger after Clevinger was placed on the COVID-19 injured list.
The second game of the doubleheader was scheduled for 8:10 p.m. (MDT) with lefty Kyle Freeland on the mound for Colorado and rookie left-hander MacKenzie Gore starting for the Padres.
