The Rockies had everything working for them on a rainy Tuesday night in the nation’s capital.
Lefty Austin Gomber made his fifth consecutive strong start and broke a 21-year-old franchise record. Rookie shortstop Ezequiel Tovar hit his 10th homer and played sparkling defense. And the Rockies pounded out 14 hits — on the road, no less.
But all that good stuff was washed away when the Nationals rallied for a 6-5 victory against Colorado’s usually dependable bullpen. Joey Meneses mashed a three-run homer off right-handed reliever Justin Lawrence in a four-run eighth for the game-winner.
“He’s not invincible,” Rockies manager Bud Black told reporters in Washington, D.C. “Justin’s pitched really, really well. They went down and got some balls. He just missed on the wrong side of the plate a couple of times.”
Lawrence entered the night riding an eight-game scoreless streak, allowing just two hits and three walks with 11 strikeouts in nine innings over that span. He had a 0.54 ERA with one win and five saves through his last 15 outings. But he was not sharp Tuesday night.
The start of the game was delayed by 90 minutes and the rain returned in the seventh, halting play for another 51 minutes.
Gomber, mixing a lively fastball, big curve and effective changeup, surrendered one unearned run over six innings. He struck out four and didn’t walk a batter.
How good has Gomber been? He’s walked just three batters over his last eight starts. Over his last five starts — all victories — the lefty has a 2.90 ERA with 19 strikeouts and just one walk. Gomber also has a walkless streak of 27 innings, the longest in team history, breaking the record of 23 2/3 innings set by Jose Jimenez in May-June 2002.
“It’s always nice to pick up the guys,” Gomber told reporters. “A lot of that is just not getting to 3-0 counts in the first place. I don’t pitch to avoid walks, I just try to throw strikes.”
With Colorado’s rotation decimated by injuries, Gomber has been a workhorse.
“He’s been huge,” Black said. “We need all of those innings. You can’t rely on our solid bullpen (every night). We are getting to the time of the season — late July, the dog days — where everybody is beaten down and bullpen arms are tired.”
Gomber got plenty of assistance from his defense, particularly Tovar and left fielder Nolan Jones.
Washington scratched out a run in the second, coming after a throwing error by third baseman Ryan McMahon that allowed Joey Meneses to reach. Stone Garrett moved Meneses to third with a single, and Riley Adam’s double to left drove in Meneses. But a perfect relay from Jones to Tovar to catcher Elias Diaz erased Garrett at the plate. The Nationals’ potential big inning fizzled.
Colorado had taken a 2-0 lead in the top of the frame, rattling right-hander Trevor Wiliams with three consecutive two-out hits: a single by Diaz, an RBI single by Michael Togila and an RBI single by Alan Trejo.
Tovar led off the third inning with his 10th homer, cranking Williams’ first-pitch slider into the left-field seats. Tovar now has 47 RBIs, tied with Diaz for the team lead. Singles by McMahon, Randal Grichuk and Diaz put Colorado ahead, 4-1.
Grichuk went 2 for 4, extending his hitting streak to nine games to .313.
Washington first hinted at its comeback in the seventh with a one-out, solo homer by Garrett off reliever Brad Hand, cutting Colorado’s lead to 4-2. But Lawrence put down the rally — but only momentarily.
CJ Abrams led off the eighth with a single and Lane Thomas reached on McMahon’s second error of the game after the ball scooted under his glove. Jelmer Candelario singled home Abrams and then Meneses clouted the game-winner.
“That’s a rarity,” Black said of McMahon’s costly errors. “It just looked like he was in between a few of the hops. He didn’t play them like ‘Mac’ usually plays them.”
The two teams meet Wednesday afternoon in the rubber match of the three-game series.
Wednesday’s pitching matchup
Rockies RHP Peter Lambert (2-1, 5.49 ERA) at Nationals RHP Jake Irvin (3-5, 4.87)
10:10 a.m. Wednesday, Nationals Park
TV: AT&T SportsNet
Radio: 850 AM/94.1 FM
Lambert, a long reliever earlier in the season, will be making his third start. He made a positive statement last Friday at Miami, pitching five scoreless innings after getting called up from Triple-A Albuquerque. It was the right-hander’s longest outing for the Rockies since pitching five innings on Sept. 14, 2019, vs. San Diego. Lambert has faced the Nationals twice in his career, going 0-1 with a 9.82 ERA. Irvin is fresh off a milestone outing. The rookie recorded a career-high nine strikeouts (five looking) and pitched a career-high 6 2/3 innings in Washington’s win over the Giants. He allowed three earned runs on five hits and one walk. In his seven starts since June 17, he’s 2-2 with a 4.10 ERA.
Pitching probables
Thursday: Off day
Friday: A’s LHP JP Sears (1-7, 4.19) at Rockies LHP Kyle Freeland (4-10, 4.72), 6:40 p.m., ATTRM
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