“That’s baseball” is one of manager Bud Black’s favorite refrains.
Seeing-eye base hits, bloop doubles, balls lost in the sun, and a crucial missed call by the home plate umpire. All that was on full display in the Rockies’ 8-2 loss to the Pirates on Sunday at Coors Field.
But that’s not what cost the Rockies a chance to clinch the three-game series in front of a Father’s Day crowd of 40,422. The Rockies’ offense was like a bad dad joke. Cringe-worthy.
After pounding out 16 runs on 16 hits in a 16-4 victory on Saturday night, Colorado followed up with nine hits on Sunday but never put together a big inning. Colorado was 2 for 8 with runners in scoring position, while the Pirates were 4 for 12.
“We had a lot of hits, but they were really spread out, not consecutive,” said third baseman Ryan McMahon, who hit 1 for 4. “You’ve got to get two or three hits in a row.”
Added Black, for the umpteenth time this season: “We just couldn’t really mount anything against their pitchers. We had a couple of opportunities with some mini-threats but couldn’t get anything sustained with another hit or two.”
Pittsburgh lefty starter Josh Fleming allowed four hits over four-plus scoreless innings. Fleming gave up back-to-back singles to Nolan Jones and Jake Cave to open the fifth. But reliever Carmen Mlodzinski rescued Fleming by getting Hunter Goodman to chop into a double play and Adael Amador to ground out to first.
The Pirates’ five-run sixth inning broke the Rockies’ back. Right-hander Dakota Hudson, who deserved a better fate, gave up a pair of cheap, one-out singles to Oneil Cruz and Nick Gonzalez. Gonzalez’s hit glanced off of Hudson and likely would have been a double play.
“That is what it is, but it’s part of the game, unfortunately,” Hudson said. “I felt a little upset that I couldn’t get out of the way to allow my Gold Glove-caliber shortstop (Ezequiel Tovar) a chance. He was ready to make that double play.”
At that point, Black opted for reliever Victor Vodnik.
Vodnik gave up a two-run infield single to Jared Triolo and another single to Jack Suwinski. Then came a critical pitch. Vodnik’s 3-2, 100 mph fastball looked like strike three, but umpire John Libka called it ball four to load the bases. Up stepped Jason Delay, who crushed a two-run double.
The Pirates tagged on two more runs in the seventh against Nick Mears. Bryan Reynolds led off with a single, Cruz doubled to right, and Rowdy Tellez blooped a two-run single to left.
Hudson fell to 2-9 after giving up three runs on seven hits over his 5 1/3 innings. He struck out five and walked one. Pittsburgh carved out a run in the second when Triolo lofted a two-out double to right field that Charlie Blackmon appeared to lose in the sun. Jack Suwinski followed up with an RBI single to give the Pirates a 1-0 lead.
“He threw great, and he deserved a better fate for sure,” Black said. “He was one groundball away from going six innings and giving up just the one run. He had a good slider, and that was the key today.”
The Rockies produced their first run in the seventh against lefty reliever Justin Bruihl, combining a leadoff double by Jacob Stallings, a single by Nolan Jones, and an RBI groundout by Cave. Jones, who had three hits, drove in Stallings with a single in the ninth for Colorado’s second run.
The Pirates continue to scuttle the Rockies in LoDo. They swept the Rockies in their three-game series at Coors last April, outscoring the Rockies 33-14. Dating back to 2015, Pittsburgh is 20-10 at Coors Field.
The Rockies, whose record slid to 4-11 in June after posting a 14-13 record in May, begin a four-game series against the Dodgers Monday night at Coors.
Sunday’s pitching matchup
Pirates TBA at Rockies RHP Dakota Hudson (2-8, 4.87 ERA)
1:10 p.m. Sunday, Coors Field
TV: Rockies.TV (streaming); Comcast/Xfinity (channel 1262); DirecTV (683); Spectrum (130, 445, 305, 435 or 445, depending on region).
Radio: 850 AM/94.1 FM
Hudson has pitched better of late, but he’s struggled at Coors Field, going 0-3 with a 7.57 ERA in six starts. Opponents have raked him at a .321 clip in LoDo. He’s 2-5 in eight road starts with a 3.07 ERA and a .197 average against. Overall, Hudson has pitched better lately, posting a 3.41 ERA over his last six starts. The former Cardinals pitcher is familiar with the Pirates, having faced them 11 times (seven starts) in his career, going 2-1 with one save and a 4.82 ERA. He faced Pittsburgh on Sept. 1 last season at Busch Stadium, allowing one run on just three hits over seven innings.
Pitching probables
Monday: Dodgers LHP James Paxton (6-1, 3.92) at Rockies RHP Cal Quantrill (6-4, 3.30), 6:40 p.m.
Tuesday: Dodgers RHP Walker Buehler (1-4, 4.64) at Rockies LHP Austin Gomber (1-4, 4.26), 6:40 p.m.
— Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post
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