It’s too early to say that the Rockies have been reborn, but they sure look recharged, revitalized and rejuvenated.
Their 8-3 victory over the Padres on Wednesday night at Coors Field offered the latest proof.
One night after losing a 1-0 game at home for the first time since Aug. 1, 2006, the Rockies rebounded with an impressive performance and snapped their seven-game losing streak to San Diego. Behind a strong start from Tomoyuki Sugano and a huge night at the plate from Hunter Goodman, Colorado improved to 10-15, including a 7-5 record at Coors.
Great shakes? No, but compared to a year ago, it’s baseball nirvana.
After the first 25 games of last season’s 119-loss debacle, the Rockies were 4-21 and had already suffered a six-game losing streak and an eight-game losing streak, and they were three games deep into another eight-game skid.
Sugano, who pitched poorly in Colorado’s 7-1 home loss to the Dodgers last Friday, handled the Padres for 5 2/3 innings. The veteran right-hander allowed one run on five hits, struck out four and walked one. He was never in serious trouble, though he departed the game with Manny Machado and Xander Bogaerts on base after back-to-back, two-out singles. But reliever Jaden Hill cleaned up the mess by getting Gavin Sheets to ground out to second.
Last season, the Rockies’ offense often got stuck in a rut and stayed there, spinning its wheels. In their 1-0 loss on Tuesday night, the Rockies managed just three hits. But they pounded out 15 hits on Wednesday, and scored five of their eight runs with two outs.
Goodman hit two doubles and launched a 427-foot leadoff home run in the eighth, his sixth homer of the season, tying Mickey Moniak for the team lead. Moniak continues to produce. He hit two doubles and drove in a run, and rookie first baseman TJ Rumfield drove in Goodman with an RBI single in the fourth and scored Moniak with a double in the sixth.
San Diego veteran right-hander Walker Buehler dominated the Rockies on April 10 at Petco Park, pitching six scoreless innings, allowing just three hits, walking none, and striking out four. Wednesday night, he got the hook after just 2 2/3 innings. The Rockies wrecked Buehler for four runs on eight hits, and he walked three.
The differing results were not solely due to different ballparks. The Rockies attacked Buehler differently this time around.
Colorado will attempt to win its third series of the season on Thursday afternoon vs. the Padres. Last season, Colorado didn’t win its third series until July 18-20, when it took two of three games from Minnesota at Coors.
Pitching probables
Thursday: Padres RHP Matt Waldron (0-1, 14.73 ERA) at Rockies RHP Ryan Feltner (1-1, 6.00), 1:10 p.m.
Friday: Rockies RHP Michael Lorenzen (1-2, 7.48) at Mets RHP Freddy Peralta (1-2, 4.05), 5:10 p.m.
Saturday: Rockies LHP Jose Quintana (0-2, 6.23) at Mets RHP Kodai Senga (0-3, 8.83), 2:10 p.m.
TV: Rockies.TV
Radio: 850 AM & 94.1 FM
