Clayton Beeter (3-3) gave up — on a 3-2 pitch — before Jordan Romano struck out two in the ninth for his seventh save. Juan Mejia (3-6) worked a scoreless eighth for the win.

José Tena had a two-out single off Rockies starter Michael Lorenzen in the first and for the third straight game for a 2-0 lead.

Mickey Moniak hit an RBI single as Colorado answered with a four-run second against rookie opener Carson Palmquist. Troy Johnston added a sacrifice fly, and Jake McCarthy doubled in a run before scoring on a two-out single by rookie Cole Carrigg, who had three of Colorado’s 12 hits.

again — his 24th — with Tena aboard to tie it 4-all in the third. Abrams has 78 RBIs to match the Cardinals’ Jordan Walker for most in the majors.

Willi Castro hit a leadoff double in the third against Nationals reliever Miles Mikolas before scoring on Kyle Karros’ groundout for a 5-4 lead.

James Wood delivered a two-out, two-run double to put the Nationals ahead 6-5 and chase Lorenzen, who allowed six runs on seven hits in 3 2/3 innings.

Goodman doubled and scored on a two-out single by TJ Rumfield to tie it in the fifth, and the sixth with his 16th homer to put the Rockies ahead 7-6.

Wood doubled in the seventh off Jimmy Herget before scoring on pinch-hitter Jorbit Vivas’ sacrifice fly to tie it at 7.

Palmquist was tagged for four runs and four hits over 1 2/3 innings in his seventh big league appearance, and Mikolas gave up three runs on six hits in 3 2/3 innings.

Up next

Nationals RHP Cade Cavalli (6-4, 3.78 ERA) starts Wednesday opposite Rockies RHP Gabriel Hughes (0-1, 3.14).

In a 10-3 blowout over the Reds, Colorado scored four runs on five consecutive knocks with two outs. The new faces brought to the lineup by president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta and general manager Josh Byrnes were central in the hit brigade.

Jake McCarthy got it going with a bunt single. Then Mickey Moniak, a solid signing by the Rockies’ previous administration, singled. Dynamic rookie Cole Carrigg singled. Then DePodesta acquisitions TJ Rumfield and Willi Castro both singled, before fellow Colorado newcomer Troy Johnston lined out into the shift up the middle to end the frame.

That sequence underscored how four of those players — the left-handed hitting McCarthy, Rumfield and Johnston, plus the switch-hitting Castro — have been key in Colorado’s offensive turnaround. The unit has gone from one of MLB’s worst in 2025 to one of the league’s best in ’26. And that quartet, who are all turning in strong seasons, signals the philosophy behind DePodesta’s long-term lineup-building strategy.

“Probably what it shows is our flexibility of thought in terms of what a good player can look like for us,” DePodesta said. “Those guys aren’t all out of the same cloth. Jake is an outfielder with terrific range, well above-average speed. He can impact the game in a lot of different ways, can play the small-ball game, can steal bases. He’ll also hit some homers.

“TJ and Troy are both, to some degree, magicians with the barrel. They can find ways to get hits. They hit good pitching. And TJ in particular has shown himself to be an excellent defensive first baseman. They can both hit for power. And for Willie, a lot of his value doesn’t necessarily show up in the stat sheet, because his dependability provides an incredible amount of roster flexibility for us.”

All four players were either cast off or overlooked last offseason, enabling the Rockies to bring them into their fold.

The Rockies claimed Johnston off waivers in early November, a couple days before DePodesta was hired. Colorado director of baseball operations pulled off the move, but DePodesta was consulted on it.

The other three players all came to Colorado in January.

The Rockies in exchange for one of the minor-league pitching prospects, Josh Grosz, the club got in last summer’s deadline deal that sent Ryan McMahon to the Yankees. And the Rockies in exchange for an unproven bullpen arm, Angel Chivilli, who has only appeared in eight big-league games this year. As for Castro, Colorado to a two-year, $12.8 million deal after the 2024 All-Star had a down year split between the Twins and Cubs.

Johnston says finding value in players that other teams are willing to discard will be a key factor in Colorado’s attempted turnaround.

“If you’re not going to go out and sign a $60 million guy, then you’ve got to make a way to find the undervalued guys that really put together a lineup and put together consistently good at-bats,” Johnston said. “DePodesta and this front office are valuing so many key things when bringing in guys like me (and McCarthy, Rumfield and Castro).

“They’re valuing (expected weighted on-base average). They’re valuing chase rate. They’re valuing all the advanced stats that goes into the seasons that you’re seeing (these key newcomers) are having.”

Dramatic turnaround at first

Rumfield has been Colorado’s best player by bWAR this season (2.6 entering Tuesday, just ahead of catcher Hunter Goodman’s 2.4) while emerging as a National League Rookie of the Year candidate.

After easily winning the vacant first base job in spring training, Rumfield carried that momentum into the season and is coming off honors in May and June. He’s hitting .296 with a .476 slugging (both first among qualified NL rookies), plus 13 homers, 51 RBIs and a club-high 28 multi-hit games. He’s also been strong defensively, ranking in the 88th percentile in outs above average at first.

Compare that to the nightmare season the Rockies got from the position last year via Michael Toglia, who hit .190 while striking out at a 39.2% clip. By non-tendering Toglia and trading for Rumfield, DePodesta sent a clear message that the Rockies need to move away from the egregious strikeout rates that plagued them the last three 100-loss seasons and towards contact hitters. This year, Rumfield’s K rate is 14.5%.

“One of the biggest things is that (DePodesta and Byrnes) don’t hire people to change,” Johnston said. “They want players they bring in to have a lot of success doing whatever they do well. That’s what they tell a lot of the guys: ‘We need guys that can drive in runs, that can move the bases, walk.’ They really focused on walking, cutting down on strikeouts, and just hard contact.

“With TJ, one of the most interesting parts about him is that he always stays within himself. He knows exactly who he is as a hitter.”

Rumfield says he’s not paying attention to the Rookie of the Year race, in which he is a dark horse behind the top candidates, Cardinals second baseman JJ Wetherholt and Reds corner infielder Sal Stewart.

But he looks around the Rockies clubhouse and sees a lot of young talent, many of whom are new to the team this season, that he thinks can help accelerate Colorado’s turnaround from last year’s historic 119-loss season.

“We’re building a good culture of young players, and that’s what the foundation of a good franchise is going to be,” Rumfield said. “It’s about having guys who are hungry. Like DePodesta said in spring training, you’ve got to have guys who can excel at the big-league level and not just be here. We have those guys in the clubhouse, and if you get enough of them, you start to put together the wins and play better baseball.”

‘A scrappy offense’

In the outfield, McCarthy has picked up the slack of Brenton Doyle (hitting .207 and hampered by injuries) and Jordan Beck (suffered a hamstring injury in May, and has been in Triple-A since late June after hitting .183).

McCarthy leads the Rockies , ranking fourth in the NL, and is one of three players in the majors with an average over .300 and slugging over .500. He is also first in the NL with a .392 average with runners in scoring position, is one of MLB’s fastest players and has been a solid defender in all three outfield spots.

He says his goal since coming to Colorado via trade is to “make Paul and Josh look super smart,” which he’s done so far. He also understands the assignment: Put the ball in play, use his speed (he leads the club with 17 steals, and his six bunt hits are tied for fourth in the majors) and limit the K’s (17.0% strikeout rate).

“I’m not trying to have weak contact, but I would rather hit a weak ground ball than strikeout just because there’s always an opportunity for an infield hit,” McCarthy said. “I understand we want to be a scrappy offense. I’m part of that. I feel like the Brewers are a good example of that. That (approach) wears on you as a defense.

“You combine that with the Coors Field element, and it’s how we can make an offensive identity.”

Meanwhile, Johnston is hitting .295. While McCarthy has bucked the norm by raking against lefties (.360) and Rumfield is hitting .311 against righties, Johnston is hitting .326 against righties. And Castro, who is hitting .264 this year, has played all four infield positions plus right field and center field as the team’s premier utility player.

DePodesta explains that Castro’s versatility has enabled other players to “carve out their niche.”

“Having him on this team is very instrumental for Kyle Karros, for TJ Rumfield, for Troy Johnston, for all those guys to get the opportunities they got to show what they can do at this level,” DePodesta said. “Willi gave us the ability to construct our team in a lot of different ways and to provide opportunities to young players (because he can play all the positions they play).”

As the Rockies aim to avoid becoming the fifth MLB team to lose 100 or more games four seasons in a row, manager Warren Schaeffer believes DePodesta’s additions to complement key returners such as Moniak (.276 average) and Hunter Goodman (30 homers) have already changed the lineup’s mentality.

“This offensive group is a group you want to go to battle with every night, and that’s what Paul wants, that’s what (Byrnes) wants,” Schaeffer said. “Guys that are a tough at-bat every at-bat, 27 outs, all night long, not giving anything away. We have a lineup full of those guys who typify that.

“The second inning (last Saturday showed)… we don’t have to hit (a bunch of) homers — just put the ball in play, and good things will happen in this ballpark.”

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Wetherholt, the Cardinals’ All-Star second baseman, is the clear favorite to win National League Rookie of the Year. But Rumfield continues to make his presence felt in the race after the first baseman notched a career-high four-hit day in Saturday’s 10-3 rout of the Reds at Coors Field.

“TJ’s making a very strong case for that (award), but he’s got another 62 games to go,” Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer deadpanned. “So no let up.”

Rumfield remains an 18-1 longshot to win the award, according to the but the fact remains that he’s been one of the Rockies’ best players this year. He’s made first-year president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta look “Moneyball” good, after DePodesta acquired Rumfield from the Yankees in January in exchange for middling reliever Angel Chivilli.

Rumfield quickly asserted himself with the club, winning the Abby Greer Award as Colorado’s spring training MVP while easily claiming the vacant first base job. He was NL Rookie of the Month in both May and June, the first player in franchise history to win that award in consecutive months.

Entering Saturday, among NL rookies who have played at least 80 games, here’s how Rumfield stacks up against the rest of the league’s rookies and Weatherholt specifically.

• 1st in average (.295) … Weatherholt .262
• 1st in on-base percentage (.379) … Weatherholt .359
• 1st in OPS (.851) … Weatherholt .768
• 1st in wOBA (.373) … Weatherholt .342
• 1st in wRC (64) … Weatherholt 57
• 2nd in bWAR (2.4) … Weatherholt 4.0
• 2nd in slugging (.472) … Weatherholt .408
• 3rd in homers (12) … Weatherholt 14
• 3rd in RBIs (47) … Weatherholt 37
• 3rd in walks (40) … Weatherholt 41

The first baseman opened his career day on Saturday with an RBI single to center in the first inning to make it 2-0. Then, Rumfield had another RBI single in the second off Rhett Lowder, pushing the score to 5-0. He led off the fourth with another single, this time off Metropolitan State University of Denver alum Julian Garcia.

Then came the moonshot in the sixth, a two-run, 456-foot homer off Caleb Ferguson that solidified the skunking by making it 10-2. It was Rumfield’s longest career homer and gave him a career-high 4 RBIs.

“That’s a tough matchup with Ferguson, left-on-left, but TJ’s just a great hitter,” outfielder Jake McCarthy said. “He shoots balls the other way with two strikes, and then when he wants to do damage, he can do that.”

Rumfield also had a web gem in the win, snaring a sharp one-hop grounder down the line with a slick backhand play to get Edwin Arroyo out. Rumfield, who said he isn’t paying attention to where he stands in the Rookie of the Year race, downplayed his big day.

“It’s a cool day to have individually, but collectively, I feel like this is one of the best baseball games we’ve played as a whole,” Rumfield said.

Meanwhile, Reds third baseman Sal Stewart — the first Cincinnati rookie to make the All-Star Game , and the top Vegas challenger to Weatherholt’s award candidacy — was 0 for 4 with a strikeout as his average dropped to .254.

Also of note in Saturday’s victory, Tomoyuki Sugano returned from a brief stint on the injured list (back spasms) with a quality start to complement Colorado’s offense. The Japanese starter spun six-plus innings, allowing three runs on six hits with three strikeouts and no walks. Cincinnati’s biggest damage came off a pair of solo homers by catcher Jose Trevino in the third and fifth as Sugano became the first Rockies pitcher to record a winning decision in four straight Coors Field starts since Jon Gray in 2021.

“I saw excellent fastball command, strong velo (topping at 93.6), and the splitter was really good,” Schaeffer said. “He gave us just what we needed today. It was typical Tomoyuki Sugano stuff.”

The Dodgers found that out this week. For the third consecutive game, the Rockies made an early Dodgers’ lead disappear, forcing the Dodgers to put together a game-winning rally in the eighth inning to beat them, 4-3, on Wednesday night.

The Dodgers took two of three in the series but all three games were one-run decisions, .

“I think that catching a lead, letting teams hang around and kind of nip their way back, and then you kind of leave it for chance – we did that,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “And to those guys’ credit – they’re young, they’re excitable, they want to make their mark, so they’re competing. But yeah, we did that. Didn’t feel great, but you know, fortunately, we won a series, But that����ap not the way you want to do it.”

Making his first major-league start (second appearance), the 10th pick in the 2022 MLB draft, right-hander Gabriel Hughes got off to a shaky start.

He gave up a one-out single to Tommy Edman and a double to Freddie Freeman. Back-to-back walks forced in a run and .

Hughes struck out Alex Call – – to end the inning.

Hughes is a quick learner – he got his degree in biology from Gonzaga in just three years. He course-corrected after that rough first inning and struck out five of the next seven Dodger batters after Tucker’s single and retired 15 in a row before the Dodgers had another hit.

By then, the Rockies had erased the three-run getaway in a mixed bag of a start from Roki Sasaki.

Sasaki came in on a four-start stretch during which he had a 10.66 ERA, was hit for a .300 average and completed five innings just once .

This was better than that. He made it through six innings and retired the last nine batters he faced.

But he also gave up solo home runs to and in the second inning and walked the No. 9 hitter, Brett Sullivan, to start the third inning. A wild pitch, a ground out and a sacrifice fly turned that into the tying run.

It looked like Sasaki’s night might go further south when he gave up a single to TJ Rumfield to start the fourth inning and Karros bounced a double down the third-base line. But Sasaki struck out Troy Johnston and Julien, then got Ezequiel Tovar to fly out. He didn’t give up another hit in his six innings.

“It was good to see him just bow his neck and go compete,” Roberts said. “He had given up three runs at that point, and there was some stress, and second and third, nobody out, and he found a way to get some punchouts and a fly ball, and get out of that inning. And you can see the demeanor walking off the mound, the confidence.”

Sasaki walked off with a 5.33 ERA for the first half of the season with the Dodgers left to point at his May performance (a 3.18 ERA in five starts) for signs of progress.

“When you look at the numbers, I’m not satisfied with that,” Sasaki said through his interpreter. “But I was able to keep (in) the rotation and the velocity has kind of gotten a little bit up. So I’m kind of happy with it.”

Roberts acknowledged the “inconsistent” character of Sasaki’s first half and acknowledged there is “room for growth.”

“Certainly, the month of May was fantastic,” Roberts said. “I think he’s just continuing to get better and to learn himself. … I think there’s improvement. I do think that from the outset of the season to as we sit here on July 8, he’s a grade and a half better than what he was when he started the season.”

The Dodgers’ bullpen kept the score tied in the eighth inning despite a throwing error by third baseman Max Muncy and a double by Jake McCarthy to start the inning and an intentional walk to load the bases with one out. Alex Vesia and Edgardo Henriquez combined to strand all three.

In the bottom of the inning, the Dodgers didn’t waste their opportunity. Singles by Edman and Freeman put runners at the corners with one out against Rockies reliever Antonio Senzatela. Betts fell behind in the count, 1-and-2, but fouled off three pitches, worked the count full and stroked the ninth pitch of the at-bat into center field to drive in the go-ahead run.

“I was just trying to drive it to start,” Betts said. “And once I got down, I don’t know, I just had this calmness, to just kind of relax. Can’t force it. You can’t hit a bad pitch. You still have to get something decent to get the job done. And I think kind of relaxing actually helped me a lot.”

There wasn’t a whole lot of calmness or that kind of confidence to Betts’ game for the first couple of months of the season. But he has turned things around since mid-June.

“He’s got some confidence again,” Roberts said. “He feels good where he’s at physically. … I’m happy with what he’s done over the last month. And he’s come a ways.”

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The 471-foot shot off Dylan Smith’s fastball was Karros’ seventh home run of the season and the longest of his career.

With Karros’ homer, the Rockies have 122 runs in the eighth inning or later this season, the highest mark in the majors.

471 FEET KYLE KARROS YOU BEAUTY

— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies)

TJ Rumfield had three hits, including his 20th double of the season, and scored twice for Colorado. He has 94 hits, the most by a Colorado rookie before the All-Star Break in franchise history.

Hunter Goodman and Troy Johnston added an RBI apiece for Colorado, which won its ninth series of the season, surpassing its total from the entire 2025 season.

Victor Vodnik (3-3) picked up the win after throwing a shutout eighth inning while Smith (0-1) took the loss. Jordan Romano got his fifth save, striking out Willy Adames swinging with two outs and a runner on second.

Rafael Devers hit his team-leading 17th and 18th home runs for San Francisco. Casey Schmitt and Drew Gilbert also homered for the Giants.

Up next

• Rockies LHP Kyle Freeland (2-7, 7.25) was scheduled in Los Angeles on Monday night against Dodgers LHP Eric Lauer (3-0, 2.88).
• Giants RHP Landen Roupp (5-8, 4.55) was set to oppose Toronto RHP Kevin Gausman (4-7, 4.19) in San Francisco on Monday night.

DENVER — Robbie Ray threw six efficient innings after regrouping from a fall while covering first base, Willy Adames hit a two-run double as part of a four-run opening frame and the beat the Colorado Rockies 6-4 on Saturday night.

Ray (8-6) allowed three runs while striking out four.

It was a wobbly opening frame for Ray, who fell to the ground after taking a flip from Rafael Devers and stepping on first base for the second out. Ray continued after being checked out.

But the left-hander allowed four straight baserunners, including a three-run homer from Cole Carrigg. Ray settled in and kept the Rockies at bay before turning the game over to the bullpen. Caleb Kilian gave up a two-out RBI single to pinch-hitter TJ Rumfield in the ninth. He struck out Troy Johnston to end the game and earn save No. 8.

Newly-named All Star Luis Arraez had three hits, including an RBI single, while Bryce Eldridge added a solo homer and a run-scoring double.

Sean Sullivan (0-3) allowed six runs over 5 2/3 innings. He was recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque to start for , who went on the injured list with back spasms.

There were a pair of delays Saturday, starting with weather that caused the scheduled first pitch to be pushed back by 46 minutes. The other took place before the fifth inning when home-plate umpire Scott Barry left the game and Manny Gonzalez needed time to assemble his gear. Barry appeared to take a foul ball near the lower part of his mask in the third.

Rockies catcher had two hits and two walks on the day he was named an All Star for a second straight season.

Up next

The Rockies will throw Tanner Gordon (0-2, 6.69) Sunday. The Giants will throw righty Tyler Mahle (1-8, 5.67).

McCarthy was 4 for 5 to raise his batting average to .308. He also homered twice in a 2024 game with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

McCarthy sent the first pitch he saw from Logan Webb (5-6) 440 feet to right center, then made it 7-1 in the third with an RBI single. He also went to right center in the fifth for the grand slam — his career-best ninth home run of the season.

After the grand slam, Hunter Goodman doubled, TJ Rumfield walked and Cole Carrigg drove them both in with his third triple. Tyler Freeman drove in Carrigg.

Ezequiel Tovar was 3 for 4 with a two-run homer in the second inning, and Carrigg went 2 for 4 with three RBIs. The Rockies had 18 hits.

Ryan Feltner (3-2) threw six strong innings, striking out a season-high nine. He allowed six hits and three runs — two of them earned.

Gabriel Hughes allowed two hits and struck out one in three innings of relief for his first career save in his major league debut.

Rafael Devers hit his 16th home run of the season for the Giants.

Up next

Rockies RHP Tomoyuki Sugano (8-4, 4.80) was set to start Saturday night against LHP Robbie Ray (7-6, 3.39).

Griffin Conine hit a three-run homer off the third-deck facade in right field and righty Sandy Alcantara improved to 6-0 in June as the rallied for a 10-7 win over the on Monday night.

Trailing 5-2 in the fifth, Otto Lopez started the inning with a solo homer. Conine entered the game as a pinch hitter and smashed a changeup from Victor Vodnik (2-3) that went an estimated distance of 433 feet to send the Marlins on their way to a seventh straight win over Colorado.

It was Conine’s first homer since April 8. He returned from the 60-day injured list on June 21 after being sidelined with a .

Alcantara (9-4) went 5 2/3 innings and surrendered five runs. The right-hander became the third pitcher in team history to finish 6-0 in a calendar month. The accomplished the feat in May 2016 and Chris Hammond in June 1993.

Miami finished with eight extra-base hits, including a two-run double from Leo Jiménez in the second and a bases-clearing triple from Javier Sanoja in the seventh. Sanoja also had a double and a single. He had a chance at the cycle in the ninth and popped out.

Hunter Goodman crushed a solo shot in the seventh for his 13th homer in June. The only other Rockies player to homer at least 13 times in a calendar month was Troy Tulowitzki with 15 in September 2010.

Rockies starter Sean Sullivan allowed five runs over 4 2/3 innings in a no-decision.

TJ Rumfield began a three-run second inning with a single that extended his hitting streak to 12 games.

Up next

The Marlins will throw righty Eury Pérez (3-6, 4.41 ERA) on Tuesday night. Colorado has yet to name a starter.

___

AP MLB:

But the 26-year-old Rumfield, who’s displayed remarkable patience and plate discipline for a rookie, waited on reliever Dennis Santana’s 3-1 changeup and smashed it into the seats beyond right field for a three-run homer. The Rockies scored two more runs in the eighth, but the Pirates prevailed, 8-6, denying Colorado a three-game sweep at Coors Field.

Still, Rumfield continues to put himself into the early conversation for National League rookie of the year. His homer was his 12th on the season, and he leads the Rockies with 42 RBIs. He ranks among qualified NL rookies in hits (tied for first, 74), homers (tied for second), OPS (first, .842), batting average (second, .279), RBIs (second), and slugging percentage (second, .483).

“He’s doing it in all facets of the game,” manager Warren Schaeffer said. “His defense has been outstanding. I’d start there. I’d start with the consistency of the at-bats — walks. The ability to play every day, through everything, that’s what good players do. He posts up. Really, I’d point to everything he’s doing. The only thing he doesn’t do is steal bases.”

The soft-spoken Rumfield, predictably, said that visions of postseason honors have not entered his head, even after he was named NL rookie of the month in May.

“Even a thing like rookie of the month is just outside noise,” Rumfield said. “It has nothing to do with how I am going to prepare for the game tomorrow or the next day or the day after. It’s nice to be recognized for something, but also, you need to know what it took to get there.”

Over his last 11 games, Rumfield is hitting .357 (15 for 42) with 10 extra-base hits — four doubles, one triple, and five homers. For the season, he’s hitting .299 with runners in scoring position.

He was taught in the Yankees’ minor league system that the ability to produce runs is paramount. He learned a hard lesson at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, under assistant hitting coach Trevor Amicone, now a coach with the Twins.

“I grounded into a double play on a first pitch (against) a relief pitcher,” recalled Rumfield, whom the Rockies acquired in a January trade. “I remember the hitting coach sat me down the next day. He basically laid it out and said, ‘That can’t happen. If you are going to be one of the guys that hits in the middle of the order, and if you ground into a double play, your team has no chance.’ It’s just things like that, and situations, and being on that sort of stuff.”

On Sunday, Colorado had just one hit through the first seven innings, and starter Michael Lorenzen struggled to put Pirates hitters away, even though he felt that his stuff was solid. The right-hander gave up four runs on seven hits over 5 1/3 innings. Nick Gonzales mashed a two-run, 431-foot homer to left-center in the fourth.

“I thought Mike was good, I thought it was another building block for him,” Schaeffer said. “I thought he pitched very well and got ahead in counts.”

Lorenzen, who has a 7.11 ERA, has definitely pitched better of late, throwing at least five innings in each of his last three starts, while posting a 3.52 ERA with 17 strikeouts. But he was not happy with his performance on Sunday.

“I just let too many guys off the hook, and that was frustrating,” he said. “Most of the hits were two strikes, and there were a lot of two-strike pitches in play because I couldn’t execute a 1-2 or 0-2 pitch that was anywhere near the zone.

“It’s one of those things that is going to keep me up at night because, like I said, I let a lot of guys off the hook. If I could have just executed on pitch to a lot of those guys, we’re in a much better spot as a team.”

Pitching probables

Monday: Red Sox LHP Jake Bennett (1-3, 4.79 ERA) at Rockies RHP Ryan Feltner (2-2, 5.05), 6:40 p.m.
Tuesday: Red Sox RHP Sonny Gray (8-1, 3.12) at Rockies LHP Sean Sullivan (0-1, 10.29), 6:40 p.m.
Wednesday: Red Sox LHP Ranger Suarez (3-3, 2.93) at Rockies LHP Kyle Freeland (1-7, 7.36), 1:10 p.m.
Thursday: Off day

TV: Rockies.TV
Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM

And, oh yes, a 2-1 Rockies victory that clinched the series win over the Pirates. It was Colorado’s seventh series win of the season, and they have won four of their last seven series.

Now, about that funky ending. With the bases loaded and two outs and Rockies right-hander Jaden Hill on the mound, the Pirates’ Jake Mangum hit a grounder to Rockies third baseman Kyle Karros, who never got a throw off. But Karros immediately protested that Billy Cook, running from second to third, had interfered with Karros’ attempt to field the ball. Karros said that Cook’s cleat hit his glove.

The umpires huddled and called Cook out, ending the ballgame. The Pirates protested, but after the game, manager Don Kelly conceded that the call was correct.

“It was just a slow roller, and I was going to get the ball, and his cleat kind of clipped my glove,” Karros explained. “I still fielded the ball, but it was rattling around my glove, and I couldn’t really get a throw off. I knew the rule going into the play: if there is any contact, the runner is out.”

There were plenty of Pirates fans in the crowd who showed up to watch Pirates ace Paul Skenes do his thing. And he did. But so did the Rockies’ Tomoyuki Sugano, who actually outpitched Skenes.

Rockies leadoff hitter Jake McCarthy provided the night’s pyrotechnics. He hammered Skene’s fourth pitch of the game — a 95 mph fastball — into the gap in right-center. Center fielder Jake Mangum dove for the ball, and when he missed, McCarthy motored around the bases for an inside-the-park home run.

“(Mangum) almost made a really good play, but I’m always trying to take extra 90s when I can get them,” McCarthy said. “I’ve never had an insider-the-parker before. It’s usually a triple and an error, so that was cool.”

McCarthy’s inside-the-park homer was the first one for the Rockies since Ian Desmond did it on June 14, 2019, vs. San Diego. It was the second leadoff inside-the-park home run in franchise history. Eric Young Jr. also did it on Aug. 8, 2012, at Dodger Stadium.

The methodical Sugano doesn’t have Skene’s firepower, but the veteran right-hander knows how to pitch. Working like a craftsman, he kept the Pirates off-balance for six innings. His slider was particularly effective. Sugano allowed one run on four hits, struck out a season-high five, and didn’t walk a batter. He made his team-leading fourth quality start of the season.

Sugano was aware that the Rockies were facing one of baseball’s elite pitchers, but he concentrated on his game.

“It’s not that I don’t think about (competing against Skenes) at all,” Sugano said through interpreter Yuto Sakura. “But it’s not me facing Paul Skenes, in particular. I just thought, minimize the damage. I just knew that we can’t really score that much. He’s a good pitcher, so I wanted to minimize the damage.”

Skenes, last year’s National League Cy Young Award winner, gave up two runs on four hits over six innings. The right-hander struck out eight, but also walked two and plunked two.

“We didn’t get a lot of big hits against him, but I thought we made him work,” Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer said.

The game began poorly for Sugano. Pirates leadoff hitter Spencer Horowitz planted Sugano’s fourth pitch of the game — a 2-1, 93.7 mph fastball — into the second deck in right field. Next up, Brandon Lowe laced a single to right.

But from that point on, Sugano allowed only two hits and retired the final 12 batters he faced.

The Rockies took a 2-1 lead in the third, again utilizing McCarthy’s speed. He dumped a ball into shallow center field and turned it into a hustle double. McCarthy scored on TJ Rumfield’s opposite-field single to left.

“Jake does that all of the time; that’s how he plays baseball,” Colorado manager Warren Schaeffer said. “It’s every day. That’s why he’s such a great player. That’s what he brings to the table every single night.

“It really plays up here at Coors Field with the expansive outfield. He uses it to his advantage, and he’s always hard out of the box. He set the tone tonight, no doubt about it.”

Pitching probables

Sunday: Pirates RHP Jared Jones (1-1, 6.23 ERA) at Rockies RHP Michael Lorenzen (2-8, 7.13), 1:10 p.m.
Monday: Red Sox LHP Jake Bennett (1-3, 4.79) at Rockies RHP Ryan Feltner (2-2, 5.05), 6:40 p.m.
Tuesday: Red Sox RHP Sonny Gray (8-1, 3.12) at Rockies LHP Sean Sullivan (0-1, 10.29), 1:40 p.m.
TV: Rockies.TV
Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM