Pirates 8, Rockies 3: End of the First Half

Despite a series win, Rockies fans are left with a bad taste in their mouths with a blowout loss against the Pirates to snap a five game win streak.

The win streak is over, the sweep is gone, a winning record is now another game in the distance, and the Colorado Rockies gave up eight runs and 16 hits to a team where the majority of their lineup is barely over the mendoza line. The Pittsburgh Pirates embarrassed the Rockies in their final home game of the first half, ending the Rockies’ longest win streak of the season at five games. The Rockies finish the first half with a 43-50 record while their pacific northwest counterparts in the Seattle Mariners just won their 14th game in a row. It was a brutal game on a brutally hot day in Denver.

Well, it could have Gomb worse?

Rockies starting pitcher Austin Gomber was not sharp today, especially in the first few innings. It felt like he was constantly dealing with traffic as he gave up seven hits and two walks over five innings of work. In the first inning a fielding error by Ryan McMahon set Gomber up to yield a run on back-to-back singles. In the third inning he yielded another two runs after two walks and a double. Thankfully those three runs (two earned) were the extent of the damage allowed by Gomber as he struck out five and kept the opponent from a home run for his second consecutive outing. His ERA is finally below 6.00 for the season, sitting at 5.97 as we head into the All-Star Break.

Bird and Estévez are blown away

Rookie reliever Jake Bird took over for Austin Gomber with a 3-3 score and left with the Rockies down another two runs. With one out, Bird gave up a single, a double, a groundout RBI, and another single as he was unable to finish a complete inning. He left the game after just ²⁄₃ of the frame for Lucas GIlbreath. For what it’s worth, Lucas Gilbreath was excellent this afternoon. In 1 ¹⁄₃ innings of work he struck out three batters and tried to help keep the Rockies in the game along with his relief in Bob Stephenson. Stephenson gave up one hit in the eighth inning but also pitched a scoreless frame. The Rockies finally fell apart the rest of the way in the ninth with Carlos Estévez on the mound. Estévez gave up two singles with one out, but the end seemed within reach after he struck out his fourth batter faced for the second out. He then gave up another single, re-loaded the bases with a walk, and a fourth single drove in another two runs. Mercifully the inning ended on a good throw from Charlie Blackmon in right field to get the runner at second.

I guess the Rockies can’t drive a stick shift, because they couldn’t find the clutch

The Rockies had plenty of opportunities to score runs in this afternoon’s ballgame with nine hits and three walks. However, they walked away with just three runs scored. The Rockies bats left seven men stranded while going a paltry 1-for-6 with RISP, grounded into three double plays, and were unable to drive runners home when they needed it most. The Rockies had the bases loaded with one out in the fourth inning only for Randal Grichuk to ground into a forceout and Connor Joe to fly out. Only one run scored. The Rockies had runners on the corners in the sixth with two outs and Connor Joe grounded out. CJ Cron kicked off the eigth inning with a single only for Brendan Rodgers to ground into a double play. Elias Díaz hit a double in the ninth inning only for Charlie Blackmon to hit into a line drive double play to end the game.

There were some offensive highlights rather than just offensive offense. Charlie Blackmon kicked off the game with a 436-foot triple off the Bridich Barrier in the first inning and would score on a José Iglesias sacrifice fly. CJ Cron and Brendan Rodgers were both 2-for-4 this afternoon. Elias Díaz seems to be finally finding his swing heading into the break. He was 2-for-3 with a triple and a double.

Coming Up Next

The Rockies don’t play again until Friday, July 22nd. They will kick off a four game series against the Milwaukee Brewers in “the good land” with Antonio Senzatela making his return from the injured list. First pitch will be at 6:10 PM MDT.