The Colorado Rockies rolled into Daikin Park hoping to end a four-game losing streak by winning their fourth consecutive game against the Houston Astros in two weeks.
While they chipped away at an Astros lead amassed in the third inning, the Rockies could never quite get there, losing the series opener 7-6.
Innings 1-3: The Rockies start climbing — and then fall back
The Rockies offense got off to a quick start with a Hunter Goodman home run in the first inning off the lefty starter Colton Gordon.
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The Astros got on the board in the second inning, however, with a home run from — who else? — Christian Walker (his fourth of the season).
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Things took a turn for the worse in the bottom of the third, which started with a Christian Vázquez double followed by a Willi Castro error that put Jose Altuve on base. After that, Michael Lorenzen was called for a balk, and then Yordan Álvarez entered the chat with a two-run double, tying the game at three.
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There were no outs.
Things only went downhill from there. With two outs in the third, after a seemingly endless series of Astros hits and Rockies defensive adventures (Castro had another error), the score was 7-3. At that point, Lorenzen was knocked out of the game with Antonio Senzatela entering in relief.
When the inning (finally) ended, the score was 7-3 with the Astros sending 11 batters to the plate.
Lorenzen’s final line was 2.2 IP on 71 pitches with seven runs, two earned, on six hits. He walked one and struck out three. His ERA is 9.18.
It seemed like yet another game in which the Rockies were too far behind to catch up.
“It just seemed like we were unable to stop the bleeding,” manager Warren Schaeffer said.
Innings 4-7: A slow (but steady) climb
As it turns out, the Rockies were not done yet.
Jordan Beck went yard in the top of the fourth making the score 7-4.
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Kyle Karros and Jake McCarthy followed that with their own singles before Tyler Freeman was HBP. (It looked painful.) That knocked Gordon out of the game.
Mickey Moniak came in to hit for Brenton Doyle but popped out to short, leaving the bases loaded.
As for Gordon, he finished the evening with 3.2 IP on 68 pitches. He allowed four runs (all earned) on eight hits while also striking out five.
Goodman led off the fifth inning with another home run, and the score was 7-5.
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Innings 8-9: The mountain was too steep
The Rockies mounted another comeback in the eighth as Ezequiel Tovar and Karros managed walks. Troy Johnston came in for McCarthy and promptly hit an RBI single, making the score 7-6 Astros.
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There were two on and two out when Moniak came up, but he popped out, ending the inning.
The Rockies kept pushing in the ninth. After two quick outs, T.J. Rumfield hit a single followed by a Tovar single. Brett Sullivan came in to pinch run for Rumfield and stopped at third, leaving questions as to whether he should have continued home.
Beck stepped to the plate after going 2-for-4 with a home run and a single. However, he struck out looking, ending the game, giving the Rockies yet another one-run loss.
The Rockies finished the evening with 6 runs on 12 hits. They went 2-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left 10 runners on base with four walks and 12 Ks.
The Astros never scored again after the third inning, but the Rockies couldn’t overcome the deficit.
“These guys are getting better every day,” Schaeffer said. “We just need to turn these one-run losses into some wins.”
Then he added, “We’re going to turn the page.”
Antonio Senzatela and the bullpen finished strong
The reinvented Antonio Senzatela entered the game in the third to get the elusive final out, which he did, striking out Altuve and then settling in to pitch a gorgeous 3.1 innings. He gave two only two hits on 43 pitches and is now scoreless in his last five appearances.
It is not an exaggeration to say that Senzatela changed the tenor of the game. He stopped what seemed to be an endless Astros rally and gave the Rockies an opportunity to get back into the game.
Schaeffer described Senzatela as “incredibly important” to the Rockies. “You know he’s going to keep you right in the game.”
Juan Mejia pitched the seventh and gave up two hits before getting three outs.
The eighth went to Zach Agnos who made quick work of the Astros, striking out two and getting a ground out to end the inning.
Up Next
Join us tomorrow night for Game 2 at 6:10 pm. Neither team has announced their starting pitcher.
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