Charlie Blackmon, who retired last month after a 14-year career with the Colorado Rockies, has moved back to Georgia and listed his home in Denver’s Belcaro neighborhood.
Blackmon lives full time in Atlanta with his wife, Ashley, and their two young children, so he’s selling his home in a gated community near Cherry Creek.
He listed the 5,500-square-foot, four-bedroom, five-bath home with a three-car tandem garage on Sept. 11 for $4.3 million. Justin Joseph and Deviree Vallejo with LIV Sotheby’s International Realty have the listing.
Blackmon purchased the home, constructed in 2014, for $2.8 million in June 2018.
“We’ve loved the outdoor living space and think it’s among the best features of our home. The home gets great sunlight which lends itself to a dip in the pool or just enjoying the patio,” said Blackmon, who answered questions about the home in writing.
“We’ve also enjoyed many cool Denver evenings hanging around the custom gas firepit with friends. When the weather is great, we also open the sliding doors that merge the outdoor TV area with the living room,” he said. “We’ve loved it all.”
The home features a chef’s kitchen with Wolf and Sub-Zero appliances, a built-in Miele coffee maker, and a large marble island and ample storage. The second floor includes three large bedrooms, each with an ensuite bathroom.
Joseph called the home a peaceful enclave in the city’s heart and an entertainer’s paradise.
After Blackmon purchased the home, he improved the outdoor space by adding performance tile and inlaid turf that extends around the home’s side for a dog run, Joseph said.
Living in a gated community was helpful for a local celebrity.
“When we purchased the home, we really liked how the community is a protected enclave,” Blackmon said.
Blackmon, a second-round draft pick, overcame an injury-plagued start to finish his career hitting .293 with 227 home runs and 1,805 hits. He trails only Rockies first baseman Todd Helton in games played, runs, hits, doubles, extra-base hits and total bases, and leads the Rockies with 68 triples.
How does Charlie Blackmon stack up against other Rockies all-timers? A look at 13 major statistical categories in which Blackmon ranks within the top five in franchise history.
All of Blackmon’s statistics are as of Friday Sept. 27, entering his final series with the club. The outfielder/DH also ranks in the top 10 in club history in several other notable categories such as bWAR for position players (21.2/7th), hit by pitch (110/1st), singles (1,173/2nd), extra base hits (629/2nd), runs created (1,075/third) and sacrifice flies (39/tied for 5th).
Playing at a hitter’s paradise, better known as Coors Field, the Rockies’ offense continues to underperform.
The Rockies had nine mostly empty hits in a 5-2 loss to the Cardinals on Wednesday night. They were 1 for 6 with runners in scoring position and struck out 11 times.
Fireworks came late with Brenton Doyle’s leadoff homer in the ninth off lefty reliever Matthew Liberatore. It was Doyle’s 23rd homer of the season, but his first since Aug. 29.
Colorado, on course for its second straight 100-loss season, has scored three runs or fewer 35 times at home this season, extending a franchise record. The old mark was 31 times in 2011.
“Offensively, it hasn’t been the year that we had hoped for,” manager Bud Black said. “When you start the season, you have expectations for your group. We had some guys take a step back, but we also had some guys take a step forward.
“But this season … there haven’t been enough guys have the type of season we anticipated.”
Black hopes the younger players will continue to grow, but knows the whole team needs to improve.
“We have talked about this a lot,” he said. “We have to cut down on our strikeouts and we need a better two-strike approach. (Our) situational hitting needs to improve.
“Tonight, again, we had double-digit strikeouts. We have to make sure that (improving the offense) is a huge priority going into next year, whether it’s personnel or whether it’s major adjustments.”
With a 60-98 record, the Rockies must win three of their four remaining games to dodge 100 losses. Last year’s 103-loss season was the worst in franchise history.
Cardinals right-hander Erick Fedde was in command for seven innings, scattering six hits, allowing one run, and fanning 10.
Rockies starter Austin Gomber wasn’t great in his final start of the season, but he wasn’t as bad as the black-and-white box score will show: Four runs allowed on seven hits over five innings. He struck out three and didn’t walk any.
Gomber took pride in the fact that he “went to the post” all season and his rigorous offseason routine kept his back healthy.
“Compared to the last couple years I feel great,” he said. “My back feels great. Not one day this year did I wake up with a sore back or anything. That was nice and it shows that the adjustments I made paid off.”
Wednesday night, the left-hander was victimized by a few hard hits balls and several hits that rolled to daylight.
St. Louis scored a single run off Gomber in the second, third, fourth and fifth innings:
• Thomas Saggese’s RBI double to drive in Ivan Herrera was the key hit of the second.
• Masyn Winn led off the third with a triple off the right-field wall and scored on Brendan Donovan’s sacrifice fly.
• Singles by Nolan Arenado, Saggese and Pedro Pages produced a run in the fourth.
• In the fifth, Winn scorched a leadoff double off the right-field wall, advanced to third on Donovan’s groundout to second and scored on Paul Goldschmidt’s sacrifice fly to right.
Gomber finished his season 5-12 with a 4.75 ERA over a career-high 30 starts and a career-high 165 innings pitched. He walked one or fewer batters in his last five starts, finishing the season with a career-low 2.07 walks per nine innings.
“I’m proud of the fact that Austin got to 30 starts and pretty much answered the bell all season,” Black said. “He held up his end of the bargain, in the big picture.”
Colorado’s lone run off Fedde came in the third, but the inning could have been more bountiful. Jacob Stallings led off with a single and Nolan Jones followed with a double to left-center that nearly cleared the wall.
Second baseman Aaron Schunk, filling in for Brendan Rodgers who’s still nursing a tight right hamstring, drove in Stallings with a single to left.
But Schunk was thrown out trying to steal second and then Charlie Blackmon scorched a line drive straight into Goldschmidt’s glove at first, and Goldschmidt threw across the diamond to double-up Jones at third base.
Given some consistent playing time, Schunk has delivered. He extended his career-best hitting streak to seven games, during which he’s hit .526 (10 for 19).
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
After a terrible four-game start to his season, followed by a two-month stint on the injured list with a left elbow strain, Freeland has been solid. He’d certainly like to finish his season strong, especially after not pitching particularly well in his last start in Los Angeles where the Dodgers tagged him for four runs on seven hits over six innings. The lefty has fared well at home, going 2-1 with a 3.75 ERA in nine starts at Coors Field. Freeland has faced the Cardinals six times in his career, going 0-3 with a 4.54 ERA, including 22 strikeouts and 13 walks. Freeland last faced St. Louis at Coors on April 11, 2023, allowing two runs on six hits in across six innings.
Gibson will make his fifth career start vs. Colorado. He last faced the Rockies on June 8 at Busch Stadium, allowing three runs over six innings in the Cardinals’ 6-5 loss. He has not allowed a home run in two starts (12 1/3 innings) at Coors Field, where’s 1-0 with a 3.65 ERA. Gibson was charged with a loss last Friday when the Cardinals lost, 5-1, to Cleveland. He gave up four runs (three earned) on six hits and three walks over six innings. He struck out two.
Pitching probables
Friday: Dodgers TBA at Rockies RHP Cal Quantrill (8-10, 4.72), 6:10 p.m.
Saturday: Dodgers RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto (6-2, 2.96) at Rockies RHP Antonio Senzatela (0-0, 3.38), 6:10 p.m.
Sunday: Dodgers RHP Landon Knack (3-5, 3.74) at Rockies RHP Ryan Feltner (3-10, 4.66), 1:10 p.m.
On cue, that old Blackmon magic showed up Tuesday night at Coors Field, but the Rockies’ chances of beating the Cardinals disappeared with the return of late-inning pratfalls.
St. Louis scored a run in the seventh and four more in the eighth to turn a tight game into a 7-3 cruiser.
Colorado lost when leading after six innings for the 15th time this season (a 43-15 record), the second-most such losses in the National League behind the Mets (61-16).
A day after announcing his retirement, 14-year veteran Charlie Blackmon swung his magic wand and gave the Rockies a short-lived 3-2 lead in the fifth with an RBI triple into the right-center gap.
Blackmon is 38, but he still has the wheels of a much younger player, and he burned up the basepath on his way to third. The triple was Blackmon’s team-leading fifth of the season and the 68th of his career, the most in franchise history and the most among all active major leaguers.
Blackmon also led off the eighth with a double, but the Rockies failed to bring him home. Colorado has now scored three runs or fewer 34 times at home, extending a franchise record. The old mark was 31 times in 2011.
The Cardinals turned four hits and a walk into four runs in the eighth off right-handed relievers Angel Chivilli and Jake Bird. The clutch hits were RBI singles by Jordan Walker and Victor Scott off Chivilli and a two-run double by Masyn Winn off Bird.
“When you elevate the ball, you are putting yourself in danger,” Rockies manager Bud Black said, referring to Chivilli. “You look at the changeups to Walker and they were all elevated. That gave them the go-ahead run, at 4-3. And then they got the seeing-eye groundball from Scott — that’s baseball.”
St. Louis tied the game, 3-3, in a bizarre seventh inning.
Rockies starter Ryan Feltner, working on a fine game, left with cramping in his pitching arm while facing leadoff hitter Lars Nootbar. Feltner said after that game that he should be fine and expects to make his final start on Sunday in Colorado’s season finale against the Dodgers at Coors.
Right-hander Victor Vodnik replaced Felnter in the middle of the at-bat and walked Nootbar before striking out Walker.
Then pinch hitter Matt Carpenter crushed a double to right-center, advancing Nootbar to third. Winn hit a shot back to Vodnik, who caught Nootbar in a rundown, but the Rockies botched it when they failed to tag Nootbar and second baseman Aaron Schunk failed to cover the second-base bag. As Nootbar scampered back to third, Scott (pinch-running for Carpenter) scooted back from third base to second, and Winn ended up on first on a fielder’s choice.
The Cardinals then cashed in on Alex Burleson’s RBI groundout to short.
St. Louis struck first when they rocked Feltner for two runs on four hits in the third. Michael Siani led off with a single and stole second. Siani waltzed home on Winn’s two-run homer to left on Feltner’s hanging slider.
The inning could have gotten away from Feltner — he gave up a one-out single to Paul Goldschmidt and a two-out single to Brendan Donovan — but Feltner struck out Nolan Arenado and got Ivan Herrera to fly out to right to put down the St. Louis rally.
Feltner said he handles dangerous innings like that much better than he used to.
“Those are situations where offenses can get a little bit more aggressive, and I had the tools, but I just didn’t have the consistency or wherewithal in terms of where we are in the game,” Feltner said. “I need to know that I have to make a pitch here, or that this guy will be aggressive here. Little things like that add up, so just having been through those experiences has helped me.”
Colorado countered in the bottom of the third on Schunk’s solo homer off right-hander Michael McGreevy. It was Schunk’s second homer of the season. Schunk also hit an RBI infield single in the fifth, extending his hitting streak to six games. He’s batting .400 (10 for 25) through his last nine games.
Feltner made another quality start, his third straight in September. He pitched six innings, allowing two runs on six hits. He walked only two. He has a 2.22 ERA in September and has posted a 3.21 ERA through 14 starts since June 26.
“I have had a lot of help with (catcher Jacob) Stallings behind the plate, guiding me,” he said. “He’s helping me use my stuff in the best way possible. Also, I’m just feeling super sharp with all of my pitches and I’m able to land them or put them in the dirt for a chase. Throughout the season I think I’ve just gotten more sharp.”
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Radio: 850 AM, 94.1 FM
In Gomber’s final start of the season, the lefty will attempt to bounce back from one of the worst starts of his career. Facing Arizona at Coors Field, he allowed six runs (five earned) in just two innings. It was the shortest start of his season. Gomber, part of the 2021 trade that sent Nolan Arenado to St. Louis, is 1-1 with a 6.55 ERA in five career games (three starts) against the Cardinals. He received a no-decision in Colorado’s 8-5 loss at St. Louis on June 7, giving up four runs on six hits with one walk and four strikeouts over five innings.
Fedde will make his fifth career start (sixth appearance) vs. the Rockies but his first as a Cardinal. His previous outings came as a member of the Nationals. In his last start at Coors Field, on May 3, 2022, he limited Colorado to one run over seven innings in Washington’s 10-2 victory. He gave up six hits, walked two and struck out three. In his start last Thursday, Fedde allowed one run on four hits and one walk while striking out three over six innings in a no-decision against the Pirates. It was the right-hander’s first quality start since Aug. 25 and just his second over his past 10 games.
LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani set a major league record by homering and stealing a base for the 14th time in the same game and the Los Angeles Dodgers rallied to beat the last-place Colorado Rockies 6-4 on Friday night.
The win reduced the NL West-leading Dodgers’ magic number to four to clinch the division. Los Angeles is already assured of a postseason berth.
Ohtani’s 52nd homer and 52nd stolen base allowed him to break the previous mark of 13 games set by Rickey Henderson in 1986 with the New York Yankees.
Teoscar Hernández hit a go-ahead homer leading off the sixth inning that gave the Dodgers a 4-3 lead.
The Dodgers tacked on two runs in the seventh. Pinch-hitter Tommy Edman scored on Mookie Betts’ sacrifice fly. Ohtani reached on an infield single to first base and then stole second. He was safe at third on a throwing error by center fielder Sam Hilliard and scored on Hernandez’s infield single.
Ohtani had a go-ahead homer with two outs in the fifth after Andy Pages led off the inning with a solo shot.
Ohtani gave the crowd of 49,073 some thrills after the home fans had to watch long distance Thursday night when he became the first player in major league history with 50 homers and 50 stolen bases in a season at Miami.
The Rockies got home runs by Charlie Blackmon and Hilliard.
Alex Vesia (4-4) got the victory with one inning of relief. Michael Kopech pitched the ninth for his 14th save.
Colorado’s Kyle Freeland (5-8) took the loss, giving up four runs and seven hits in six innings. He struck out two and walked none.
Ryan Brasier pitched the first inning to open the bullpen game for the Dodgers.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Rockies: RHP Tyler Kinley went on the 15-day IL with right elbow inflammation.
Dodgers: LHP Clayton Kershaw (toe) threw a 30-pitch bullpen session and hopes to face hitters next week. … RHP Anthony Banda (hand) will throw a bullpen this weekend.
UP NEXT
Rockies: RHP Cal Quantrill (8-10, 4.68 ERA) makes his second start Saturday since coming off the IL. He’s 1-5 in his career against LA.
Dodgers: RHP Walker Buehler (1-5, 5.54) is looking for just his second win of the season. He got hit hard by the Rockies on June 18, giving up seven hits, seven runs and two homers.
Brendan Rodgers had another hot August night, and the Rockies cooled off the sizzling Padres.
Rodgers’ three-run, first-inning homer sparked the Rockies’ 7-3 victory Friday at Coors Field. San Diego, trying to topple the Dodgers from the National League West throne, came into the game having won 19 of its previous 22 games.
Rodgers extended his hitting streak to 10 games and is hitting .392 this month, with six doubles, three homers and a 1.115 OPS.
His 10th homer of the season was the catalyst to Colorado’s four-run first. Rodgers blasted a 77.3 mph knuckleball from right-hander Matt Waldron 439 feet and deep into the left-field bleachers.
“It’s been fun,” Rodgers said. “I usually do struggle in August. But I talked to my hitter guy and some people I trust a lot with the developmental part of the game. So I decided to trust it and just keep going.”
Manager Bud Black is thrilled with Rodgers’ production and his ability to “go to the post” as the season heads into its final weeks.
“He’s driving the ball better, and we’re seeing him hit to the gaps and send the ball over the fence,” Black said. “His swing is crisp with some bat speed to it.
“And what’s good about it for me, and to the coaching staff, is that it’s happening in the dog days of August, and it’s happening when guys are tired. It’s happening at the time of year when you really have to fight through some things, physically and mentally. This is a tough time for all players. I’m proud of Brendan.”
Rodgers had plenty of help Friday night. Rookie Jordan Beck (3-for-4) singled in the second and waltzed home on Charlie Blackmon’s eighth homer of the season. In the sixth, Beck drove in Michael Toglia with a single to right. Toglia led off with a hustle double to right.
Blackmon’s homer was his first since July 22 vs. Boston. His 223 career home runs are four shy of tying Carlos Gonzalez for fifth in franchise history.
Colorado right-hander Cal Quantrill, making his first start since Aug. 4 because he was sidelined with forearm soreness, turned in a workmanlike, five-inning start.
“Early on, I was a little tentative and I made some bad pitches in the first and second,” Quantrill said. “But I think we settled in after that. I thought (catcher Jacob Stallings) called a good game, and we kept mixing it up just enough. We didn’t rely too heavily on the fastball or the splitter, we just had a nice change of pace.
“It probably won’t be my best start ever, but we’ve talked about the importance of winning at home. That’s a team that’s really hot right now and we beat them.”
Quantrill is 4-2 with a 3.47 ERA in 10 starts at Coors, the seventh pitcher in franchise history to post a sub-3.50 ERA through his first 10 starts in LoDo as a member of the Rockies. The others are Austin Gomber, Kyle Freeland, Tyler Anderson, Juan Nicasio, Jeff Francis and Denny Stark.
All three runs Quantrill gave up came on home runs — a two-run blast by Ha-Seong Kim in the second and a leadoff blast by Xander Bogaerts in the fourth.
Quantrill, who gave up six hits, walked two and struck out five, was inefficient, throwing 92 pitches (55 strikes) in his outing.
But the right-hander made big pitches in big moments.
San Diego loaded the bases in the first on a single by Luis Arraez, a hit-by-pitch by Jurickson Profar and a walk by Jake Cronenworth. But Quantrill escaped the jam by striking out Manny Machado and getting Bogaerts to ground into an inning-ending double play.
“You never know when a momentum-changer is coming … but that was dire,” Black said.
Quantrill also escaped trouble in the third with another double play, as well as a sensational catch against the center field wall by Brenton Doyle on Cronenworth’s line drive.
Colorado’s bullpen blanked the Padres for four innings, led by right-hander Tyler Kinley, who pitched 1 1/3 scoreless inning and struck out two. He came on for lefty Lucas Gilbreath, who made his first appearance since Aug. 26, 2022.
Rookie closer Victor Vodnik rebounded from his blown save in Tuesday night’s 4-3 loss at Arizona and blanked the Padres in the ninth, although he did give up a hit and a walk.
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
Freeland, who will likely pair up with rookie catcher Drew Romo in Romo’s debut, has made six quality starts in nine games since coming off the 60-day injured list, where he was mending from an elbow strain. He’s gone 3-1 with a 3.48 ERA over that span. However, Freeland was forced out of his last two starts because of blisters on the fingers of his pitching hand. Freeland has made 23 career appearances (21 starts) vs. the Padres, going 7-7 with a 4.37 ERA.
Cease, who no-hit the Nationals on July 26, can dominate any opposing lineup. But the veteran right-hander was not sharp last Sunday against Miami when he gave up five runs (two earned) on six hits and two walks over five innings. He fanned five. Cease, who took the loss, got off to a poor start, giving up four singles in the Marlins’ two-run first inning. A shaky San Diego defense didn’t help Cease. Sunday’s loss was Cease’s first since July 7, and it broke a streak of five consecutive appearances allowing no more than one run. In four career starts vs. the Rockies, Cease is 1-2 with a 4.43 ERA. He’s made two starts at Coors Field, going 1-0 with a 3.86 ERA.
Pitching probables
Sunday: Padres RHP Joe Musgrove (3-4, 5.20) at Rockies RHP Bradley Blalock (0-0, 4.05), 1:10 p.m.
Leave it to the Rockies to ruin a couple of storybook endings.
In one of the worst meltdowns in recent memory, the Rockies blew a 5-0 lead in the ninth inning and lost 7-6 to the woeful Marlins in 10 innings Tuesday night at loanDepot park.
In losing again, the Rockies became the first team since 1900 to trail in each of its first 29 games. The Rockies lost to Houston on Sunday, joining the 1910 St. Louis Browns as the only teams to trail in each of their first 28 games.
“That was a tough one … we shot ourselves in the foot,” manager Bud Black said.
The Rockies nearly dodged ignominy. Ryan McMahon hit an RBI double to right to score Sean Bouchard to give the Rockies a 6-5 lead in the top of the ninth, but the Marlins scored twice in the bottom of the frame off left-hander Jalen Beeks.
Bryan De La Cruz hit an RBI double off Beeks to score pinch runner Tim Anderson, tying the game at 6-all. Then Dane Myers punched a single to right fielder Hunter Goodman, who made a perfect throw to the plate, but catcher Elias Diaz couldn’t handle the throw, and Anderson scrambled around Diaz and tagged the plate with his hand for the winning run.
Black told reporters in Miami, ” ‘Goody’ made a good play, but ‘Ellie’ couldn’t handle it.”
All of that carnage on a night when Jordan Beck was impressive in his major league debut, Ryan Feltner nearly pitched a shutout, and Elehuris Montero blasted a rare home run on the road.
But the Rockies suffered an epic and ugly ninth-inning collapse in a game featuring the National League’s two worst teams. Colorado, swept by the Astros in Mexico City last weekend, tumbled to 7-22. The Marlins, losers of seven straight games entering Tuesday, improved to 7-24.
Feltner, who had flashed potential numerous times in his career, gave up only three harmless singles over the first eight innings. But in the ninth, Vidal Brujan led off with a single, Feltner plunked Christian Bethancourt, and Luis Arraez ripped an RBI double to right, scoring Brujan.
That was it for Feltner, who was clearly unhappy when Black lifted him from the game. In came closer Justin Lawrence, who immediately melted down.
In quick succession, Miami’s Bryan De La Cruz drew a walk, Dane Myers hit a two-run single, Josh Bell singled to load the bases, and Lawrence, lacking any semblance of command, hit Jesus Sanches to drive in another run.
The Marlins tied the game, 5-5, on Emmanuel Rivera’s sacrifice fly to right. That was it for Lawrence. Black summoned Beeks to try and stop the avalanche of trouble. He did, at least for two-thirds of an inning, striking out Nick Gordon and getting Christian Bethancourt to fly out.
Beck, the highly touted outfield prospect, made his big league debut and hit 2 for 4. Starting in left field and hitting eighth, Beck singled in the first off right-hander Sixto Sanchez and added another single in the sixth off right-hander Declan Cronin.
“Just take the moment in, take a deep breath, look around and be where my feet are,” Beck told reporters about his first day with the Rockies. “A lot of people say write it down, what it feels like, don’t forget it. There are a lot of things that you want to remember from this day and carry on into the future.”
The first pitch Beck saw in his major league career was a ball, well outside the strike zone. The second pitch was a slider over the inside of the plate, and Beck lined the ball to center field for his first hit.
The Rockies scored all but one of their runs in the first off Sanchez. Ezequiel Tovar led off with a double and advanced to third on Brenton Doyle’s sacrifice bunt. McMahon singled in Tovar and advanced to second on Diaz’s groundout.
Charlie Blackmon, who entered the game in a deep funk, slashing .119/.159/.143 over his last 12 games, drove in McMahon with a single to right. Then Brendan Rodgers singled up the middle, setting the table for Montero’s 409-foot, three-run homer.
Colorado had only three hits after the first inning, but with Feltner on the mound, it didn’t matter until the ninth and 10th innings.
Still, Feltner said he let his team down.
“It will take a while for me to think about my performance,” the right-hander told Rockies.TV. “I just think right now that I let the team down. I’ve got to finish off that ninth inning. I’ve never been in that position before, and now I’m hungry to get back there.”
Wednesday’s pitching matchup
Rockies RHP Dakota Hudson (0-4, 6.57 ERA) at Marlins TBA
4:40 p.m. Wednesday, loanDepot park
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 is still searching for his first victory in a Rockies uniform. There’s a good chance it will come on Wednesday because the right-hander has a good track record vs. Miami. In six career appearances against the Marlins (three starts), he is 2-0 with a 3.54 ERA. He’s 1-0 with a 2.19 ERA in four career appearances (one start) in Miami. Hudson, however, had a rough time in his last start this season. Although the Rockies beat the Padres 10-9 at Coors Field, he allowed six runs on six hits with four walks over 3 1/3 innings. He did not factor in the decision.
Pitching probables
Thursday: Rockies RHP Peter Lambert (2-1, 4.67) at Marlins RHP Edward Cabrera (1-1, 5.28), 10:10 a.m.
Friday: Rockies RHP Cal Quantrill (0-3, 5.34) at Pirates LHP Martin Perez (1-1, 2.86), 4:40 p.m.
The Mighty Casey would have felt right at home Sunday afternoon at Coors Field.
The Rockies struck out 15 times in a gut-punch 3-2 loss to Tampa Bay and have opened the season with a 2-8 record.
Still, Colorado had a prime opportunity to win the game in the eighth and ninth innings.
In the eighth, Jake Cave led off with a pinch-hit triple and scored on Elias Diaz’s pinch-hit single. Charlie Blackmon and Ezequiel Tovar drew walks from erratic Tampa Bay reliever Phil Maton to load the bases. But Shawn Armstrong got Ryan McMahon to ground out to shortstop Isaac Paredes, who threw home for the force out.
Then Armstrong induced Kris Bryant to ground into a rally-killing, six-to-three double play. Bryant went 0-for-3 with a walk Sunday and is hitting .107 for the season.
In the ninth, Brenton Doyle’s RBI single scored Nolan Jones, but Armstrong struck out Cave and got Diaz to ground out to third.
Rays right-hander Ryan Pepiot, making just the 12th start of his career, thoroughly dominated Colorado for six innings. He allowed no runs on three hits with 11 strikeouts and no walks. He got the Rockies to swing and miss 21 times.
Pepiot owns the Rockies. In three career games (two starts), he’s 2-1 with a 1.06 ERA, 26 strikeouts and two walks.
Right-hander Dakota Hudson gave the Rockies a workmanlike performance for his second game in a row. The Rays reached him for three runs on seven hits. He walked one and struck out three.
Tampa Bay scored twice in the second inning, combining back-to-back doubles by Jose Caballero and Austin Shenton and an RBI single by Jose Siri. The Rays extended their lead to 3-0 in the third on a double off the right-field wall by Brandon Lowe and a two-out single by Isaac Paredes.
The Rockies have not scored first in a franchise-record 16 consecutive games. The last team to play 16 games without scoring the first run was the 1989 Giants, from July 28 to July 17.
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
Freeland is off to a terrible start. Although his fastball velocity has increased from an average of 88.8 mph last season to 91.7 mph this season, he’s been missing his spots and paying the price. He lost on opening day to the Diamondbacks at Chase Field, allowing a career-high 10 runs on 10 hits in just 2 1/3 innings. In his second start of the season, against the Cubs in Chicago, he was charged with seven runs on nine hits over 3 1/3 innings. Freeland is 4-9 with a 6.04 ERA in 21 starts against Arizona. He’s 1-4 with a 5.72 ERA in 10 starts vs. the D-backs at Coors Field.
Gallen, a National League Cy Young Award contender, dominated the Yankees in his last start, tossing six scoreless innings in the D-backs’ 7-0 victory. Gallen allowed just three hits, struck out six and walked two. In the D-backs’ 16-1 romp over the Rockies in the season opener, Gallen gave up one run on three hits over five innings. Gallen has thoroughly dominated Colorado, going 7-1 with a 2.41 ERA in 14 career starts, including a 2-0 record with a 2.43 ERA in six starts at Coors.
Pitching probables
Tuesday: Diamondbacks RHP Merrill Kelly (1-0, 1.98) at Rockies RHP Cal Quantrill (0-1, 9.00), 6:40 p.m.
Wednesday: Diamondbacks LHP Tommy Henry (0-1, 7.00)
If the Rockies’ opening road trip is any indication, the club’s first 100-loss season last year might’ve just been a harbinger.
Colorado dropped to 1-6 in 2024 with a 9-8 loss to the Cubs on a chilly Wednesday night at Wrigley Field. The Rockies roared back with a five-run eighth to tie the game, but then faltered in the bottom of that inning to get swept in three games.
“That was a tough trip,” manager Bud Black told reporters. “We didn’t pitch great, we didn’t swing the bats great. (That rally) was a good sign though.”
Once again, subpar starting pitching was a factor, as right-hander Cal Quantrill gave up four runs through four innings. The bullpen wasn’t any better, and the Rockies head into their home opener on Friday against the Rays already in a hole.
After setting the Cubs down in order in the first, Quantrill ran into trouble in the second inning as the Rockies went down 4-0.
The frame started innocently enough with Christopher Morel’s infield single, but quickly snowballed. A pair of sacrifice flies plated two runs, then Seiya Suzuki brought home two more with a single to right before Charlie Blackmon got the Rockies out of the inning by gunning Suzuki at second base.
After hard-throwing southpaw Luke Little served as the Cubs’ opener and went one-two-three in the first, Chicago brought on right-hander Ben Brown, who gave up one earned run over four innings.
In the fifth, Suzuki dinged left-hander Jalen Beeks for a solo homer to extend the Cubs’ lead to 5-0.
Jacob Stallings led off the sixth with a double, chasing Brown from the game, and Kris Bryant’s first hit of the season — a single to left — scored Stallings to get Colorado on the board. A Morel throwing throwing error led to another run to make it 5-2.
But Chicago responded in the sixth by plating three runs off Tyler Kinley, as Kinley couldn’t make it out of the inning before being spelled by fellow right-hander Jake Bird. Michael Busch led off with a single off Kinley, then Nico Hoerner and Mike Tauchman both walked to load the bases.
Miguel Amaya’s single then plated three runs, two off the hit and another off a throwing error by center fielder Brenton Doyle. Errors in the outfield have been a consistent theme through the Rockies’ early ugly stretch, a disappointment for a defense that was projected to be the strength of the team.
Facing an 8-2 deficit, Blackmon chipped away with an RBI double in the seventh, and then the Rockies made noise again in the eighth when they loaded the bases with one out against Yency Almonte, chasing the former Colorado hurler from the game.
Jake Cave proceeded to double off Hector Neris, plating two, then Blackmon’s two-out infield single scored two more, one on an RBI and another off a throwing error by Hoerner. The next batter, Ezequiel Tovar, doubled to deep center to score Blackmon, causing the smattering of Cubs fans in the stadium to boo.
“That was a big double late that should build his confidence,” Black said. “These are growth moments.”
That rally tied the game at 8-8, and gave Colorado a swell of momentum that’s been rare so far in 2024. However, it was short lived.
Nick Mears’ wild pitch on a third strike allowed leadoff man Miles Mastrobuoni to get on board in the eighth. Mastrobuoni checked his swing on a curveball that hit off the plate and got by Stallings. Black described the play as a “tough break.”
Ian Happ followed with a single, sending Mastrobuoni to third. When Suzuki chopped the ball to third baseman Ryan McMahon in the next at-bat, McMahon fired home, but his throw was a little high, and Stallings dropped the ball, allowing Mastrobuoni to score.
“That would’ve been a bang-bang play,” Black said. “(McMahon) made a nice play going to his left, had to throw a little bit off-balance and Jacob just couldn’t quite handle the throw.”
In the ninth, Bryant reached on an infield single to start the inning, but then Adbert Alzolay set down the next three batters to make it a long flight back to Denver for the Rockies.
The Rockies are off on Thursday before their first homestand starts on Friday.
Friday’s pitching matchup
Rays RHP Zack Little (1-0, 0.00 ERA) at Rockies LHP Austin Gomber (0-0, 7.71)
2:10 p.m. Friday, 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
Little looked strong in his season debut last weekend, throwing six innings of scoreless baseball in a 4-1 win over Toronto, with four hits and two walks to six strikeouts. In 26 games (14 starts) for the Rays last year, he was consistent, with a 3.93 ERA and 1.15 WHIP. Colorado’s seen little of him, although Elias Diaz and Michael Toglia both have homers off him. Meanwhile, Gomber takes the ball for the home opener for Colorado after turning in a so-so outing in his season debut in Arizona. The Diamondbacks tagged him for four runs in four-plus innings, and the southpaw was hurt by two homers.
Pitching probables
Saturday: Rays LHP Tyler Alexander (0-0, 9.00) at Rockies RHP Ryan Feltner (0-1, 5.40), 6:10 p.m.
Sunday: Rays RHP Ryan Pepiot (0-1, 9.53) at Rockies RHP Dakota Hudson (0-1, 0.00), 1:10 p.m.
