Since joining the Colorado Rapids, Connor Ronan never complained about playing a role he’s not accustomed to in the defensive midfield.
Wednesday night against MLS Western Conference leader LA Galaxy, he was rewarded with his first goal of the season — his second with the Rapids — on the way to a 3-1 loss.
Even on the 45th minute scoring move, Ronan made a play to stop a dangerous Galaxy counterattack after a Rapids corner kick was cleared toward a streaking Joseph Paintsil. Ronan broke it up and played a ball to defender Reggie Cannon. Two passes later, and midfielder Djordje Mihailovic got the assist on Ronan’s left-footed blast from distance to the far post.
After Ronan opened his account, he ran to the Rapids’ bench, where he and defender Lalas Abubakar held up a jersey toward the family suite that read “Monsieur Cabral” on the back. Kevin Cabral, whose father recently passed, was watching his teammates clap in his honor from the suite.
Despite a dominant first half from the Rapids, two quick second-half goals from the Galaxy ultimately buried the Rapids. As a result, the 13-game unbeaten streak at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park was snapped and the Rapids slid to sixth in the Western Conference.
The first came in the 50th minute when Gabriel Pec beat Rapids defender Andreas Maxsø in a footrace and looked to have mishit a shot, but it trickled past Zack Steffen’s trailing foot anyway. Nine minutes later, Galaxy star Riqui Puig had the ball in a favorable two-on-one, cut inside and tucked it to the far corner.
Puig doubled his deposit and the Galaxy’s lead in the 90+1st minute.
And for the first time this season, the Rapids lost at home directly after a road loss. Prior to Wednesday night, the Rapids won four such matches and drew two.
The Rapids will need points this Saturday to keep hope of a home playoff advantage alive against the Seattle Sounders. The match will kick off at DSGP at 7:30 p.m.
Denver Post beat reporters Parker Gabriel, Ryan McFadden and columnist Troy Renck break down the Broncos’ 26-7 win over Tampa Bay, weigh the impact of losing ILB and captain Alex Singleton for the season to a torn ACL and give the latest on Sean Payton’s team from West Virginia.
What do Parker and Troy think of The Greenbrier and the surrounding rolling hills of West Virginia? And can the trip help Denver get an upset win Sunday against Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets?
All that and more on the latest edition of the 1st & Orange Podcast.
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.”
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
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.
BOULDER — LaJohntay Wester knows college football heartbreak.
Wester had a fantastic career at Florida Atlantic, but he’s watched his Owls lose on a walk-off field goal in El Paso. He watched another team celebrate bowl eligibility on the final game of a lost season.
Now Wester knows pure, uncut college football joy.
Wester was on the receiving end of what instantly becomes one of the most famous passes in Colorado football history Saturday night. He corralled a Hail Mary from Shedeur Sanders after time expired in regulation to force overtime in a 38-31 victory against Baylor at Folsom Field.
“Me being in college for a while, I’ve always been on the other end of the stick,” Wester said. “They rush the field after they beat us and we’re just trying to hurry off the field. This time I got to enjoy it and actually connect with some of the fans, take pictures. That’s great, man. It was an amazing feeling. There’s nothing like it.”
On a wild night befitting Colorado’s return to Big 12 play, the Buffs could have tied the game on the play before. Sanders heaved the ball toward the same corner of the Baylor end zone, but it deflected off Will Sheppard’s hands on a contested play.
The clock still read :02. Colorado had a second chance, and the Buffs didn’t waste it.
Three wide receivers — Wester, Sheppard and Omarion Miller — lined up to the left of Sanders. Travis Hunter, by design, split out by himself to the right.
Hunter might be the best college football player in America. On this play, he was the best decoy.
“I told coach, ‘Let me go to the side by myself,’” Hunter said. “I knew there would be more people on me, and that would give our guys backside a one-on-one opportunity. They did exactly what we thought. They had three people on me. I just know sometimes you got to step back and let the team go ahead and play their role and let them come down with a good play. So I trusted the process.
“I just wanted us to have a chance. It’s 50-50, but with our receiver corps it’s more like 80-20. I mean, you can’t get any better than our receiver corps.”
Sanders took the shotgun snap and rolled to his left. The Baylor pass rush hounded Sanders all night, sacking him eight times and pressuring him on dozens of his nearly 60 dropbacks.
Getting him out of the pocket was also by design, but two Bears nearly converged on him at midfield as Sanders sent the ball toward the front-left corner of the end zone.
Wester found the ball in the air and reacted, hauling it in just after Baylor defensive back Caden Jenkins fell down and well before the safety help could arrive. It was the fourth catch of the game on seven targets for Wester.
He wasn’t happy with at least one of the non-catches earlier in the game. Then he atoned.
“You’re not going to be perfect,” Wester said. “You’re going to have mistakes out there, but it’s just next play man and making up for it. As long as you make up for it, everybody is going to forget about those drops.”
The improbability of the play was amplified by everything that led up to it. Sanders was sacked on four out of Colorado’s first six plays after Baylor took a 31-24 lead. At one point, it was second-and-24 with 54 seconds to play and 69 yards to the end zone.
Then there was the near-miracle to Sheppard. In the end, Baylor called its defense for the final play. Bears coach Dave Aranda said its name was Victory Cigar.
Then it was Sanders and Wester who lit up Folsom Field.
“I always have confidence in Shedeur. He’s the reason I came here,” Wester said. “He came and got me and I told him, ‘I’m not going to let you down.’ I came here for a reason. He brought me here for a reason. He didn’t bring me here to drop balls and miss assignments. He brought me here to do what I do, and tonight I did what I did.”
And now Wester is going to spend the rest of his life learning about college football immortality in Boulder.
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.
Spoiler alert: Should the Diamondbacks fall out of the wild-card playoff race, they might point to this September series with the Rockies.
Last year’s surprise National League pennant winner has owned the Rockies for the last two seasons. But these September Rockies aren’t those Rockies.
They proved it again Tuesday night with an 8-2 romp over the D-backs at Coors Field. Colorado won Game 1 of the series, 3-2, on Monday night. The Rockies might still be roadkill away from LoDo, but they’re tough to beat at Coors, where they have a 19-12 record since July 4.
The victory was the 535th for manager Bud Black, who bypassed Clint Hurdle for the most in Rockies history.
“I’ve been a part of (milestones) before … it’s great,” Black said after veteran players Charlie Blackmon, Kyle Freeland, and German Marquez doused him with a celebratory beer-and-shaving-cream shower. “It’s great. It’s part of what makes us love the game. And when it’s over for all of us, it’s moments like this that you remember.”
Colorado’s formula Tuesday night included an excellent start from right-hander Ryan Feltner, home runs from Ezequiel Tovar and Hunter Goodman, and timely hitting up and down the order. Colorado hit 5 for 14 with runners in scoring position.
Arizona entered the night 8-3 in its last 11 games vs. the Rockies, and 18-6 in its last 24 dating back to the start of the 2023 season. But after losing two straight at Coors, they are now tied with the Mets for the NL’s final wild-card playoff spot.
Feltner, his fastball humming, pitched 6 1/3 innings, giving up just one run on five hits. He struck out only two but got a lot of weak contact, and Colorado’s defense backed him up with stellar play.
“I was on the same page with ‘Stahls’ all night, and we had great defense all night,” said Feltner, referring to veteran catch Jacob Stallings. “Just being able to trust Stahlings back there, and trusting the defense, it just frees me up. All of my pitches were working tonight and I just kept trying to pound the zone.”
Second baseman Brendan Rodgers fed Tovar at short to turn a sweet double play to end the sixth, and center fielder Brenton Doyle, in the hunt for his second straight Gold Glove, made a running catch in center field to rob Eugenio Suarez of extra bases in the seventh.
“It’s incredible,” Feltner said. “He floated like 20 feet in the air, it looked like from the pitcher’s mound.”
Feltner is turning the corner. Since July 2, he’s posted a 3.25 ERA, with a 1.26 WHIP and a .230 batting average against. Plus, the Rockies have won in each of his last five starts.
“The conviction with the fastball is key,” Black said. “When a pitcher believes in his fastball, and you have a good fastball, it makes the fastball better.
“It’s still a fastball of 93-94-95-96, and he’s had it all year. But for whatever reason, his conviction with his fastball for the past month makes it better. He wills it to good spots. He wills it to get outs.”
Still, Feltner had not won a decision at Coors since Aug. 9, 2022, vs. the Cardinals, an unwanted franchise record of 21 consecutive starts without a win at home. He was aware of the history, but not concerned.
“It doesn’t matter to me, and I don’t look into that stuff,” he said. “I just go out there to try and win the game.”
Second baseman Brendan Rodgers and shortstop Tovar turned a sweet double play to end the sixth, and center fielder Brenton Doyle made a running catch in center field to rob Eugenio Suarez of extra bases in the seventh.
The D-backs scored their only run off Feltner in the fourth, combining a leadoff double by Pavin Smith, a sacrifice bunt by Jake McCarthy and a groundout by Suarez.
Tovar (3 for 5, two RBIs) continues to prove he’s one of baseball’s best shortstops. He led off the third with a homer off Jordan Montgomery for his team-leading 25th long ball of the season. Tovar has also hit 43 doubles, the most by a shortstop in franchise history, the second-most in the NL, and the most by a Rockie since Nolan Arenado swatted 43 in 2017. The last Rockies player who had more than 43 doubles in a season was Matt Holliday, who had 50 in 2007.
In the seventh, Goodman, serving as the designated hitter instead of catching, hit a two-out, 441-foot solo blast to center off lefty reliever Blake Walston. It was Goodman’s second straight game with a homer, his fourth of the current homestand, and 13th of the season.
Colorado strung together three hits off Montgomery to take a 2-0 lead in the third. Michael Toglia led off with a soft double into no man’s land in shallow right field and scored on Stallings’ double to left. Jordan Beck (2 for 3) drove in Stallings with a two-out double to left.
Initial observations from the CU Buffs’ 28-9 win over the CSU Rams in the Rocky Mountain Showdown’s return to Fort Collins and Canvas Stadium.
Changes up front: Coach Prime indicated the Buffs planned on making changes up front to solve their problems on the offensive line. The big moves? Phillip Houston at right tackle, old RT Tyler Brown to left guard and freshman Micah Welch in the backfield. The results? Quite positive. Quarterback Shedeur Sanders was sacked just once (on a slide), while Welch (nine carries, 65 yards) found room to roam off the left side (when the Buffs actually decided to run it). Whether that has more to do with a leaky CSU defense than actual improvement remains to be seen. At the very least, CU saw the general competence it needed to on Saturday. And that’s a good start.
Total control: It took Shedeur Sanders and the Buffs roughly a quarter to get warmed up, but once they did, they controlled every facet of this game. Travis Hunter (13 catches, 100 yards, two TDs, one interception) remains one-of-one. LaJohntay Wester (five catches, 80 yards) joins CU’s growing list of offensive weapons. And the defense? Let’s just say they’ve figured some things out. Since the start of the second half in Nebraska, the Buffs have allowed just nine points over six quarters. The shallow crosses that tore apart CU in 2023 were shut off from the start. Outside of a couple of long runs, the Buffs did a solid job bottling up CSU’s run game. All in all, there was a lot to like for CU as the Big 12 schedule arrives next week vs. Baylor.
What’s happened to BFN?: A year ago, this was the game that cemented Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi as the Rams’ quarterback of the future. Twelve months later, CSU fans have to be wondering what happened to that guy. The sophomore was largely ineffective in the first half, sailing a pair of third-down throws and looking indecisive out of the pocket while completing 6 of 10 passes for just 54 yards. Then he opened the second half by throwing an all-too-familiar head-scratching interception across the middle. It didn’t get much better after that. Yes, Tory Horton’s inability to stay on the field changes what CSU can do. But it shouldn’t grind the Rams’ offense to a halt. Three weeks into his second season as a starter, it sure looks like BFN has taken a step back.
Too. Many. Mistakes: As dominant as the Buffs were for large portions of this game, CSU sure gave them plenty of opportunities to find their footing. Freshman defensive lineman Andrew Laurich was lucky he didn’t get tossed for his late hit on Shedeur Sanders in the second quarter. Instead, it was just a really bad personal foul that gifted CU a first down on an eventual touchdown drive. Graduate defensive lineman James Mitchell’s facemask on second-and-21 did the same thing one Buffs scoring march later. Toss in Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi’s pick, Keegan Holles’ first-and-goal fumble and two botched snaps in CU territory, and the errors were legion. The Rams needed to play near perfect to win this one. They were far from it.
Extra point
Five years? That has to change: Green-and-Gold vs. Black-and-Gold needs to happen every fall from now until the end of time. And yet the next one of these isn’t scheduled until 2029, when the Rams visit the Buffs in Boulder. Five years is waaaaaayyyy too long for us to have to wait for another one Showdown. With the Rams set to move to the Pac-12 in 2026, and perhaps opening up a few more days, maybe something can be done between now and ’29? If there is any opening, the Buffs and Rams need to work it out. This rivalry should be renewed as often as possible.
Hunter Goodman was working on a nice game when he stepped into the batters’ box in the bottom of the eighth inning.
He made a career night with one more swing.
Goodman’s go-ahead grand slam was the exclamation point on a 9-5 victory Friday night for the Colorado Rockies against the Chicago Cubs in front of 38,406 at Coors Field. It was Goodman’s second home run of the game and his third hit. He had seven runs batted in, the most by a Colorado hitter since Elias Diaz had seven in a Sept. 9, 2022 game against Arizona.
The Rockies’ bullpen has been a strength of late, but Michael Busch crushed a three-run homer off reliever Victor Vodnik to pull the Cubs even in the eighth inning. Chicago had put two guys on with no outs twice since the first inning without scoring, but Busch left no doubt with a moonshot into the second deck in right field.
Adalyn Gomber’s dad didn’t work out his first-inning issues while on leave for her birth, but he pieced together an excellent outing in his first start back.
Austin Gomber allowed a pair of runs on three hits and a walk in the first inning. He’s now allowed 33 runs on 47 hits and 12 walks in 28 first innings, an ERA of 10.61.
He now has a 2.84 ERA in the 130 innings he’s pitched after the first this season.
Gomber entered the game with an MLB-high 27 home runs allowed. A big key to this one: He kept the ball in the field of play, while the Cubs pitchers could not.
The Cubs had multiple chances against Gomber after the first inning, but he induced an inning-ending double play in the fourth and then got back-to-back-to-back weak fly ball outs after the first two guys reached base in the sixth.
Goodman had the big hit during a three-run second inning to put the Rockies in front. His 430-foot, two-run homer to left field gave Colorado a 3-2 advantage. Brendan Rodgers got the Rockies on the board with a double down the left-field line that scored Ryan McMahon before Goodman’s two-out heroics.
Goodman also pushed across the club’s fourth run in the fourth inning with a soft line drive to left that plated Michael Toglia. He didn’t miss another home run by much in the sixth inning, sending Cubs centerfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong toward the wall with a 401-foot out that would have been gone in five of the 30 MLB parks.
Since hitting five homers in eight days in mid-June, Goodman had been mired in a 13-for-86 slump (.151) with 28 strikeouts and just two home runs in his past 31 contests.
Ezequiel Tovar provided what looked like insurance at the time with an opposite-field home run in the seventh to make it a 5-2 advantage. Tovar has also been slumping at the plate during the stretch run. He was hitting .196 with a .226 on-base percentage and four home runs since Aug. 1 (36 games), but singled in the second along with his 23rd homer of the year.
NOTES: Rockies manager Bud Black confirmed before the game that Antonio Senzatela will make his first start since May 10, 2023 on Monday night. Senzatela had Tommy John surgery in July 2023 to repair the ulnar collateral ligament sprain in his right elbow.
Black also said that Kris Bryant (back) is not close to returning to the lineup, and said it’s “increasingly possible” that his 2024 season is over. Bryant has two home runs in 37 games.
TV: Rockies.TV (streaming); Comcast/Xfinity (channel 1262); DirecTV (683); Spectrum (130, 445, 305, 435 or 445, depending on region).
Radio: 630 AM/94.1 FM
Freeland is 5-4 with a 3.36 ERA in 14 starts since returning from injury in late June. He’s been rolling of late, yielding a total of five earned runs in his past four starts. His two September outings have included nine strikeouts and no walks in 11 innings, with one earned run allowed combined. Freeland’s 3.17 K/BB ratio leads Rockies pitchers with at least 40 innings pitched.
Tallion has also allowed just one run combined in his past two starts. He struck out six in six innings of one-run ball in last start against the New York Yankees after seven shutout frames against the Pittsburgh Pirates in his first September outing. Taillon’s striking out fewer batters per nine innings (6.9) than any year of his career, but his OPS against (.689) is his lowest since 2019.
Pitching probables
Sunday: Cubs RHP Kyle Hendrickson (3-11, 6.51) at Rockies RHP Paul Quantrill (8-9, 4.63), 1:10 p.m.
Monday: Diamondbacks TBA at Rockies RHP Antonio Senzatela (0-0, 0.00), 6:40 p.m.
Tuesday: Diamondbacks TBA at Rockies TBA, 6:40 p.m.
The first wave of that expansion includes four of the top athletic brands from the Mountain West: CSU, Boise State, San Diego State and Fresno State, will all four becoming members on July 1, 2026.
“We are taking control of our future at CSU by forming an alliance of six peer institutions who will serve as the foundation for a new era of the Pac-12,” CSU President Amy Parsons said in a news release announcing the move.
“This move elevates CSU in a way which benefits all our students, bolsters our core mission, and strengthens our reputation for academic and research excellence. CSU is honored to be among the universities asked to help carry on the history and tradition of the Pac-12 as a highly competitive conference with some of the nation’s leading research institutions.”
“This moment has been a long time coming,” CSU authentic director John Weber said. “I know our students, faculty, staff, alumni, donors and fans are hungry for this move and are going to love what comes next as CSU charts a transformational new course as a member of the Pac-12.”
The Pac-12, which was founded in 1915, has historically been the most prestigious collegiate league west of the Central time zone. However, that prestige, and indeed its membership, were crippled by the defections of CU, Utah, Arizona and Arizona State to the Big 12; USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington to the Big Ten; and Stanford and Cal to the ACC.
Washington State and Oregon State were left with the conference’s holdings, trademarks and media rights. Per Yahoo Sports, the remaining Pac-12 programs believe they can rebuild the brand with the likes of the Rams, Aztecs, Broncos and Bulldogs as peers.
They’re also not done looking at new members, as the NCAA requires a minimum of eight schools to qualify as an FBS conference.
CSU football plays at Oregon State on Oct. 5 as part of a scheduling alliance between the MW and the remains of the Pac-12, a partnership that Yahoo Sports reports will not continue for a second fall.
Mountain West members are contracted to pay a $17 million exit fee to leave the league.
The primary motivations for CSU are the same reasons CU left the Pac-12 this past summer — money, prestige, potential access to the College Football Playoff, and stability.
While the mass defections from the Pac-12 would denounce the latter, Yahoo Sports reports that the remaining Pac-12 members feel a new-look league would reach a media rights agreement worth more than the current or expected payouts presented to MW members.
The Mountain West has a $270 million television contract with CBS and Fox that runs through 2026.
Published reports have estimated that non-Boise members of the MW, including CSU, receive roughly $3.5 million annually from that deal, with the Broncos receiving an additional $1.8 million per year.
The Yahoo Sports report infers that the Rams could also have access to Pac-12 assets such as “monies from the Rose Bowl contract, College Football Playoff, NCAA basketball tournament units and Pac-12 Enterprises, previously the Pac-12 Network.”
CSU indicated in its announcement Thursday morning that the four new schools “will have immediate voting privileges” within the conference.
“We have nothing but the utmost respect and appreciation for the Mountain West and its members,” Parsons said. “There will be conversations going forward about the Mountain West exit fees and Pac-12 support for our transition. We are confident the path forward will not impact our current university budget and will set CSU up for incredible opportunities to come.”
However, the two-team Pac-12 recently lost its status as a Power 5/”autonomous” conference within the CFP — and it’s not clear whether supplementing the expanded league with Group of 5 programs would restore those privileges.
The Kid Rox were more than all right Saturday night in a 7-5 victory over the Orioles at Coors Field.
Rookie right fielder Jordan Beck delivered a clutch RBI single in the eighth to drive in Nolan Jones, who had reached on a one-out double to left-center. Beck then swiped third base and scored on rookie catcher Drew Romo’s infield groundout.
Beck delivered the first game-winning RBI of his career and Romo drove in a career-high three runs.
Colorado’s two-run, game-clinching rally came against veteran right-hander Craig Kimbrell, who’s become a weak link for a Baltimore team that is now 20-21 since the All-Star break but remains just 1 1/2 games behind the Yankees in the American League East.
The Rockies, with a 51-86 record, are on pace to lose 102 games, and they face a tough schedule in September. But manager Bud Black likes the idea of throwing his young players into the fire.
“This is good for our guys to go against these types of teams in September,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “We talked about it last year. We don’t want to be in this position, but we are. The reality is we are. But is good for our guys to be in these games against teams that are vying for a playoff spot.”
Colorado’s unheralded heroes Saturday night were rookie relievers Luis Peralta, Seth Halvorsen and Jeff Criswell, who combined to pitch 3 1/3 scoreless innings. Criswell picked up his first career victory.
Rockies veteran right-hander Tyler Kinley scored his eighth save of the season, but it wasn’t easy. He gave up a leadoff walk to Cedrick Mullins, threw a wild pitch, and plunked Gunner Henderson to paint himself in a corner. But Kinley struck out three, including Adley Rutschmnan, to end the game.
Romo was pumped that Colorado’s young players delivered with the game on the line.
“This feels awesome,” said Romo, who extended his hitting streak to five games and his RBI streak to four games “Beck hit the ball well tonight and did a great job stealing third in the eighth.
“And it’s crazy how many rookie relievers we have right now. I feel like there is a good connection with them. I’ve worked with them before, and they’re comfortable with me, and I’m comfortable out there with them.”
Colorado had a chance to take control in the seventh but couldn’t cash in. Ezequiel Tovar and Ryan McMahon drew back-to-back one-out walks, but reliever Yennier Cano struck out Brenton Doyle and got Brendan Rodgers to ground out to third.
The Rockies keep waiting for starter Ryan Feltner to turn the corner, but the hard-throwing right-hander keeps spinning out.
Feltner pounded the strike zone for the first three innings and kept the Orioles on the defensive. That changed in the fourth, and then the wheels came off in the fifth.
An infield hit by Rutschman, followed by a 437-foot, two-run homer by Anthony Santander got the Orioles on the board in the fourth.
The O’s tied the game, 5-5, in Feltner’s erratic fifth inning. Eloy Jimenez led off with a 441-foot homer to center. The Feltner hit Ramon Urias, gave up a single to Jackson Holliday, and jammed the bases by issuing a two-out walk to Rutschman.
Feltner needed one big pitch to escape the jam. He didn’t get it. Ryan O’Hearn ripped a two-run single to center. Feltner’s night was over, meaning he hasn’t notched a victory since April 10 at Toronto.
The next step for Feltner, Black said, is “finishing off an inning and finishing off an outing.”
“He knows, and you learn through these battles,” Black continued. “He’s got the aptitude and the smarts to learn when you really have to get and out and when you really have to make a pitch. There’s an art to that.”
Feltner, however, didn’t think he pitched much differently in his first three innings vs. his last two.
“It was nothing about how I felt or any of the pitches I was throwing,” he said. “It was just kind of results. Things went sideways, but I thought I stayed pretty consistent with the game plan.”
Feltner said he’s improved this season when it comes to keeping games in control.
“I definitely feel like I’ve done that throughout this year, and I feel like I’ve gotten better at that,” he said. “I don’t feel like it’s the next step for me. I think tonight just wasn’t my night.”
Colorado took a 3-0 lead in the second off Dean Kremer with a leadoff double by Doyle and an RBI single by Rodgers. Then rookie catcher Drew Romo blooped a two-run double into left field.
Baltimore lost Kremer to injury in the fourth inning, when Beck hit a 103.1 mph comebacker off the right-hander’s forearm. Kremer was later diagnosed with a right forearm contusion and X-rays came back negative for a fracture.
Charlie Blackmon’s two-run triple to the gap in left-center off reliever Keegan Akin gave Colorado a 5-2 lead after four innings.
Quantrill scratched. Right-hander Cal Quantrill, who was scheduled to start Sunday afternoon’s game against Baltimore, was scratched because of right triceps inflammation, the club announced after Saturday night’s game.
They will start left-hander Ty Blach, whose contract will have to be selected from Triple-A Albuquerque. So a move will be necessary to create room for Blach on the club’s 40-man roster.
Nikola Jokic isn’t just the best hoops player on the planet when it comes to dishing out dimes.
The Big Honey might be the best when it comes to dishing out bling, too.
Despite our crack staff being in the writing biz, Team Grading The Week believes actions speak louder than all the words on this page.
And GTW is firmly in the camp of backing up your brags.
Is anybody — certainly not anybody in the basketball sphere — conquering both fronts better than the Joker is, right here and now?
The NBA’s three-time MVP didn’t just help carry the Serbian hoops squad to a bronze medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics. According to the Blic newspaper in his native country, Jokic purchased Rolex watches for every one of his teammates on the national team.
Jokic’s Serbian gifts — A
The kicker? Those timepieces were reportedly worth $32,500 each. Which puts the Joker’s total purchase at an estimated $357,500 for 11 watches.
Jokic and Serbia won the men’s hoops bronze in Paris thanks to a 93-83 win over Germany in the tourney’s third-place game. The Nuggets star posted a very Jokic stat line, too — 19 points, 12 boards and 11 assists.
The Joker averaged 18.8 points, 10.7 rebounds and 8.7 assists for his homeland, which finished 4-2 at the tourney. He led all tournament players in points, boards and dimes — the first Olympian to ever top all three categories in one campaign.
Apparently, nobody gives like Jokic gives when it comes to the gift department, either. At least the fantastic gesture was one the Joker could afford: The Nuggets center, per Spotrac.com, is slated to take up $51.4 million in cap space in ’24-’25, and $55.2 million in ’25-’26.
If you’re like the GTW staff, you don’t just want Jokic as your franchise centerpiece now. You kind of want him as your secret Santa, too.
Big Russ’ debut — D
Russell Wilson’s Steelers stats after preseason Week 2: One appearance, five drives led, zero points, three sacks taken.
Bo Nix’s Broncos stats after preseason Week 2: Two appearances, seven drives led, 30 points, zero sacks taken.
It’s early, and we’ll know in a month whether Sean Payton won the Broncos-Steelers game, head-to-head. But the coach is off to a flying start in terms of winning the argument. And in justifying one hellaciously expensive football divorce.
Valor’s Friday — A
Love ’em or hate ’em, this past Friday was a pretty good day to be an Eagle.
Earlier in the day, Valor alum and PGA star Wyndham Clark pulled himself back into the BMW Championship title picture by shooting a 68 during his second round at Castle Pines — including five birdies. Later that evening, his alma mater’s football team opened its season with a 31-14 victory over Pine Creek. The latter had beaten Valor in last September’s meeting, 31-17.
CASTLE ROCK — Twenty years before they rekindled a friendship in Europe, the Euro step was a controversial subject between rivals Wyndham Clark and Derrick White.
They played for opposing youth basketball teams in the Denver area, first matching up around the third grade. Both were point guards. White guarded Clark. Clark guarded White. White was a little more advanced than his peers — little did they know, he was a future NBA champion and Olympic gold medalist — and at some point during the mid-2000s, he implemented an unfamiliar move to his game. It was just beginning to get popular in the pros.
“He was doing the Euro step at a young age,” Clark remembers, “and our whole team kept thinking it was traveling. So every time he would do the Euro step, all our dads and everyone was like, ‘That’s a travel!’ And they would never call it.
“Fast forward to next year, and we’re all doing the same thing.”
White was teaching Clark new tricks on the basketball court. Now it’s finally Clark’s turn to return the favor on the golf course. He’s the fifth-ranked golfer in the world, the winner of the 2023 U.S. Open and the fan favorite this weekend at the BMW Championship. Valor Christian High School, Class of 2012. White is a two-time All-Defensive Team honoree in the NBA, a glue guy for the Boston Celtics and Team USA, and a Clark groupie this weekend. Legend High School, Class of ’12.
White has never played golf or gotten invested in the sport, “but I’m gonna start,” he declared while walking the first fairway at Castle Pines Golf Club on Thursday. He walked all 18 holes in support of his former basketball foe, who was paired with Rory McIlroy.
“It’s fun because he’s kind of new to golf, and so (he) got his real first experience of pro golf at the Olympics, watching and walking with us,” Clark said. “And he really has the bug. We’ve been talking about it. He’s like, ‘I love it so much.’ It was really cool to have him out there.”
Clark finished his first round at even par, but that doesn’t even begin to tell the story. He endured a hectic back nine that included multiple shots into the water and multiple double-bogeys. And that was before a cartoonishly timed lightning delay forced him and McIlroy to wait more than three hours to complete their final putts on the 18th hole. Spectators (even White) had vacated the premises by the time they resumed.
“I was hoping it was going to be one of those quick Colorado 30-minute storms, but there was another one behind it,” Clark lamented. “Definitely a bummer being here for three hours.”
Before that awkward conclusion without a crowd, Clark had been treated to resounding applause throughout the afternoon. Coloradans who noticed White gave him some love, too. He was hard to miss during the first hole, cradling the Larry O’Brien Trophy as he strolled downhill. Whether it was Boston’s Larry or Denver’s from the previous year, though, is unclear. The trophy was also on display Wednesday during the pro-am event, which featured Nuggets president Josh Kroenke.
“I didn’t even know it was gonna be here,” a confused White said, starting to regret his decision to lug Larry along. “I’m really just here to support Wyndham and cheer him on. … I didn’t know it was gonna be here. I was walking in, and I see it on the ground, and I’m like, ‘Let me hold that.’”
His opportunity to reacquaint with Clark this summer was truly last-second. Kawhi Leonard’s withdrawal from Team USA opened a roster spot two weeks before the Paris Olympics. White was the first choice to fill in. He flew solo to Abu Dhabi, UAE, to join the team for its remaining exhibition games, and soon enough he was floating down the Seine with Clark at the opening ceremony.
“(We had) big battles. Big rivalry on the court,” White said. “And then obviously he went and did big things, so it was great reconnecting. And we ended up on the boat in the Olympics.”
“Hanging out in Paris was pretty cool,” Clark said, grinning.
They reminisced. Decades-old matchups on hardwood aged into shared laughs. Their youth teams always seemed to face off in the championship game. “Wyndham was good,” White says, but he insists that his squad, the Dolphins, won more. Clark even played some high school ball at Valor, where he was classmates with NFL star Christian McCaffrey.
“It’s really neat to see kind of Colorado sports coming on the map with Derrick, myself and Christian and some of the other Olympians,” Clark said earlier this week. “It’s a good thing for Colorado. I feel like the sports are in a good spot here.”
When the horn blared indicating a weather stoppage, McIlroy was frozen mid-backswing on the 18th green. (“I knew it was close, and I kind of wanted Rory to speed up,” the local weather expert Clark said later, laughing.) Patrons vacated the course for a nearby covered area outside the clubhouse, where White held court. Colorado golf fans approached him for photographs and autographs. He posed and signed graciously for about 20 minutes. Then a golf cart arrived and he shipped off, leaving his old rival to wait out the storm.
Quality start doesn’t begin to describe Austin Gomber’s performance.
How about dominating? Or commanding? Or just plain terrific?
Whatever the adjective, Gomber sparkled in the Rockies’ 3-1 win over the Nationals on Tuesday night in Washington, D.C.
The left-hander, throwing a confounding curveball, was in command for all seven innings. His one mistake was giving up a leadoff homer to CJ Abrams in the sixth.
Gomber yielded just three hits, struck out five and walked two. He was efficient, too, throwing 96 pitches, 63 for strikes. It marked the second time in his career that he pitched seven innings and allowed three hits or fewer.
The bullpen backed up the starter. Tyler Kinley, who’s been on a roll, pitched a scoreless eighth, despite giving up a two-out double to Alex Call.
Rookie right-hander Angel Chivilli was called on to close out the game because usual ninth-inning reliever Victor Vodnik was out with discomfort in his right shoulder.
Chivilli, who picked up his first career win on Sunday against the Padres, notched his first career save. Utilizing his effective changeup, he dodged some trouble in the ninth — giving up a walk and a bloop single — but he never lost his cool.
The Rockies received offensive boosts from two players who were way past due. Ryan McMahon delivered in the first with an RBI single, driving in Ezequiel Tovar, who had reached on a one-out double vs. rookie left-hander DJ Herz.
Nolan Jones, who came off the injured list on Sunday, delivered an RBI single to score Brenton Doyle in Colorado’s two-run sixth. A throwing error charged to Nationals third baseman Jose Tena — first baseman Andres Chaparro should have scooped the ball — led to the Rockies’ other run when Brendan Rodgers came around to score.
Feltner progressing. Right-hander Ryan Feltner, placed on the 15-day injured list on Aug. 8 with a right shoulder strain, is scheduled to start for Triple-A Albuquerque at Round Rock on Wednesday. Manager Bud Black told MLB.com that Feltner would throw three to four innings (50-60 pitches), and then the club would discuss Feltner’s next step.
Wednesday’s pitching matchup
Rockies RHP Tanner Gordon (0-4, 7.00 ERA) at Nationals LHP Mitchell Parker (6-7, 4.44)
4:45 p.m. Wednesday, Nationals 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
Pitching probables
Gordon is still trying to find his big-league footing, especially after his tough start at Arizona last Wednesday, when he was ripped for four runs on three hits in just two-thirds of an inning. He has pitched deep into several games, going six innings or more in three of his six major league starts. The rookie has never faced the Nationals.
The Phillies rocked Parker in his last start. He allowed nine runs on 10 hits and two walks over three innings. Still, he managed to strike out six. Philly pounded Parker in the first inning when six consecutive batters reached base, and he gave up two homers. Parker had pitched six scoreless innings in each of his previous two starts coming in, but he’s now failed to make it through four innings in three of his last six outings. The rookie started against the Rockie on June 22 at Coors Field and lasted six innings in a no-decision. Colorado tagged him for four runs on four hits, including a homer. He struck out eight and walked two. The Rockies won the game 8-7.
Thursday: RHP Cal Quantrill (8-8, 4.59) at Nationals LHP Patrick Corbin (2-12, 5.92), 11:15 a.m.
Friday: Rockies LHP Kyle Freeland (3-5, 5.97) at Yankees LHP Carlos Rodon (13-8, 4.34), 5:05 p.m.
Saturday: Rockies RHP Bradley Blalock (0-0, 2.92) at RHP Marcus Stroman (8-6, 3.82), 12:05 p.m.
If the Padres fail to catch the Dodgers in the National League West, or should they slip in the wild-card race, they’ll no doubt mutter under their breath about those blankity-blank Rockies.
The Rockies beat San Diego again Sunday afternoon at Coors Field, winning 3-2 behind timely hits and a stellar start from rookie Bradley Blalock. The Rockies won the three-game series, halting the Padres’ streak of eight consecutive series victories.
Victor Vodnik shut down San Diego in the ninth for his ninth save.
Colorado is tracking toward another 100-loss season, but it went 8-5 vs. the Padres this season. The Padres entered Sunday’s game having won 20 of their last 24 games.
Colorado center fielder Brenton Doyle’s leadoff triple off of reliever Bryan Hoeing ignited the Rockies’ game-clinching two-run sixth. With one out, San Diego decided to intentionally walk the dangerous Michael Toglia, put runners on the corners, and pitch to slow-footed catcher Jacob Stallings.
The move backfired. Stallings punched a single to right, and when David bobbled the ball for an error, Toglia raced to third. Toglia scored on Sam Hilliard’s groundout to second for a 3-1 Colorado lead.
Manny Machado’s big swing cut the lead to 3-2 with a leadoff homer off Tyler Kinley in the eighth. Kinley left a hanging slider over the heart of the plate and Machado ripped it down the left-field line for his 19th homer.
Blalock has pitched like a cool veteran in his first two starts with the Rockies. And the rookie right-hander took a step forward on Sunday, matching Padres veteran Joe Musgrove. Blalock gave up one run over 5 2/3 innings on six hits and three walks while striking out two.
San Diego scratched out a run in the fourth on a single by Xander Bogaerts and an RBI double by David Peralta.
In Blalock’s first major league start and Rockies debut on Monday at Arizona, he allowed three runs on six hits over 5 2/3 innings, striking out four and walking one.
Musgrove limited Colorado to one run on three hits over 4 1/3 innings. He struck out six and walked one. The Rockies got to Musgrove in the third on a leadoff single by Jordan Beck and a line-drive RBI double into the left-field corner by Aaron Schunk.
The Rapids have spent the Leagues Cup wondering how much magic was stored in their reserves. Saturday night against Club América in the quarterfinal, every last drop was required.
Tense at every touch of the ball and turn of the feet, the Rapids somehow held on against Liga MX giants — and arguably the best team on the continent — Club América. Colorado held them scoreless, then beat them in penalties, 9-8, to move onto a semifinal date with LAFC.
Rapids goalkeeper Zack Steffen once again came up huge for the Rapids in penalties. After forward Rafael Navarro missed his team’s third penalty and América not yet missing, Steffen had to come up with an enormous save on the last of five penalties to send the shootout to sudden death.
All four of each team’s next shooters stepped up and scored, including one by América that bounced off the post, ricocheted off of a diving Steffen’s head, then right back in the net. Last up were the goalies: América’s Luis Malagon and big-game Steffen. Steffen sent Malagon the wrong way; Malagon painted the grass outside of the left post.
Ball game.
That late in the order, Rapids coach Chris Armas said the next penalty-taker would be decided by who wanted it more. Defender Lalas Abubakar was halfway done with the long walk from midfield to the spot for the Rapids’ 10th penalty of the night. Steffen, who admitted to having to overcome mental and confidence struggles this year, waved Abubakar off.
He wanted it more.
“At one point, there were a lot of critics out there about Zack Steffen, but what I’ve gotten to see on the inside of our locker room and on the pitch is a professional, top talent,” Armas said. “He’s a real man on the pitch and he’s a leader, leads by example. He’s everything we want the Colorado Rapids to be about: quality, aggressive, humble.
“Another day in the office for Zack Steffen.”
In regulation, the match felt much like last Tuesday’s jaw-clenching win over Deportivo Toluca, sans the ball hitting the back of the net.
The best first-half chance for the Rapids was in the 44th minute, when midfielder Cole Bassett made a nice move at the top of the box to free up space for a finesse shot to the bottom right corner which went just wide.
In the second half, the Rapids’ best chance came from winger Calvin Harris after midfielder Djordje Mihailovic glanced a header to a streaking Harris down the middle. Harris took a long distance shot which Malagon had to save. That went down as the Rapids’ lone shot on goal all night.
América, like Toluca, shot 21 times (four on goal). The possession wasn’t as one-sided as it was four days ago, but América still led in that category, 58% to 42%.
The Rapids were forced into uncomfortable possession for long stretches of the game as América sat in a compact defense, not allowing for any easy build-up play or transition moments.
Defensively, the Rapids suffered. Bent, but didn’t break. Lots of talk around the club over the past week has been around being able to come out on top of games in which they suffer.
For Armas, that mentality has been forged from day one. As the stakes get bigger and the suffering gets worse, the feeling of advancing gets stronger.
“I think it’s rare that you get to be a part of groups that are really team first, all about the team, who run for each other, suffer together,” Armas said. “They win together, they lose together, they are together. I try to remind them that it’s rare and you’ve got to keep fighting for it and appreciate it (in real time). It’s pure joy that only football and sport can do for you.”
With the win, the Rapids have now beaten four Liga MX teams in a row and have knocked out the last Mexican team left in the tournament. Before this tournament, the Rapids had never beaten one in sanctioned play.
They’ll stay in Los Angeles to face LAFC next Wednesday after it beat the Seattle Sounders, 3-0, earlier on Saturday.
Perhaps even bigger for the Rapids: advance to the Leagues Cup final or win the third-place game, and they’ll punch their ticket to the CONCACAF Champions Cup for the first time since 2022.
Colorado Rapids teammates celebrate as Club America goalkeeper Luis Malagón, bottom right, reacts on the ground after Malagón missed a penalty shot during the penalty shootout of a Leagues Cup quarterfinal soccer match Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024, in Carson, Calif. (AP Photo/Raul Romero Jr.)
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.
The Rockies’ return on investment on Kris Bryant continues to dwindle.
Colorado placed the often-hurt Bryant on the 10-day injured list on Monday for the third time this season, this time with a back strain as the outfielder/first baseman’s arthritic back continues to be an issue.
Bryant, who missed 31 games in April/May with a back strain and then 43 games in June/July with a rib/oblique issue, is batting .218 with two homers, a .301 slugging and -0.7 WAR in 2024.
The Rockies’ highest-paid player with a $28 million salary this year, Bryant is under contract on a seven-year, $182 million deal through 2028. Colorado’s largest free-agent contract in club history has been a bust to this point, as Bryant’s first two seasons in LoDo were also hampered by injuries. He’s played just 36% of the Rockies’ games while in purple pinstripes with 17 total homers.
Bryant’s presence on the roster could soon become an albatross, especially with the Rockies trying to groom younger players at first base (Michael Toglia) and in the corner outfield (Hunter Goodman, and Jordan Beck until he got hurt) amid their rebuild.
In corresponding roster moves on Monday, Colorado recalled Beck from Triple-A Albuquerque as well as right-hander Bradley Blalock from Double-A Hartford.
The rookie Beck hasn’t played in the majors since breaking his hand while diving for a ball on May 25 at Coors Field, but has been hitting well with the Isotopes since getting healthy again. Blalock appeared in one game for the Brewers earlier this season, and has a 6.17 ERA in two starts with Hartford. He is set to start on Monday against the Diamondbacks in Arizona, his first MLB start.
Colorado also optioned left-hander Josh Rogers (6.55 ERA in six games) to Triple-A.
