SAN FRANCISCO — Slow starters all season, the Rockies got out of the gate fast on Saturday afternoon at sun-splashed Oracle Park.
First inning: bang, solo home run by catcher Hunter Goodman, his 31st of the season. Second inning: bang, leadoff homer by Brenton Doyle, his 15th. The Rockies led 2-0 against Giants right-hander Justin Verlander.
But, as usual, the Rockies found a way to lose, or couldn’t figure out how to win. Take your pick.
The Giants had only four hits, but it was enough to win, 4-3, and send the Rockies to their 118th loss of the season.
The Rockies, per usual, rallied late. Jordan Beck led off the ninth with a home run off reliever Ryan Walker, cutting the lead to 4-3. Doyle followed with a double and Kyle Karros drew a walk. Warming Bernable struck out for the second out of the inning, but right-handed reliever Spencer Bivens plunked Ryan Ritter, loading the bases.
In the penultimate game of their painful season, the Rockies were on the cusp of one of their most satisfying wins of the season. But Ezequiel Tovar’s foul ball down the third baseline was caught against the netting by Matt Chapman.
It was a bitter end to a well-played game.
Kyle Freeland’s final start of the season for Colorado was solid. Toss out the second inning, and the Rockies’ veteran left-hander was exceptional.
Freeland issued a leadoff walk to Chapman, which is always an ill-advised way to start an inning. When Wilmer Flores sliced a single to right field, Freeland was asking for trouble. He got it when Casey Schmitt mashed a 1-0 fastball over the center-field wall for a three-run homer and a 3-2 lead.
Over six innings, Freeland allowed three runs on three hits with one walk and four strikeouts. He finished his season with a 5-16 record and a 4.98 ERA.
An RBI double by Rafael Devers off Rockies closer Victor Vodnik in the eighth inning turned out to be the game-winner. Doyle dove for the ball in center field but came up empty.
Tanner Gordon was not on a lot of bingo cards to be the Rockies’ best starting pitcher at the end of the 2025 season. But here he is, working with poise, efficiency, confidence and a killer changeup.
Not to mention a bit of bravado.
“The No. 1 thing I’ve been impressed with is his ability to pitch inside and not be scared to do it,” interim manager Warren Schaeffer said Tuesday before the Rockies hosted the Marlins at Coors Field. “His stuff plays off of that.”
The 27-year-old Gordon, slated to pitch Thursday against Miami, doesn’t have impressive raw numbers — 6-6, 6.14 ERA, 1.50 WHIP over 13 starts — but he’s on a nice run. And it doesn’t appear to be a fluke.
“I love the way he competes,” veteran Rockies right-hander German Marquez said. “Lately, you have seen that. He’s shown that with his results. He can be a very good pitcher.”
Last Friday, in Colorado’s 4-2 win over the Padres in San Diego, Gordon pitched six-plus innings, allowing one run on just two hits and one walk. He tied a career high with nine strikeouts. In Gordon’s last six starts, he’s 4-1 (the Rockies 5-1) with a 3.86 ERA, 33 strikeouts and eight walks.
“It comes down to my mindset and getting more comfortable with myself,” Gordon said Tuesday. “It’s easy to try and go big picture and say, ‘My goal is to go seven innings tonight.’ But really, I’m learning to focus on one pitch at a time. I’m shrinking things down, trying to stay focused on small tasks. I think that has really helped.”
So has his changeup, a pitch he throws 20.1% of the time, according to Baseball Savant. Gordon sets the pitch up with his 92.2 mph four-seam fastball (53% usage) and an 84.3 mph slider (26.2%). Gordon is not a flamethrower, but the fact that his 80.4 mph changeup crosses the plate almost 12 mph slower than his fastball makes it a terrific weapon.
“I would love to be able to throw a changeup like Tanner’s,” veteran lefty Kyle Freeland said.
Earlier in the season, Gordon’s changeup was not nearly as effective, and his fastball command was sporadic. A prime example: An Aug. 4 game against the Blue Jays at Coors when he was pounded for seven runs on 11 hits in just 2 2/3 innings. The Rockies lost 15-1, prompting Gordon to say, “You just have to be better and give your team a chance to win. I’m sure that the bullpen doesn’t like me right now.”
But Gordon has pitched at least six innings in four of his last five starts, and command of his changeup is a big reason why he’s been effective.
It’s often a tough pitch to master, but it’s been part of Gordon’s repertoire for a long time, and he made a name for himself using it at the University of Illinois.
“I’ve thrown it for as long as I can remember,” he said. “All through college and way back to high school. I play catch with it a lot. I even play long-toss with it. I feel comfortable with the feel of it.
“It’s not going to be great every single outing, and I still play around with it, tweak the grip a little bit.”
Gordon believes his changeup is a pitch that can play anywhere, from sea-level San Diego to mile-high Denver.
“Oh, 100%,” he said. “Any time you can change speeds at Coors, it helps — a ton.”
Drafted by the Braves in the sixth round in 2019, Gordon was part of one of Colorado’s best trades in recent years. He was acquired, along with closer Victor Vodnik, in a July 2023 trade with the Braves for reliever Pierce Johnson.
“Tanner is showing his ability to put the ball where he wants to on a very consistent basis,” Schaeffer said. “He’s working both sides of the plate, moving the ball up and now. He’s burying guys when he needs to bury them. All of the things you want out of a pitcher, he’s exuding right now.”
The Padres shut them out again Thursday night at Petco Park, winning 2-0 and limiting the Rockies to four hits.
On April 11-13, the Padres blanked Colorado three times at Petco, marking the first time in Rockies history that they were shut out in three consecutive games. Add in Thursday night’s game, and the Padres have outscored the Rockies 18-0 over four games at Petco in 2025.
Compounding the Rockies’ offensive woes is the fact that they were shut out, 9-0, by the Dodgers in Los Angeles on Wednesday night, a game in which the Rockies struck out 17 times. What did the Rockies do for an encore? They whiffed 14 times Thursday night.
The Rockies (40-107) have now lost 17 of their last 20 games, and all of that talk about progress and turning the corner during the second half of the worst season in franchise history rings hollow.
Thursday night’s loss was, perhaps, more bitter than Wednesday’s because the Rockies received solid pitching from rookie starter McCade Brown and relievers Jaden Hill, Jimmy Herget, and Victor Vodnik.
In his last start, Brown got the full Charlie Brown treatment. On Sept. 6 at Coors Field, the Padres knocked Brown’s socks off, scoring six runs on five hits in just 1 2/3 innings.
But Thursday night, Brown was a much better pitcher. He gave up two runs on five hits, with four strikeouts and two walks over 4 1/3 innings. It was the best of his four big-league outings.
San Diego scratched out a run in the third. Freddy Fermin hit a one-out single and took second on Brown’s wild pitch. Luis Arraez slapped a single to right field to give the Padres a 1-0 lead.
Jackson Merrill’s two-out solo home run in the fourth made it 2-0. Merrill hit Brown’s 0-1 sinker into the left-field seats for his 11th homer.
San Diego starter Randy Vasquez baffled Colorado for six innings. He struck out nine, walked none and gave up four hits.
Kyle Freeland wasn’t perfect, but he pitched a masterpiece on Friday night in the Rockies’ 3-0 victory over the Padres in front of 30,073 at Coors Field.
Just days removed from throwing only eight pitches in his last outing, the Rockies’ veteran left-hander threw eight shutout innings, allowed just two hits, and tied a career-high with 10 strikeouts. Freeland did not walk a batter.
He threw just 88 pitches, but the decision not to let him chase a complete game was likely because of his abbreviated start on Tuesday night against the Giants — one that saw him ejected without recording an out.
Of course, nothing comes easy for the 101-loss Rockies. Closer Victor Vodnik gave up a walk and a single in the ninth before getting a flyout and a double-play grounder to third to notch his seventh save.
The Rockies entered the night having lost 11 of their last 13 games, but led by Freeland and catcher Hunter Goodman, they put a crimp in the Padres’ playoff path. San Diego, in a race with the Dodgers for the National League West division title, lost its fifth game in a row.
Freeland has never pitched a complete game. The closest he came was on July 9, 2017, when he pitched 8 1/3 no-hit innings against the White Sox, the longest no-hit bid for a Rockies pitcher at Coors Field in franchise history.
Friday night, Freeland pitched a perfect game until Ramon Laureano ripped a one-out double to left in the fifth inning. No worries, he got Jackson Merrill to fly out to left and struck out Jose Iglesias with a wicked knuckle curve to end the inning.
San Diego’s only other hit off Freeland was a two-out single by Jose Iglesias in the eighth.
Freeland was coming off the most bizarre game of his career. On Tuesday, he faced just two batters, threw eight pitches, surrendered two runs, recorded zero outs, and was ejected for confronting Giants slugger Rafael Devers during Devers’ showy home-run trot.
Colorado took a 1-0 lead in the third on Goodman’s two-out home run off San Diego right-hander Nick Pivetta. It was Goodman’s team-high 28th homer, tying Wilin Rosario for the most homers by a primary catcher in franchise history. Rosario set the mark in 2012.
Goodman continued his torrid streak at the plate. He contributed to Colorado’s run in the second when Mickey Moniak, Goodman and Jordan Beck hit successive singles off Pivetta to put the Rockies ahead, 2-0. Goodman’s bloop double to right scored Moniak, pushing the Rockies’ lead to 3-0.
Over his last three games, Goodman has gone 9 for 12 with two homers, two doubles and nine RBIs.
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.
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.
It took 14 innings and required clutch defense, but the Rockies gutted out a 5-4 win over the White Sox Sunday afternoon at Guarantee Rate Field.
Colorado manufactured the winning run in the 14th when Sam Hilliard’s sacrifice bunt moved Ryan McMahon from second to third, and then McMahon scored on Michael Toglia’s sacrifice fly.
Lefty reliever Jalen Beeks kept the White Sox from scoring in the bottom of the frame to help the Rockies end their five-game losing streak.
The Rockies won despite getting only six hits, striking out 21 times and going 2 for 17 with runners in scoring position.
Without web gems from center fielder Brenton Doyle, left fielder Nolan Jones, shortstop Ezequiel Tovar and third baseman Ryan McMahon, the Rockies would not escaped Chicago with a victory in the three-game series.
Long before the 3-hour, 25-minute marathon was decided, lefty Kyle Freeland gave the Rockies 6 2/3 workmanlike innings. His only big mistake through the first five innings came in the fourth. He threw a misplaced 0-1 slider to leadoff hitter Andrew Vaughn, who parked the ball to left to get the White Sox on the scoreboard.
The sixth was a little rough for Freeland. He gave up solid singles to Vaughn and Eloy Jimenez, but Freeland’s defense rescued him. Doyle did a Superman dive to rob Luis Robert of a hit, and Jones snared Paul DeJong’s sinking liner.
Chicago tied the game, 2-2, in the seventh when Freeland faltered. Corey Julks and Lenyn Sosa opened the inning with back-to-back singles, and Danny Mendick’s perfect bunt moved them into scoring position. Freeland got out No. 2 by inducing pinch-hitter Korey Lee to pop out to center fielder Doyle.
But then Freeland walked Tommy Pham, loading the bases. Manager Bud Black called on right-hander Victor Vodnik, but Vodnik walked Vaughn on five pitches to force in the tying run.
The Rockies took a 2-0 lead in the second by doing something they haven’t done very often on the road this season: string quality at-bats together. McMahon led off with a single and raced to third on Elias Diaz’s single. McMahon scored on starter Garrett Crochet’s balk and Diaz advanced to second.
Toglia’s single moved Diaz to third and Diaz scored on Hunter Goodman’s sacrifice fly to right.
Colorado Rockies’ Elias Diaz celebrates after scoring on a sacrifice fly by Hunter Goodman during the second inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox in Chicago, Sunday, June 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
