NEWS

Another slide looms, as Rockies still stymied by the Brewers

Apr 30, 2019, 10:28 AM

After a dreadful start to the season, the Rockies almost got their head above water. On Sunday in Atlanta, Colorado was leading 7-5 heading into the bottom of the ninth; all they had to do was hold the lead for two more innings and they’d have clawed their way back to .500 on the season.

While a 14-14 mark doesn’t seem like reason to celebrate, it would’ve been a huge accomplishment given that the Rockies were sitting at a paltry 3-12 just two weeks earlier. They had almost gotten out of the hole, saving their season and setting themselves up for the playoff run that most expected out of Colorado when the season began.

And then Seunghwan Oh threw it all away, literally and figuratively.

Josh Donaldson blasted a three-run home run off of the Rockies reliever, preventing the purple pinstripes from getting the sweep against the Braves. The loss also kept Colorado from evening their record, pushing them back into the early season hole.

If Bud Black and Company aren’t careful, they’re going to find themselves sliding right back into the abyss. That’s why the next three games are enormous; come September, this stretch could wind up being the turning point of the season.

That may seem hyperbolic for late April and early May, but considering the situation, it’s anything but an overstatement. In order to avoid negating their two-week bounce back, the Rockies will need to decode a team that has baffled them of late – the Brewers.

On the heels of the disappointing loss in Atlanta on Sunday, Colorado traveled to Milwaukee for a four-game series. The rematch of last year’s National League Division Series looked eerily familiar to the Rockies in game one, as they were once again stymied by Brewers pitching.

In the NLDS, the Rockies scored two runs in 28 innings. That pattern of offensive ineptitude continued on Monday, as Colorado managed only one run in a 5-1 loss at Miller Park; falling in the series opener dropped Black’s squad to 13-16.

If they aren’t careful, that could get even worse in the next three days. Colorado is scheduled to face Jhoulys Chacin, Chase Anderson and Brandon Woodruff during that stretch; while perhaps not an overly daunting assignment on paper, mental hurdles can be a big challenge.

When a team only manages to score three runs in the past 37 innings against an opponent, it doesn’t seem to matter who is on the mound; they all appear to have Cy Young-caliber stuff. And that’s the situation the Rockies currently face.

From the top of the lineup to the bottom of the order, Colorado lacks confidence at the plate against the Brewers. It was painfully evident last night, when the Rockies eight positional players managed just three hits in 30 at-bats; that’s a .100 batting average for those scoring at home.

Normally, that performance could be chalked up as a bad day at the office; after all, Brewers pitcher Zach Davies has made a lot of teams look silly at the dish this season. But given the way last season ended, with the Rockies looking as though they wouldn’t plate a run if the games lasted all night, game one in Milwaukee was cause for concern.

Colorado has a chance to contend this season. And they’ve done a great job of digging out of a terrible first two weeks of the season.

But if they can’t solve the riddle that is Brewers pitching during the next three days, that effort may all be for naught. The lofty aspirations for 2019 hang in the balance; by the time the Rockies return to Coors Field on Friday night to face the Diamondbacks, they’ll either have saved their season or seen it swirl down the drain in Milwaukee.


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