Rox drop eighth straight

The Colorado Rockies got another bounce-back performance from a rookie pitcher, this time Kyle Freeland, but got another completely uninspired performance from the offense and were bitten by two-out production from the San Francisco Giants on the way to losing their eighth straight baseball game.

Things picked up right where they left off with an unusual series of events on the very first ball put in play. A swinging bunt from Charlie Blackmon turned into a single when Blach bounced the ball of Blackmon’s back, dealing with a tough angle up the line. The throw was in time to beat Blackmon to the bag and Brandon Belt made a fancy grab off the bounce but the deflection allowed Blackmon to touch first base before the ball was secure.

Ian Desmond followed with a line drive to left field which looked like it might be the extra-base hit that has eluded him (and most of the rest of the team) for much of the losing streak but he settled in for the single as it was cut off nicely by left fielder Ryder Jones and Blackmon wheeled into third. Desmond took second on a stolen base anyway, which really paid off when Nolan Arenado lined a soft single into center field to score a pair of runs before the Rockies had recorded an out. It was the start they needed, but they failed to pour on any more runs.

That has been a theme of the losing streak and continued to an extreme degree in this one.

In the bottom of the third, Arenado made one of the best defensive plays he has ever made, and that’s an incredibly tough list to crack. You can judge for yourself:

Are you kidding me Nolan?!? pic.twitter.com/RyO5rqluyW

— Jake Shapiro (@Shapalicious) June 28, 2017

Freeland cruised through the first three innings efficiently, scattering three singles, but opened the fourth by surrendering another pair of one-base hits to Joe Panik and Austin Slater. Panik moved to third on a fly ball to center from Belt. Freeland then induced a comeback ground ball and looked for a moment like he would have a chance at either an inning-ending double play or at least to cut the runner down at home plate but he bobbled the ball and had to settle for getting one out and allowing the run. As it turned out, the play would carry extra sting when Nick Hundley hit a home run to put the Giants up 3-2.

Hundley has hit three home runs this season, two of them against his former club.

But Colorado did something they haven’t done during this poor stretch of play, they answered back. Pat Valaika forced the issue by laying down a beautiful bunt and Blach made both a mental and physical error in airmailing the ball down the right field line allowing Valaika to reach third. Mike Tauchman, who had walked twice already in his first MLB start, grabbed the first hit of his career on a single up the middle, scoring Valaika and tying the game at three.

In the bottom of the sixth, Jae-Gyun Hwang one-upped Tauchman’s big moment by getting his own first big-league hit, a two-out solo home run to put the Giants back on top at 4-3.

The Rockies offense kept getting runners on and kept failing to cash them in. Desmond was stranded at third in the seventh, becoming the 17th man to reach base in the last two games for the Rockies and not score.

San Francisco picked up an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth but with the way the Rockies have been hitting lately, they didn’t really need it.

Colorado fell to 47-34 and are now six games back in the NL West. They are six games up on the Chicago Cubs for the Wild Card.