Rockies suffer massive letdown, Reds win going away

Denver — It was a disappointing night for the Colorado Rockies. Just 24 hours after piling 17 runs on the Cincinnati Reds, the home offense went cold on a cool night at Coors Field.

It seemed at first like they might pick up right where they left off. Charlie Blackmon failed to hit a lead-off home run for the third consecutive game but he did single in the first and extend his on-base streak to 27 games.

Blackmon came around to score on a double from DJ LeMahieu and then the Rockies offense went all Susan Storm … invisible. For the rest of the game, they scattered five hits and would only score again in the eighth via a walk, an error, and a fielder’s choice.

Tyler Chatwood was not sharp early and gave up four runs early, though he wasn’t exactly hit hard. The only extra base hit the Reds recorded was even a groundball that Billy Hamilton turned into a double because he has superhuman speed. He settled in after a three-run second inning and cruised through the next two innings.

The singles started getting to him again in the sixth and he had to be pulled at 101 pitches after only 5.2 innings pitched. He allowed four earned runs on eight hits (seven singles) walking three and striking out five.

Miguel Castro finished the sixth, recording the only out he was asked to get.

Jorge De La Rosa looked mostly excellent out of the ‘pen again, pitching two innings and giving up just a solo home run to Jay Bruce. He struck out four and did not walk a batter. Who knows? Maybe this whole bullpen thing will allow De La to extend his career a bit.

Jason Motte pitched a ninth inning that included more base-running wizardry from Hamilton and another Rockies error, this time a throwing mistake from Dustin Garneau, allowing Hamilton to score. And that would end the scoring at 7-2.

Lasting Impact

This was a bad loss for the Boys of Blake, there are no two ways about it. It was important after dropping the first game of the series that the Rockies respond against a Reds team with very little reason to feel confident. They did so in a big way in Game 2, but all those runs only amount to one tally in the “Win” column. It was just as important to win this matchup and not have a letdown after the big night. This Rockies team, if it wants to be seen as different from its predecessors, needs to define itself by consistency and taking care of the games they are supposed to win at home.

This game was a bump on the road to proving they can achieve such ends. Now, the best the Rockies can hope for is a series split against a bad team at home.

What’s Next

The Rox will try to salvage the series split against the Reds Thursday night at 6:40 MST. Eddie Butler takes the rock against Alfredo Simon.