Rockies treading water when they could've been creating distance

DENVER — If the Colorado Rockies were a waiter at your favorite brunch spot Sunday, they would’ve started out the meal by reminding your party about the half-off Bloody Mary special, bringing out a tray full of drinks with just the right amount of bite and then complimenting your friend’s girlfriend on her new wide-brimmed hat. Things were going great. Everybody was feeling good. At least until the waiter accidentally overturned an order of eggs neptune on your friend’s girlfriend’s sundress.

Bright spots have too often been obscured by blunders this season. That was the case again in Colorado’s 10-7 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers, a game in which the Rockies squandered away leads of 4-0 and 6-1 to cap off a frustrating nine-game homestand.

The Bloody Mary part of Colorado’s afternoon came in the first inning. D.J. LeMahieu, Charlie Blackmon and Nolan Arenado each singled to start. Ian Desmond then clubbed a 459-foot shot that gave Colorado a four-run advantage.

The Rockies held onto the lead until the sixth inning. Chad Bettis was cruising through it until he gave up a two-out double to Yasiel Puig. It wasn’t Bettis’ sharpest day—he’d already given up two home runs to Max Muncy—but he was only at 89 pitches when Rockies manager Bud Black decided to yank him.

Chris Rusin came on and immediately issued a walk. Black called on Scott Oberg next. Oberg gave up a run-scoring single then watched Trevor Story skip a throw off the dirt past first, which allowed two more to cross home plate.

It was the third game in a row a Rockies reliever coughed up a lead.

“You’re going to go through stretches like this,” catcher Chris Iannetta said. “It sucks. No one thinks about it more than we do. The key is to focus on playing the next day. With the caliber of players that we have, its something that can turn on a pitch.”

Even Wade Davis looked mortal. Black turned to the always dependable closer in the ninth with the game tied. Davis, who surrendered a hit in only one of his previous six outings, gave up a one-out double to Logan Forsythe. Forysthe eventually scored on a wild pitch. Yasmani Grandal put the game out of reach later that inning, blasting a home run into Colorado’s bullpen. Grandal’s bomb nearly plunked Jon Gray in the head. The righty was warming up to throw as an emergency option in extra innings.

“Our pitching has been really good all year. It was just kind of a rough series,” D.J. LeMahieu said. “It was good to see our offense keep doing its thing. I know we’ll continue to keep swinging it.”

For most of the season, the Rockies’ bats have let them down. It’s been difficult to find producers past the top of the order. Both Desmond and Carlos Gonzalez perked up during the homestand, but the Rockies still finished the home series against the Reds, Giants and Dodgers 4-5 mostly because the bullpen faltered. They’ve allowed 34 of 82 inherited runners to score if you include Sunday’s meltdown, a 41.5 percent rate that’s the third-highest in baseball.

That inconsistency is why the Rockies (30-29) have merely treaded water instead of created distance between themselves and the rest of the slow-starting National League West. They haven’t put it all together.

“I think in terms of playing to our potential we still have a ways to go, which is a good thing,” Iannetta said. “We’ve grinded out the first two months of the season. We’re in a good spot right now. And we’ll continue to be in a good spot if we continue playing like this. As things start to click on all cylinders with the three main facets of the game all combined, then I think we’re going to be even better.”