Sean Newcomb dominates the Rockies in 4-0 loss

DENVER – The Colorado Rockies were absolutely dominated by young lefty starter Sean Newcomb and simply could not find any rhythm on offense Sunday afternoon, falling in a lackluster 4-0 loss to the Atlanta Braves.

Kyle Freeland mostly pitched well enough for the home team but it wouldn’t matter with very few moments even resembling a rally on offense.

Freeland caught a few tough breaks in the fifth. It looked like he had Ender Inciarte frozen for strike three but didn’t get the call and ended up walking him. Then, on a strange play, Inciarte stole second on a ball that was actually tipped at the plate, but because Chris Iannetta caught the foul tip, the stolen base was allowed.

It ended up being a big one when Ozzie Albies hit a ground-rule double into the left-center field gap, breaking the scoreless tie and putting Atlanta on top 1-0.

In the following frame, Nick Markakis turned on a high-and-inside fastball and blasted it over the wall in center field for his second home run of the season. Dansby Swanson, a new Rockie-killer, followed with his first homer of the season, launching a poorly located fastball into the left-center field seats.

Colorado struggled against lefty Newcomb, who was spectacular, all game. After collecting three singles but failing to score in the first, the Rockies could not reach base in their next 15 at-bats, including eight strikeouts by Newcomb.

They would finally get another rally started in the seventh, getting back-to-back singles from Nolan Arenado and Trevor Story. But Ian Desmond hit into a double play and Gerardo Parra flew out to left to keep the Braves shutout intact.

It was the first shutout for the Braves in Colorado since 1997.

Final Stats:

Kyle Freeland: 6 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K

Chris Rusin: 2 IP, 1 H, 1 ER

Scott Oberg: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

Braves:

Sean Newcomb: 6 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 9 K

Ozzie Albies: 2-for-4, 1 R, 2 RBI, HR

Nick Markakis: 2-for-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, HR

Dansby Swanson: 2-for-2, 1 R, 1 RBI, HR

What’s Next:

The Rockies welcome the San Diego Padres to Coors Field for a three-game set starting on Monday. The first game of the series will see Jon Gray face off against Clayton Richard. First pitch at 6:40 Mountain Time.