SLUMPING ROCKIES DROP 9½ GAMES BEHIND L.A.
» Forget purple prose to describe the current PHIL A DELPHI A state of the Rockies. The facts will do just f ine. Despite hitting a season-high four home runs Sunday, the Rockies lost 7-5 to the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park, the decisive blow a two-run homer by star right f ielder Bryce Harper in the sixth inning.
Philly finished off a three-game sweep, while the Rockies suffered their fourth consecutive loss.
The Rockies (20-25) are already 9K games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers (31-17) in the National League West. Last season, when the Rockies nearly won the NL West before losing Game 163 to L.A., the Rockies’ biggest deficit in the division was eight games, on June 28.
Sunday’s game began with an ominous pitching note for Colorado, as slumping starter Kyle Freeland gave up three runs in less than two innings, the big blow a tworun, bases-loaded single by Andrew McCutchen. It was the shortest start of Freeland’s career, save for Aug. 4, 2017, when he faced two batters before being taken out because of an injured groin. Freeland needed 65 pitches to get through 1M innings, and his ERA has soared to 6.02.
“I wasn’t able to finish off hitters,” Freeland said. “I was behind in counts, and they beat me for two innings and got my pitch count high for two innings extremely fast.”
Rockies manager Bud Black said he took Freeland out early primarily because of the high pitch count.
“He was stressed in the first inning with (31 pitches), and the way the pitch count was going he wasn’t long for that game,” Black said. “The Phillies did a really good job of fouling off a lot of pitches, and Kyle missed some pitches. … He just couldn’t really establish anything that he could go
to for a strike or two his spot.”
Chad Bettis relieved Freeland and restored order, giving the Rockies a chance to win the game. With runners on second and third, he got Rhys Hoskins to ground out, ending Philly’s threerun second inning. Bettis then held Philly scoreless into the fifth inning.
Trevor Story‘s two-run homer to left field off starter Jerad Eickhoff put Colorado in front 4-3 in the fifth inning. Ryan McMahon‘s two-out, solo homer off lefty Jose Alvarez boosted the lead to 5-3 in the sixth. McMahon also hit a two-out solo shot in the fourth for the second multihomer game of his career.
Colorado’s hard-fought lead crumbled in a hurry in the bottom of the sixth inning. J.T. Realmuto launched a two-run homer to left field off Bryan Shaw, the first pinch-hit homer of Realmuto’s career. Enter left-hander Mike Dunn to face Harper. Harper won the battle, making it rain with a thunderous two-run blast into the Phillies’ bullpen beyond center field for a 7-5 Philly lead. Dunn has given up two homers this season, both of them to Harper.
Harper is 5-for-23 with three home runs off Dunn in his career, so Dunn knew he couldn’t afford to make a mistake. But he did.
“He can hit mistake pitches, and he doesn’t miss them,” Dunn said. “Both of those home runs this year came on badly executed sliders. You have to make your pitches to those elite guys. You can’t miss.”
Colorado got off to a perfect start when Charlie Blackmon swung from his heels on the fourth pitch of the game, driving Eickhoff’s 0-2 curveball to deep center field. It was Blackmon’s third leadoff home run this season and the 33rd of his career, tying Paul Molitor for the 12th-most in major-league history.