On Friday the Colorado Rockies lost to the San Francisco Giants 10-5 at Oracle Park. Out of the gate, the Rockies showed up appearing ready to continue their steamroll streak and repeat their last meeting with the Giants by scoring three runs in the top of the first inning while holding the Giants to only one run in the bottom. While continuing to look good through the first half, the tide turned in the fifth when the Giants took a 6-4 lead. The Rockies were unable to string anything else together, but the Giants posted two more in the seventh and eighth innings to take the game and end the Rockies winning streak.
Prior to that game, there was speculation about whether Bud Black would disrupt the Rockies winning streak by sending Jordan Beck down to make way for the returning Kris Bryant. Fans were happy to see the streak-based roster continue, and the Rockies came into the game with the confidence they built over the last seven games. Charlie Blackmon led off with a single. Ezequiel Tovar followed with a double. Then Ryan McMahon’s doubled to bring two home, quickly followed by Brendan Rodgers doubling to bring McMahon home. In quick succession the top of the order was showing why they are the top of the order.
In the bottom of the fifth, Ryan Feltner began to show fatigue. In short order, Feltner gave up two singles in a row followed by a homerun to give San Franscisco the lead 5-4. Feltner’s last showing against the Texas Rangers included 84 pitches that saw him through 25 batters and six innings. However, Feltner threw more pitches-per-batter on Friday since his 85 pitches only got him through 21 batters and four innings. Feltner’s ERA is up to a 6.89 for May from a 5.08 in April. There is still time for Feltner to bring that back down to the low five range before the end of the month, but that means he will need to have greater showings against the Oakland A’s and Cleveland Guardians in his next two appearances. Feltner has not faced either of those teams this season, so there is potential there.
While the starting rotation has continued to deliver more upfront strength in keeping scores low for the first half and giving the Rockies’ offense a chance to get ahead early during the streak, the bullpen is continuing to deliver inconsistent and unreliable results. While there is not a go-to closer this year for the Rockies who can be depended on to come in and get three outs in the clutch, Friday’s game did not come down to that. Instead, it was dribbled away by the middle relievers Victor Vodnik, Jake Bird, and Anthony Molina. Each of them came into the game and allowed the Giants to slowly pull away. Vodnik gave up one run, then Bird gave up two followed by Molina giving up two, which set up a 5-run deficit for the offense at the top of the ninth.
Overall, the Rockies seemed to just lose steam, which can be amplified by an away-game crowd. The Giants were also very motivated to prevent a repeat of the 9-1 beating they took from the Rockies on May 9th. At this point, the Rockies have shown that they know how to win, and their lineup can work without some of the starters. It is unlikely that the return of any of the injured list players will radically improve the team’s performance, but maybe getting a Bryant, Nolan Jones, or Kyle Freeland back while the Rockies are still hot can add to the sizzle instead of squelching it.
