Starting pitching had been the Rockies’ saving grace in their otherwise awful start to the season. But there was nothing redeeming about their 17-2 loss to Milwaukee on Wednesday night at Coors Field.
Right-hander Antonio Senzatela got rocked, the offense continued to sputter, they committed four errors, and their 2-9 record is tied with the 2005 club for the worst 11-game start in franchise history.
How LoDo can they go?
It was a bad night for the defense. For the first time, Gold Glove shortstop Ezequiel Tovar and Gold Glove center fielder Brenton Doyle made an error in the same game.
The game turned from awful to ugly in the Brewers’ seven-run ninth. Reliever Seth Halvorsen committed a two-run error when he overthrew first base on an easy play. Then Christian Yelich, the next hitter, crushed a solo homer 465 feet to center.
“It was uncharacteristic of us,” manager Bud Black said about his team’s sloppy play. “We usually play really clean defensive games. That’s something we pride ourselves in.
“Tonight was not that night, for sure. You play 162 games during the course of a season, and we are not going to have many games like that.”
The Brewers, led by RBI machine Jackson Chourio, hit 6 for 12 with runners in scoring position. The Rockies went 1 for 8 and are now hitting .205 in the clutch this season, ranking 25th in the majors.
Senzatela entered the night with a 0.00 ERA after two starts. He departed after 4 1/3 innings with a 5.14 ERA. In other words, the Brewers lit him up, scoring nine runs (eight earned) on eight hits.
“My slider was too high in the strike zone and they put the barrel to it,” Senzatela said. “They hit the ball out of the ballpark. Huge mistakes by me. I have to keep the ball down.”
Powering the Brewers’ light show was a solo home run by William Contreras in a five-run third inning and a three-run homer by Chourio in a five-run fifth. Chourio, hitting .315 with four homers and 16 RBIs in the early going, also hit a two-run double in the third.
“Three big hits, eight runs, it was tough,” Black said. “It was the elevated pitches.”
Black, hoping to spark the offense by shaking up the lineup, started Sean Bouchard in left field against Milwaukee lefty Tyler Alexander. He dropped Kris Bryant, who’s often been the cleanup hitter this season, to seventh in the order.
Slumping first baseman Michael Toglia batted eighth and went 0 for 4, his average sinking to .140.
The Rockies, limited to seven hits, got a solo home run to center by Ryan McMahon in the third. It was McMahon’s second homer.
Bryant (2 for 4) led off the fourth with a double into the left field corner and scored on Brenton Doyle’s single. That was the extent of the Rockies’ scoring.
“We were looking for some different solutions to get the offense going,” Black said. “Only two runs again tonight and seven hits. … The Brewers bunched some hits together and got the big blows. In the first two innings, we got two guys on and couldn’t get the big blow. That’s been the story of these first 11 games.”
Colorado will face the Brewers on Thursday afternoon, hoping to avoid a three-game sweep. Then, the Rockies will head west for a three-game series at San Diego beginning Friday night.
Thursday’s pitching matchup
Brewers RHP Quinn Priester (season debut) at Rockies RHP Ryan Feltner (0-0, 3.60 ERA)
1:10 p.m. Thursday, Coors Field
TV: Rockies.TV (streaming); Comcast/Xfinity (channel 1262); DirecTV (683); Spectrum (130, 445, 305, 435 or 445, depending on region).
Radio: 850 AM, 94.1 FM
Trending: Entering Wednesday night’s game, the Rockies bullpen had allowed at least one earned run in each of the first 10 games, the first time in franchise history that had happened. The Rockies’ 6.96 bullpen ERA was the worst in the majors.
Pitching probables
Friday: Rockies RHP German Marquez (0-1, 2.45) at Padres RHP Nick Pivetta (1-1, 2.70), 7:40 p.m.
Saturday: Rockies RHP Chase Dollander (1-0, 7.20) at Padres LHP Kyle Hart (1-0, 11.42), 6:40 p.m.
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