Gloom has consumed a bitter portion of the Colorado Rockies season for much of the early going. Against a revamped Arizona Diamondbacks, their fortunes appeared ready to juxtapose those primary results once again.
Led by their veterans, the Rockies garnered three runs in the final frame alone, failing to get the fourth to tie the game and send it to extras in a 10-9 loss.
Ahead are takeaways from the late-night battle.
Rockies break out the rally caps, fall short
A rough start from Anderson and an inverse showing from Robbie Ray looked to be the proverbial nail in the coffin for the Rockies.
Charlie Blackmon’s fourth homer of the year started the rally:
Chuck isn't ready for bed yet 🚫🛏 pic.twitter.com/4a9aR59aaK
— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) May 4, 2019
The final run of the failed comeback came against Greg Holland, formerly a part of the club’s 2017 postseason run. Two walks, a single and a stolen base against the previously dominant closer set the club up with two runners in scoring position and one out.
With walk-off heroics within sight, both Ian Desmond and Chris Iannetta struck out to end the club’s efforts. The loss dropped the Rockies to 1-17 when trailing after the eighth inning.
Anderson’s inning-eating ways continue to evade him
Try as he might, Anderson continues to struggle.
After entering the contest with a bloated 14.14 earned run average at Coors Field already, he allowed six more earned runs on Friday, including a pair of home runs.
Among his struggles, Anderson threw 81 pitches in only four innings of work, including a 20-pitch opening frame. A bevy of Anderson’s struggles came ahead in the count.
With two strikes, he allowed three doubles in his shortened start, though the home runs both came in hitter’s counts.
The woes were nothing new for Anderson as he remains winless on the year, with his ERA at 11.76 overall after another miscue. The longest outing of the year for the southpaw remains five innings.
Bud Black has often said that Anderson’s “stuff” continues to be solid. His faith in the starter notwithstanding, the team is rarely going to succeed when the former first-round pick is given the nod.
Final box score for Rockies tells a false tale against Ray
For the many that fail to watch the Rockies on a given night, the box score is gospel in analyzing the results of the night prior. For the home team, their six hits and five runs symbolize a decent night at the plate against Ray.
Removing the damage done in the fourth following a would-be double play, the Rockies only mustered three hits against the Diamondbacks starter.
The Diamondbacks’ much-maligned starter twirled 5.2 frames, only allowing a single earned run, a run that was charged to him after T.J. McFarland allowed a two-run homer in relief. He also struck out seven on the night.
Whiffs are nothing new for Ray as his strikeouts per nine inning’s average has been elite for several years. In both 2016 (11.3) and 2017 (12.1), Ray finished in the top two in the National League. In his career against the Rockies, including his latest start, he sits at 10.7.
The offense has been hot for the Rockies in recent weeks. The final stats were merely a mirage rather than a continuation of that trend to start their three-game set with their division rival.
Thin air of Coors Field had the ball flying
It’s no secret that the ballpark on 20th and Blake has been dubbed a hitter’s haven since its inception. A humidor was installed to curve the hitting some, a non-existent factor on Friday.
The two teams combined for six home runs, five of which flew over 430 feet. The farthest of the night came from Rockies’ youngster Ryan McMahon, his third of the year:
Just call him #BigMac 🍔
453 ft. 🚀 pic.twitter.com/Z0mgIyRN05
— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) May 4, 2019
Among the top contributors, both Marte and Jones combined to go 6-for-10 in the game with three long balls between them.
An outburst comes as no surprise for the Diamondbacks as they came into the game with the most extra-base hits in the NL, extending their lead further against the Rockies with seven more.