Nothing was boring for the Colorado Rockies.
For a Father’s Day conclusion to their four-game set with the San Diego Padres, the Rockies once again failed to hold a lead, falling 14-13.
Ahead are the other takeaways from the win.
Bullpen fails to back up explosive offense
A fall from grace was bound to happen. While the Rockies’ bullpen features a bevy of former top relievers, their current state is far from elite.
Despite their struggles in recent years, several bullpen arms of the home club had put together the best earned run average in the National League for the month of June. The last three games diminished that success.
Wade Davis, the second-highest paid closer in the game, has been anything but a finalizing force this year. After being charged with a pair of earned runs in the club’s Friday night collapse, he once again fell apart on Sunday.
The former All-Star gave up four earned runs to bring his season ERA up to 5.21. The performance was highlighted by a pair of walks and a two-run triple by Greg Garcia. A glowing 43 saves last year has given way to eight this year, including a failure to end the game in both of his last two appearances.
With the rotation struggling at a league-worst rate, the bullpen is the final barrier for the Rockies. In recent days, the only unit of the three that’s aided the team is the offense.
Lambert’s heroic start meets its kryptonite
In two starts against the red-hot Chicago Cubs, Peter Lambert proved vital, limiting the club to two earned runs in 12 innings. The Padres appear to have found the formula to beating the youngster.
From the opening inning, Lambert’s control was clearly off. At one point, a ball was even flung into the brick wall behind home plate, out of the reach of Chris Iannetta.
Though several pitches found the zone, far too many peered into the middle:
Courtesy of Statcast
Of his 68 pitches, Lambert induced only five swings and misses, with the entirety of the Padres’ lineup finding a groove.
In his three innings, the Rockies’ top pitching prospect allowed multiple runs in each, finishing the outing with eight total earned runs and three strikeouts. The blunder brought Lambert’s season ERA to 6.00 through three starts, similar to his 5.07 mark at Triple-A Albuquerque.
Without reinforcements available in their system, the Rockies can ill afford a prolonged slump from Lambert.
Blackmon and Desmond wrap up historic home stands
If history was going to be made during a respective homestand, a safe assumption would’ve been the Rockies’ 10-game stand last month. Instead, bouts with the Padres and Cubs proved more fruitful.
The culprits that reached new heights were both Ian Desmond and Charlie Blackmon.
For the former, an early slump has given way to a career-best hitting binge. Alongside his season-high 10-game hit streak, Desmond drove in 13 runs in the seven-game slate.
The recent outburst brought Desmond’s average up to .274, as well as skyrocketing his RBI total from 24 to 37.
Blackmon, in casual fashion, once again continued his dominance at Coors Field. In each game at the park this year, the outfielder has gotten on base. In all, his on-base streak reached 27 games on Sunday, the longest active streak in the National League.
The veteran’s streak of three games in a row with four-or-more hits ended at three with his 3-for-6 effort on the day. His spree still stands as the new franchise record but fell one game short of the tying the all-time record of four. Blackmon’s 15 hits were the most in the modern era (since 1900) for a single series of four games or fewer.
In the two series’ entirety, Blackmon hit .568 and drove in 15 runs, with his six home runs leading the way.
Outside of game-stalling calamities, the point of interest was at the plate
Both a weather delay and busted pipe delay failed to cover up a series that featured more fireworks than July 4th.
In just four games, both the Padres and Rockies combined for 92 runs, the most ever for a four-or-fewer game series.
Underneath the high total was a .404 average at the plate for the hosts and a .353 mark for the visitors. The duo also combined to hit 17 home runs, making a statement once again for the hitter’s haven that is Coors Field.
The leaders were both the aforementioned Blackmon and Padres’ slugger, Hunter Renfroe, who hit five home runs. With the power, the outfielder hit .381 and drove in eight runs to lead the club’s attack.
