Denver – Colorado Rockies was reluctant to label themselves from a reconstruction team, but after Saturday night it may be more necessary to say they are imploding.
Colorado has hit the bottom of the well so far in a season that has gone south since the beginning, losing 21-0 to San Diego Padres. It was the eighth consecutive defeat of the rocky mountains and they have 6-33, the worst start of 39 games since the 1988 Baltimore Orioles opened with the same record.
Things were so out of control on Saturday at Coors Field that manager Bud Black used the jacob stallings casualty to launch the last two starters – and he proved to be one of the team’s most effective arms all night.
It was the second time in three days that Black put a position player on the hill. Colorado field player Alan Trejo launched a shift on the night of a double defeat for Detroit on Thursday.
“I hate that. I hate this great moment,” Black said. “It has been a function from where we are in the last four days with the double and some of our beginners. We have had many appeasing who have released a lot lately and you need to save a few arms.”
Saturday’s defeat was shy with the most unequal defeat of the great leagues this season, after Cincinnati beat Baltimore 24-2 on April 20.
Colorado allowed maximum races in the main (258) and was surpassed by 134. The only team since 1900 with a worse differential through 39 games was the 2023 Athletics (minus 146).
Before the game, Rockies General Manager Bill Schmidt supported Black saying, “Buddy is doing a good job now. They are appearing at work and playing with effort.”
The rocky mountains lost 8-6 in 10 entrances to AL’s leading tigers on Wednesday. The next day they fell a double to Detroit for a combined score of 21-3.
“We show that we can play with some teams. We have made some small mistakes,” said Schmidt. “We were not productive offensively. This is probably one of my biggest disappointments.”
The Tigers and San Diego contributed to this disparity, marking two-digit races in all games in this house and surpassing Rockies by 63-18. Colorado has given up six or more races on each of their last seven games.
“We’re going through this team and it’s not fun,” said Stallings. “We’re talking about it as a group, trying to have more fun. Obviously, it’s not easy when you’re too low.”
The lack of solid defense – Colorado has made 10 mistakes in the last five games – is expanded when the attack is absent. Fathers beginner Stephen Kolek played a five hits shutout in his second start of the main league at a notoriously difficult place for the throwing.
His teammates kept him on the bench by long passages as they put crooked numbers on the plate, so he had to enter the tunnel and throw heating throws.
“Whenever they were making five to eight races, he tends to get cold in the shelter, so you need to warm up,” he said.
San Diego’s caught, Elias Díaz, who played more than four seasons for Rockies before being treated from priests last season, said his heart goes out to his former team.
“Oh yes, 100%,” he said. “I played here for five years and there is a lot of emotion. But it’s baseball; we have a job to do.”