Give the Rockies points for creativity. They find excruciating ways to lose ballgames, largely because of their spectacular imploding bullpen.
Thursday afternoon at the Oakland Coliseum, they turned a walk in the ballpark into a full-fledged soap opera. Ultimately, they lost 10-9 to the A’s in 11 innings.
A few sordid details:
• The Rockies led 4-0 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning before giving up 10 runs to lose the ballgame.
• They scored four runs in the top of the 11th and appeared to have finally clinched the win. Nope. Oakland scored five runs in the bottom of the frame, marking the first time in Rockies history they gave up five runs in an extra inning.
• The salt-in-wound ending featured right-hander Peter Lambert walking pinch-hitter Tyler Soderstrom on four straight pitches with the bases loaded to force in the winning run.
“It was a struggle,” manager Bud Black told reporters after his team completed a nine-game road trip with a 4-5 record. “The bullpen guys struggled. It was a really tough one for those guys. As good as a win as yesterday’s was (4-3 in 12 innings), this was a tough one. But we’ll bounce back.”
Colorado’s four-run 11th was a group affair. It got RBI singles by Jake Cave and Brenton Doyle and a two-run double by pinch-hitter Brendan Rodgers. Back-to-back extra-inning wins would have made for a nice flight back to Denver.
Instead, the Rockies’ relievers faltered. J.D. Davis hit a two-run homer off Tyler Kinley in the eighth. Daz Cameron hit a solo homer off Jalen Beeks in the ninth to send the game into extra innings. Zack Gelof hit an RBI single off Justin Lawrence to send the game to the 11th inning.
Then came the epic meltdown.
Oakland’s Max Schuemann doubled home a run off Matt Koch to jumpstart its winning rally. Abraham Toro followed with an RBI single, and JJ Bleday tied the score with a two-run homer. Enter Lambert, who gave up two hits and intentionally walked Kyle McCann to load the bases before walking Soderstrom to force in the winning run.
The Rockies, who have lost five of six games on the heels of a seven-game winning streak, received a solid start from right-hander Ryan Feltner. He pitched six scoreless innings, allowing only four hits, striking out six and walking two. Best of all, Feltner avoided the one bad inning that has often derailed him this season.
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