The Colorado Rockies had one final rally in them Saturday night.
Brenton Doyle had an RBI single and then Ryan McMahon walked with the bases loaded on a pitch clock violation to give Colorado an 8-7 victory in front of 34,509 at Coors Field.
Colorado trailed 7-5 entering the bottom of the eighth inning after the bullpen yielded two runs in the seventh and eighth. McMahon homered in the eighth to give the Rockies a chance in the ninth. They knocked around Washington closer Kyle Finnegan with four straight singles to tie the game before he was called for the violation on a 3-2 count with the bases loaded.
Cal Quantrill pitched six solid innings in the win. Brendan Rodgers had one of the team’s three home runs in his return from injury.
Quantrill continued to be Colorado’s most effective pitcher this season. He allowed three runs on seven hits and a walk in six innings. Quantrill worked around some danger early in the outing, then finished it with six straight outs after yielding a home run to CJ Abrams to lead off the fifth inning.
That is Quantrill’s 10th quality start of the season. He’s tied for the second-most in the National League, behind Philadelphia’s Zack Wheeler and San Francisco’s Logan Webb.
Quantrill left with a 4-3 lead. His chances of collecting a seventh win were gone before the Rockies recorded another out in the seventh.
Jake Bird and Justin Lawrence combined to allow four runs in relief, the last two coming on Luis Garcia Jr.’s homer.
Rodgers celebrated his return from a strained hamstring with a three-run blast in the bottom of the third inning to give Colorado a 4-2 advantage. Mitchell Parker grooved a first-pitch fastball to Rodgers, and the Colorado second baseman sent it 436 feet into the second row of seats in center field section next to the pine trees.
It was Rodgers’ fourth home run of the season, and his first since June 3.
Hunter Goodman greeted Washington relief pitcher Jacob Barnes with a 446-foot home run deep into the left-field seats to lead off the seventh innings and draw the Rockies back even at 5-5. Goodman has found a way to unlock his power at the MLB level this month.
Goodman now has five home runs in his past eight games after hitting three in his first 45 contests with the Rockies. He had 70 home runs in the minors over the past two seasons.
Bird allowed a walk and two singles to even the score. He did record an out on a caught stealing, but then exited the game with an injury. Lane Thomas gave Washington a 5-4 lead with a single off Lawrence after he replaced Bird.
This series features two of the best young shortstops in baseball. Abrams, 23, homered, doubled and singled while extending his hitting streak to 13 games.
Ezequiel Tovar singled twice and walked twice, but committed an error ahead of Garcia’s home run. Abrams and Tovar entered the day second and third among National League shortstops in OPS behind Mookie Betts, who is out with an injury. Either or both could be named to the All-Star game for the first time.
Kitchen recalled. The Rockies recalled Austin Kitchen before the game Saturday. It’s his first time on a major-league roster. He won a College World Series at Coastal Carolina but was not drafted. He spent a year pitching for the Steel City Slammin’ Sammies in a four-team independent league in 2020 before signing with the Rockies in 2021. The Rockies designated relief pitcher Geoff Hartlieb (0-0, 9.00 ERA in nine innings) for assignment to make room for Kitchen.
Sunday’s pitching matchup
Nationals RHP Jake Irvin (5-6, 3.24 ERA) at Rockies LHP Kyle Freeland (0-3, 13.21 ERA)
1:10 p.m. Sunday, 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
Freeland will make his first start for the Rockies since April 14, having missed more than two months with a left elbow strain. The 31-year-old Freeland made three rehab starts at Class AAA for Albuquerque, allowing three runs over 10 innings. Freeland was Colorado’s opening-day starter. He yielded 25 runs (23 earned) in his four starts before the injury, including 10 on opening night.
Irvin, 27, is in his second year in the Nationals’ rotation. He yielded four runs on eight hits and four walks against Arizona last time out, but before that reeled off a string of five straight strong starts — just five runs allowed total with 31 strikeouts across 31 2/3 innings. He has faced Colorado once in his brief MLB career, allowing four runs in six innings July 26, 2003.
Pitching probables
Monday: Off
Tuesday: Rockies TBD at Houston TBD, 6:10 p.m.
Wednesday: Rockies TBD at Houston TBD, 12:10 p.m.
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