DENVER — The Rockies took the field Sunday afternoon looking for a boffo final act to their homestand.
They performed a pratfall instead.
Playing one of their poorer games of the season, the Rockies lost 12-6 to Arizona at Coors Field in a game that took 3 hours, 46 minutes. The defeat ended the Rockies’ four-game winning streak and left them with a 4-2 record in their penultimate homestand of the season.
It’s never a good sign when your pitchers issue more walks (9) than your batters register hits (6) — or when the latter strike out 14 times. But that’s what the Rockies did Sunday.
And it’s never good when your starting pitcher throws just 37 strikes in 70 pitches in 2 2/3 innings. But that’s what happened to right-hander Ryan Feltner.
Plus, Arizona stole six bases, including scoring a run by Christian Walker on a double steal in the third inning.
At least the Rockies played a small part in Diamondbacks history. Right-hander Zac Gallen blanked the Rockies for three innings, extending his scoreless streak to 44 1/3 innings to set a franchise record. He bypassed Brandon Webb, who pitched 42 consecutive scoreless innings in 2007.
Colorado halted Gallen’s streak with a three-run fourth inning. Ryan McMahon and Yonathan Daza rapped out back-to-back singles and C.J. Cron’s hard single past first baseman Christian Walker scored McMahon to snap the streak. Gallen struck out Charlie Blackmon and Michael Toglia, but rookie Elehuris Montero lined a two-run double to right field, trimming Arizona’s lead to 4-3.
But Gallen hung on to pitch six innings, giving up three runs on four hits with 11 strikeouts. He improved 12-2, though his ERA rose slightly, from 2.42 to 2.50.
A ray of sunshine for Colorado came from Ryan McMahon. Starting at second base and hitting leadoff, he went 2-for-4 and launched a two-run homer in the eighth, his third homer of the homestand and 16th of the season.
In his short stint on the mound, Feltner gave up four runs on four hits and walked four. His ERA rose from 5.85 to 6.12.
The Rockies are off Monday before beginning a five-game road trip Tuesday in Chicago. They play two against the White Sox, have another day off Thursday, and then play a three-game set against the Cubs.
