CINCINNATI — A by-the-numbers picture illustrates just how ugly things have gotten for the Rockies:
— Their gut-punch, 8-6 loss Tuesday night at Great American Ballpark was their seventh defeat in a row. The sizzling Reds, meanwhile, won their 10th consecutive game and are the surprise leaders in the National League Central division.
— The Rockies fell to 29-47, a .382 winning percentage that puts them on pace for a 62-100 season, which would be the first 100-loss season in 31 years of Rockies baseball.
— Long reliever Peter Lambert made three throwing errors in Cincinnati’s two-run fifth inning, marking the first time in Rockies history that any player, let alone a pitcher, committed three errors in one inning.
Lambert made an error on a rushed throw to first base trying to throw out Elly De La Cruz, who had rocketed the ball off Lambert’s glove. Then Lambert made two bad pick-off throws toward second base.
— Colorado pitchers gave up three more homers — two by starter Noah Davis, one by Lambert — meaning the opponents have launched 18 home runs over the last six road games.
— During the seven-game losing streak, Rockies pitchers have posted a 9.16 ERA.
And to think that Colorado led Tuesday night’s game, 1-0, on Nolan Jones’ first-inning homer. Jones, who’s hitting .354, finished a triple short of the cycle and hit two doubles.
Colorado’s slim lead didn’t last.
Davis, called up from Triple-A Albuquerque to make a fill-in start for Colorado’s injury-riddled rotation, committed a cardinal sin in the second. He issued back-to-back walks to Will Benson and Curt Casali, setting the table for TJ Friedl’s three-run homer.
Another walk haunted Davis in Cincinnati’s two-run third inning. After De La Cruz hit a one-out, solo homer, Davis walked Jake Fraley, who came around to score on Spencer Steer’s double. Davis gave Colorado four innings, giving up five runs on five hits with four walks and two strikeouts.
Will Benson led off the sixth with a homer to dead center off Lambert to increase the Reds’ lead to 8-2.
Colorado got a solo homer from Harold Castro in the fourth, his first homer of the season.
Then the Rockies made things very interesting. Then they scored three in the eighth on Jones’ leadoff double, a walk by Elias Diaz, and a three-run homer to center by Jorge Alfaro off Casey Legumina’s first-pitch sweeper.
Jones ripped an RBI double in the ninth to score Jurickson Profar, but, with the bases loaded, Cincy closer Alexis Diaz finally got his act together and struck out Alfaro to close out the win. Alexis Diaz eked out his 20th save.
The Rockies will attempt to avoid their second consecutive series sweep when they play the Reds on Wednesday afternoon. The Rockies lost all four games in Atlanta before coming to Cincinnati.
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