De La Rosa And Offense Continue Struggles, Rockies Swept By Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Colorado Rockies 7-1 today, completing a three game sweep and keeping their playoff hopes alive. The Rockies scored one run in the entire series and will have to win a single game in Arizona this week against the Diamondbacks to avoid 100 losses on the season.

Yea yea. Whatever. Image: Gary A. Vasquez-US PRESSWIRE

While it is never acceptable to score a single measly run over the course of a three game set, these Rockies hitters probably still deserve a break and maybe even a certain level of sympathy. They are in over their heads anyhow, let alone on a team with a battered pitching staff and against a team that is studded with all star talent and making a final desperate push for a playoff spot.

Think of it this way: whatever you saw as the “rock bottom” moment of the season, did you ever think the 2, 3, 4 hitters in the Rockies lineup would be Rafael Ortega, Jordan Pacheco, and Andrew Brown? No disrespect to the talents of any of those three men, but that is rough.

The primary hang-up for me about this game is the dreary note on which Jorge De La Rosa ends his short 2012 campaign. Over 4 innings he surrendered 4 earned runs on 5 hits and 2 home runs. He will put a bow on his year with an ERA north of 9.00 and a lot of work to do as he looks to 2013. It remains to be seen if the Rockies can reasonably expect him to return to his role as staff ace or if they will have to temper expectations slightly in order to put De La Rosa in a position to succeed.

This season ending series between the Diamondbacks and Rockies pins two downtrodden teams against one another. On the list of motivators for otherwise meaningless games, I don’t know if “trying to make the other team lose 100” ranks highly or not. What I do know is that we can reasonably expect that Kirk Gibson does not tolerate quitting by any of his players and that the Rockies will have to earn that single victory.