Colorado Rockies: What went wrong in the 8-4 loss to the Padres

The Colorado Rockies‘ second game in San Diego didn’t go quite as planned as the Padres posted an 8-4 win on Tuesday night. Here’s what went wrong.

Aggressive base running has the ability to change the game. Unfortunately for the Rockies, that aggressiveness worked in reverse fashion in the second game of four in San Diego.

Twice, Rockies threats were minimized, as the team ran into outs in the third and fourth innings.

In the third, second baseman DJ LeMahieu was cut down at home after pitcher Kyle Freeland and center fielder Charlie Blackmon scored on third basemen Nolan Arenado’s RBI double, which gave the Rockies a 2-1 lead.

Colorado Rockies

One inning later, it was shortstop Trevor Story getting thrown out trying to go first to third on catcher Chris Iannetta’s RBI single.

Those two mistakes would prove costly as they squelched promising rallies and took runners who were in scoring position off the base paths.

These potential runs could have changed the outlook of the game early-on while it was still a close contest.

Despite the mishaps, Rockies manager Bud Black said he wants to continue to be aggressive on the base paths.

“We’re going to continue to push it, make guys, ya know, make plays against us,” Black told reporters after the game.

He said he expects that pressure to pay off.

“In the long haul, it will work to our advantage,” Black said.

Even with the mistakes, the Rockies managed to keep the game close … and then Christian Villanueva took over.

“The kid’s got power,” Black said.

The Padres’ rookie third basemen hit three home runs and drove in five runs, including a three-run homer off Antonio Senzatela in the seventh that gave the Padres an 8-3 lead.