Colorado Rockies: The 5 worst losses of the 2018 season

ESPN published its list of “the most miserable fan bases in pro sports” on Sept. 29, and the Colorado Rockies are ranked a respectable 18th (arguably too low, given they’re behind two teams with World Series titles). Yes, we are masochists. While the Rockies reached the NLDS and went 91-72 in 2018 – a successful year by Rockies standards – there was no shortage of agonizing losses to build on the misery we’ve accumulated over 25 seasons.

The following are five of this season’s most horrifying defeats (just in time for Halloween). And keep in mind – though I probably don’t need to remind you – the Colorado Rockies needed just one more win to grab the organization’s first division title.

June 2: 4-12 vs Los Angeles Dodgers

The Rockies entered this game with a three-game lead over the Dodgers and a 30-27 record. However, the previous night was a dismal 11-8 loss featuring a sixth-inning Brooks Pounders implosion, while the Rockies continued to struggle at Coors Field.

But the destruction of Pound Town had nothing on the horror of the seventh inning on June 2 — broadcast in front of a national television audience, no less.

German Marquez and young Dodgers phenom Walker Buehler (both not quite in “ace form” yet) allowed four runs each, leaving the game tied 4-4 going into the seventh inning. But a winnable game quickly descended into a nightmare. Bryan Shaw — still with manager Bud Black’s trust — gave up two singles to Chris Taylor and Justin Turner. After a groundout scored Taylor, the resurrected Rockie-killer Matt Kemp smashed a hanging breaking ball into the left-field bleachers to give the Dodgers a 7-4 lead.

Mike Dunn tried to get the Rockies out of the inning, but instead loaded the bases (walk, single, walk) without managing an out. Breyvic Valera — soon to be sent to the Baltimore Orioles, poor guy — hit a groundball up the middle on a bad slider and knocked in two runs.

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At this point, the Rockies relievers were King Arthur’s knights being sent into the killer bunny’s cave. Harrison Musgrave couldn’t stop the bleeding, loading the bases with a walk and scoring Yasiel Puig on a wild pitch. Taylor (yes, the Dodgers batted around with just one out) hit a ball into the left-field gap for a two-run triple.

The game was the beginning of a disastrous month for the Colorado bullpen. Shaw was a wreck — his June ERA was 12.96 — while Dunn quickly and mercifully went on the disabled list. Rockies relievers had a Major League-worst 7.78 ERA in the month of June and allowed 84 runs.

The relief core would come around eventually, but it felt like Jeff Bridich’s “super bullpen” was devolving into a blooper bullpen.

June 17: 12-13 at Texas Rangers

Fathers Day 2017 gave us an unforgettable Colorado classic. This year’s Father Day game was unforgettable for all the wrong reasons.

Jon Gray was in fantastic form through five innings, getting nine strikeouts while allowing one run and three hits. But he imploded in the sixth — his final inning before getting sent to Triple-A Albuquerque for pitching rehab. Some sloppy defense didn’t help (the Rockies committed two errors), but Gray was rattled, giving up two RBI singles and a three-run jack to Jurickson Profar.

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The Rockies rallied for five runs of their own in the top of the seventh, and it looked like the offense would bail out the pitching (what a time to be alive). But the bullpen’s woes became downright comical. In the bottom of the seventh inning, Jake McGee hit Robison Chirinos on an 0-2 count, walked Ronald Guzman and advanced the runners on a wild pitch. Shaw allowed two runs but at least got a groundout, before Chris Rusin finally helped the Rockies escape the inning clinging to a 10-9 lead.

Trevor Story hit a two-run homer in the top of the ninth, challenging the bullpen to blow it again. And Wade Davis obliged. He loaded the bases on two walks and a single, getting just one out. Then Davis walked in two runs, including a five-pitch walk to Isiah Kiner-Falefa, before Jose Trevino’s two-run bloop single walked it off for the Rangers.

Every team has close losses, of course. Some are of the “tip-your-hat-to-the-other-team” variety. Some, not so much. But every so often it seems like your team is actively trying to do everything it can to lose a ballgame in the most painful and tortuous way possible. This was one of those games.

June 27: 0-1 at San Francisco Giants

This one had dedicated Rockies viewers seriously reevaluating the way we spend our summer evenings. Instead of a sunset stroll or a patio beer with family and friends, we watched the Rockies get stumped by Madison Bumgarner and the Giants bullpen until Brandon Crawford hit a walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth for a 1-0 win.

At least we saw a gem by Kyle Freeland. Freeland allowed four hits (none for extra bases), one walk and struck out four in seven perfect innings.

But it was all for not. Bumgarner had eight strikeouts (including three of Ian Desmond) and didn’t allow a hit until Carlos Gonzalez’s two-out double in the fifth. Two walks loaded the bases, but Freeland unsurprisingly struck out to end the Rockies’ only real threat.

Musgrave replaced a sizzling Scott Oberg in the bottom of the ninth for a lefty-lefty matchup with Brandon Crawford, but Crawford blasted a home run into Levi’s Landing to end the proceedings.

The loss dropped the Rockies to 38-42, the most under .500 in 2018. But we were unaware that change was gonna come – the Rockies would go 30-14 in their next 44 games, all against .500-or-better teams.

Sept 18: 2-3 (10 innings) at Dodgers

A lot of regular-season losses to the Dodgers could make this list, but some were just more winnable than others, like the extra-inning bummer on September 18.

It was Kershaw versus Freeland, baseball’s Manning versus Brady or GGG vs Alvarez. And both pitchers were excellent as advertised, doing their jobs as staff aces and setting this game up for late-inning drama.

The Dodgers got some timely help from third-base umpire Lance Barrett. But the Rockies did not help themselves either, as the offense sprinkled just four hits throughout the game. One of those was in the top of the ninth, as Gerardo Parra singled and stole a base to get the leadoff man in scoring position.

But even advancing Parra to third was a tall task for the road Rockies of September, as a strikeout, shallow pop-up and groundout ended the threat.

In extra innings, Chris Taylor homered off Adam Ottavino in the bottom of the 10th. It was not a particularly good final stretch for Ottavino as he also took the 3-2, extra-innings loss in the first game of the NLDS.