Colorado Rockies morning after: A tale of two Arizona emotions

Prior to Friday night, the last time the Colorado Rockies walked off the diamond at Chase Field, they had just completed a three-game sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Good feelings abounded as the Rockies started a nine-game road trip with some solid play against a division rival.

Now flash forward to Friday night and a lot of those good feelings seem like distant memories. The Colorado Rockies suffered an 8-0 shutout at the hands of the Diamondbacks as they started their final series before the All-Star break. The blanking represented Colorado’s first since April 11.

The defeat also snapped Colorado’s eight-game winning streak against Arizona and dropped the Rockies to 44-43 on the season.

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Since that win that sealed the sweep on June 20, the Rockies are 4-9 and have now lost four straight. Granted, the Rockies have faced the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros in nine of those games (going 2-7). However, no matter the level of competition, it can’t be denied that the Rockies are in a bit of a funk at the moment.

Part of that funk includes being outscored 77-60 during that stretch and seeing a team ERA north of 5. Those numbers do not add up to a recipe for success.

Certainly the Rockies had their hands full on Friday night with Zack Greinke pitching every bit like an All-Star. However, another short outing from a Colorado starter (in this case, Antonio Senzatela‘s 4.1 innings of work) meant another long night for an already taxed Rockies bullpen.

There are still two games left before the All-Star break, and Colorado will have their two most reliable pitchers of the season (Jon Gray and German Marquez) on the mound in those games. Hovering just one game above .500, the Rockies will be looking for something good to happen in the desert on Saturday night or Sunday afternoon. And, as manager Bud Black always tells the media, it often boils down to pitching, particularly the starters.

Those feel-good emotions from last trip? They’ve evaporated like water in the desert. Now it’s time to see if the Rockies can recreate a bit of their mojo to give the team a much-needed boost heading into the All-Star break.