Colorado Rockies morning after: 3 hits, 3 misses from road trip

3 hits

1. Offense continues to progress

After erupting for season highs in hits (18) and runs (14) in a lopsided win against Arizona on Saturday night, Colorado followed with 12 more hits in the road trip finale Sunday afternoon.

Raimel Tapia continued his recent tear at the plate with three hits on Sunday after getting four hits one night earlier. He is now hitting .320.

But Tapia is certainly not the only Rox player who has been swinging a hot bat lately.

First baseman C.J. Cron, who swatted his fourth homer of the season Tuesday at San Francisco, batted .348 (8-for-23) on the road trip and is now hitting .287 on the season.

Catcher Dom Nunez blasted a grand slam during a seven-run eighth inning in Saturday’s blowout win, his fifth home run of the season. The grand slam was the first for a Rockies catcher on the road in nearly 10 years (last was by Eliezer Alfonzo on July 30, 2011, at San Diego). Of Nunez’s 12 hits this season, nine have gone for extra bases.

The eighth-inning explosion Saturday against the D-backs marked the second time in less than a week that Colorado had turned the trick. The Rox also had a seven-run outburst in the fourth inning April 25 at home against Philadelphia.

2. Never-say-die attitude evident

After starting 2021 with seven straight road losses, the Rockies picked up their initial road win of the year Tuesday at San Francisco, but had to rally to do so.

Trailing 3-2, Colorado tied the score in the sixth inning then went ahead in the ninth, 4-3, on a pinch-hit home run by Garrett Hampson. After the Giants evened the game at 4-4 on a home run in the bottom of the ninth, Colorado responded with back-to-back home runs in the top of the 10th by Ryan McMahon and C.J. Cron in the eventual 7-5 victory.

The team also showed the ability to battle from behind on Sunday, deadlocking the game late after trailing 4-2 after five innings. However, Arizona’s four-spot against Bard led to the 8-4 loss.

3. Pitching debuts for Justin Lawrence and Lucas Gilbreath

The duo made their Major League debuts while on the road.

Lawrence, a right-hander, cracked the Majors with a one-inning stint Thursday against Arizona. He followed with another scoreless inning of relief on Saturday while striking out three.

Gilbreath, a left-hander, appeared for the first time on Saturday night. He permitted a home run on his first Major League pitch but settled down and needed just six pitches to finish his inning of relief.

3 misses

1. Bard continues to struggle

Bard’s recent struggles remains a mystery. After converting his six save opportunities for Colorado a year ago and his first two chances this season, the right-hander suffered his first blown save as a Rockie in the first game of a home doubleheader April 17 by allowing two final-inning runs in a loss to the Mets.

His second blown save of the season came Tuesday night when he allowed the game-tying ninth-inning homer in San Francisco. Ironically, Bard actually ended up being the game’s winning pitcher by virtue of Colorado’s three-run 10th inning.

Then, on Sunday in Arizona, Bard was touched for four runs on four hits and a walk in just 0.1 inning. He has now been scored on in five of his last six outings and has a season earned run average of 9.00.

2. Two starting pitchers on the shelf

With right-hander Antonio Senzatela being placed on the 10-day injured list Saturday due to a right groin strain, Colorado now has two members of the starting rotation out of action.

Senzatela joins left-hander Kyle Freeland on the injured list. Freeland has yet to see any regular-season action this season after suffering a left shoulder injury in spring training.

3. Not taking advantage of offensive opportunities

While the Rockies ended their seven-game road swing with back-to-back games of double-digit hits, the team won only one of those two contests.

In Sunday’s loss, despite 12 hits, Colorado managed just four runs with all four tallies coming with two out.

The Rox stranded 14 runners on base and was a meager 2-for-15 with runners in scoring position.

Following the road trip, Colorado now prepares to open a three-game home series Monday against San Francisco.

German Marquez (1-2) is slated to take the mound for the Rox. First pitch is set for 6:40 p.m. (Mountain time).