It looked like the type of game the Rockies’ dreamed up during the offseason: A road victory, against a quality team, based on clutch hits, including a big home run.
Instead, the dream turned into a nightmare Sunday afternoon at American Family Field.
Milwaukee scored three runs in the eighth off of right-hander Alex Colome for a 10-9 victory. The Brewers rally began with two outs. Colome walked Christian Yellich, Willy Adames singled to left and Rowdy Tellez drove in Yellich with a single to right, tying the game, 8-8. On a 3-2 count, veteran slugger Andrew McCutchen drove Colome’s 3-2 fastball over the head of center fielder Yonathan Daza for the game-winning, two-run double.
Give the Rockies’ offense a lot of credit. It pounded out 13 hits, including a triple by Garrett Hampson and an RBI single by Daza in the ninth off of closer Josh Hader. But it wasn’t enough, as Kris Bryant grounded out to Hader to kill the rally.
The Brewers have won the first three games of the four-game series and have beaten the Rockies eight times in a row.
A hint of Colorado’s bullpen meltdown arrived in the seventh when Milwaukee cut the lead to 8-7 off of left-hander Lucas Gilbreath, who had been scored on just once in his previous 13 appearances. But McCutcheon reached on a lucky, pop fly down the right-field line that hopped into the stands for a ground-rule double. Pinch-hitter Mike Brosseau drove in McCutcheon with a line drive double to left-center.
No doubt about it, this was a painful loss for the Rockies, akin to their 6-5, 13-inning loss late Friday. Sunday, Colorado battled back from a poor start by Chad Kuhl and a 5-2 deficit, scoring what could have two game-clinching runs in the seventh on an opposite-field single by a rejuvenated Elias Diaz off of right-hander Brad Boxberger.
Bryant, who signed a seven-year, $182 million deal with a mission to juice up the Rockies’ tepid offense, had a big day. He went 3-for-5 with two doubles and he powered the Rockies back into the game with a two-run homer in the fifth off of starter Eric Lauer, trimming Milwaukee’s lead to 5-4.
As a team, the Rockies have launched just 27 homers on the road, but all five of Bryant’s homers have come away from Coors Field, and he’s hit those five in just 69 plate appearances.
Kuhl pitched just 2 1/3 innings, giving up five runs on five hits, including a two-run homer to Hunter Renfroe in the third. It was Renfroe’s third home run of the series. Kuhl needed 38 pitches to get through the Brewers’ three-run first inning and threw 85 pitches before manager Bud Black gave him the hook.
Since he threw a three-hit, complete-game shutout of the Dodgers on June 27 at Coors Field, Kuhl has posted a 9.00 ERA in four starts.
