DENVER — The Rockies’ growing pains aren’t very pretty.
The announced crowd of 32,627 that turned out to watch them lose, 6-4, to Milwaukee on a scorching Monday afternoon at Coors Field can testify to that.
The Rockies, who came home after a 3-7 road trip, have lost nine of their last 12 games.
On Labor Day, Colorado’s lineup — one that included rookie first baseman Michael Toglia, rookie left fielder Sean Bouchard and rookie catcher Brian Serven — labored. The Rockies managed just five hits and the rookie trio combined to hit 1-for-10.
Rookie right-hander Ryan Feltner, a likely part of next year’s rotation, remains a work in progress, and he delivered an uneven start. Over 5 1/3 innings, he was charged with four runs on five hits with just one walk. He tied his career-high with seven strikeouts.
When Feltner departed in the sixth inning with one out after plunking Kolton Wong, Colorado was clinging to a 3-2 lead. By the time the inning was over, Colorado trailed 6-3 after Victor Caratini blasted a three-run homer 443 feet to right off of inexperienced right-hander Justin Lawrence.
Lawrence is a reliever that the Rockies have high hopes for in 2023. But with a 4.66 ERA and a propensity to walk hitters, he’s also one of those players with a lot of unanswered questions.
The Rockies opened the game with a productive first inning. Ryan McMahon led off with a sharp line-drive single that caromed off Milwaukee starter Adrian Hauser, Brendan Rodgers walked and C.J. Cron reached on an error by Wong at second base.
With the bases packed, veteran right fielder Charlie Blackmon punched a two-run single to left, and Garrett Hampson’s sacrifice fly scored Cron.
After that, Rockies hitters took a late-summer siesta, not getting another hit until Blackmon’s harmless one-out single in the sixth. But the Rockies woke up in the eighth, getting a solo homer to left by Cron off Taylor Rogers and loading the bases on a single by Bouchard and a walk by Hampson.
The sleepy crowd woke up when pinch hitter Elias Dias came to the plate to face All-Star right-hander Devin Williams, but Williams got Diaz to ground out to shortstop Willy Adames.
