Rockies cement longest home losing streak in Coors Field history

Rockies set franchise mark with ninth straight home loss

The Colorado Rockies extended their home losing streak to nine games with a 13-3 loss to the Washington Nationals on Monday night, setting a franchise record for the longest home losing streak in Coors Field history.

The Rockies had led 2-0 at the halfway point of the game, but the Nationals scored 13 runs over their final four at-bats. Manager Warren Schaeffer did not mince words after the loss.

"We've got to take care of the baseball better than that," Schaeffer said, per Thomas Harding of MLB.com. "That was an inning that got out of control. This is the big leagues. We need to play better than that."

The fifth inning proved pivotal, with the Rockies allowing five runs after failing to defend bunts and committing two throwing errors, combined with three walks and a missed defensive opportunity by shortstop Ezequiel Tovar. Schaeffer described how the inning spiraled: "Then the two soft hits, then the E5 on the bunt, kind of spiraled things out of control after that."

The Nationals, who had themselves been swept by the Miami Marlins over the weekend, capitalized on the Rockies' mistakes. The Rockies had previously been swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Cleveland Guardians at home, and the Washington loss made it three consecutive home series sweeps -- a first in club history.

The nine-game home losing streak eclipsed the previous eight-game record, which had occurred four times, most recently May 30-June 18, 2018. It ties the 1993 Rockies, who played at Mile High Stadium, for the longest home losing streak in club history.

A rough homestand in numbers

The streak has been defined by poor pitching. During the nine home losses, the Rockies have been outscored 70-37, with the staff posting a 6.96 ERA, including a 10.04 ERA by starters. The nine-game streak is the longest home losing streak in the majors this season, topping eight-game skids by the Athletics and Cubs. The Rockies also gave up a homer in 17 straight games overall, a franchise-worst streak that was snapped on Sunday.

The streak began after the Rockies had taken two of three from the San Francisco Giants two weekends ago, but last week the Dodgers swept them in Denver, followed by the Cleveland Guardians completing a three-game sweep over the weekend. The Guardians scored five runs in the first two innings against right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano on Sunday and won 7-2. The loss extended the Rockies' home skid to nine games. Earlier in the offseason, the Colorado organization had unveiled a statue of Hall of Fame outfielder Larry Walker in front of Coors Field on Sunday.

After the Washington game, the Rockies' record is 50-81 with 31 games remaining; they need to go 13-18 to avoid a fourth straight 100-loss season.

The team now heads on a seven-game road trip to Washington and Atlanta, returning to Coors Field on Aug. 31 against Baltimore. The Rockies need to go 13-20 in the remaining 33 games to avoid a fourth consecutive 100-loss season.

A bee sting provides rare levity

Amid the losing streak, there was an unusual moment on Sunday. Rockies reliever Jimmy Herget was stung on his right arm during the sixth inning of the 7-2 loss. Herget, who held Cleveland scoreless in the fifth and sixth innings, said the incident was a new experience.

"That's never happened to me before," said Herget. "I think it was a bee, I'm not a bee expert or whatever." He pointed out the red mark on the crook of his right elbow and said he smacked the bee away. Manager Warren Schaefer called it "a little moment of levity on a rough day."

The "rough day" also included a difficult outing for starter Tomoyuki Sugano, who gave up five runs on nine hits over three innings, his shortest outing in 23 starts with the Rockies. Sugano, per interpreter Yuto Sakurai, said: "I had a very minor feel for my pitches. The pitches weren't there. The same thing happened in my last start." He said he is not feeling fatigued despite pitching at altitude late in the season. Schaefer noted Sugano was behind in counts and the Guardians' hitters forced high pitch counts.

Sugano's previous start against the Dodgers was an 11-5 loss in which he gave up seven runs (six earned) in five innings.

The Rockies' seven-game losing streak in the majors is their longest since early 2018. Their next game is Monday, Aug. 26, when they open a series in Washington.