When Rockies manager Bud Black said Monday afternoon that he was as content as he’d been all season with his pitching rotation, he was referring in large part to Austin Gomber.
“Since the All-Star break, been pretty consistent,” Black said of his starters. “With the exception of a game or two here and there, all the games have been close. … That’s a reflection of our starting pitching, and maybe a little bit of our lack of run production.”
Consistency collided with bad luck hours later at Coors Field.
Gomber exited in the third inning of his start with an injury that Black described as an ongoing back soreness, and the Rockies lost 14-4 in the series opener to the MLB-best Atlanta Braves, officially securing a losing season. Colorado (49-82) has lost seven of its last eight games.
Gomber, who came in with a 5.48 ERA, had been finding his stride in recent months. The left-hander pitched at least six innings in eight of his previous 11 starts, maintaining a strong 3.50 ERA during that stretch and keeping opponents to a .744 OPS. But he received a visit from the Rockies’ trainers with two outs in the top of the third inning, after Austin Riley lashed a two-run home run off him and Matt Olson followed it with a triple. Karl Kauffmann quickly got warm and replaced Gomber.
“His back was a little sore throughout his warmup and the first couple of innings,” Black said. “He’s been managing a little bit of back soreness over the last month. Some days are much better than others. Today was one of those days where it wasn’t great. He’s been able to make his starts, throw some bullpen sessions, but for whatever reason, tonight’s game was a little tougher on him.”
The Rockies were playing catch-up the rest of the night, trying to fill the innings against baseball’s blood-thirstiest lineup. The Braves didn’t go easy on them.
On a night when Ronald Acuna Jr. was confronted and taken down by multiple fans in right field during the seventh inning, the National League MVP front-runner flexed his speed and power. The only wrinkle in his stunning, whirlwind night was a misjudged pop fly that would have ended the fourth inning. Instead it fell and allowed Colorado to briefly tie the game, 2-2.
Acuna made up for it with a two-run home run the next half inning to put the Braves ahead for good. He finished the night 4 for 5 with a homer, a walk, two stolen bases, five RBIs and four runs scored. The must-see moment of the evening was ironically in garbage time, while the crowd was still buzzing in the aftermath of the fan incident, when a ninth-inning walk to Kevin Pillar loaded the bases for Acuna.
The 25-year-old smashed a double into the left-center gap, clearing the bases. Then in a fitting culmination to a bizarre night, he scored on a two-out pop fly into shallow right mirroring the one he had missed earlier. This one fell between idle Colorado fielders. Right field at Coors was officially, unwittingly cursed.
The Rockies cycled through five pitchers, all of whom gave up at least one earned run and four of whom allowed two or more. Colorado threw multiple wild pitches to contribute to Atlanta’s four-run seventh inning, and Daniel Bard pitched the five-run ninth.
Rockies first baseman Hunter Goodman, after shining in his MLB debut Sunday in Baltimore, earned a start again and went 2 for 4.
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