Braves 8, Rockies 2: Pursuing history (and not the good kind)

The Colorado Rockies continued to make baseball history tonight, but not in a good way.

With an 8-2 loss to the Atlanta Braves, the Rockies extended their losing streak to eight games, their second eight-game losing streak of the season. (The first was April 11-20 [Game 1].) They have lost 16 of their last 17 games, the worst 17-game stretch in franchise history.

In addition, the Rockies dropped to 4-25 to start the season, matching the 1988 Orioles (4-25) and the 2003 Tigers (4-25) for the worst 29-game start in the Modern Era (since 1901).

They did not win a series during the month of April and have yet to rack up consecutive wins.

The Rockies are on pace for 22 wins in 2025.

How it went down

Both teams were scoreless through a brisk first inning, but that changed in the second when Michael Harris II doubled to bring in Matt Olson and Sean Murphy. However, Michael Toglia got the Rockies on the board in the bottom of the inning, sending an AJ Smith-Shaver splitter into the right field stands. It was his third homer of the season.

The game began to slip out of the Rockies’ grasp in the fourth when Olson and Ozzie Albies got on base with singles followed by a Murphy infield hit that loaded the bases, allowing Olson to score. Nick Allen singled to scored two runs, leaving Atlanta with a 5-1 lead.

Atlanta led off the fifth with an Olson double; an Ozzie Albies single would bring Olson home; and a Mickey Moniak error allowed Albies to move to second. Still, the Rockies minimized the damage, giving up only one run in the inning.

Eli White started the sixth inning with a triple that led to another run and a 7-1 score.

After the Toglia home run, Smith-Shawver held the Rockies offense mostly in check into the sixth inning.

Jordan Beck got the Rockies started with a single before a Ryan McMahon comebacker forced Smith-Shawver to leave the game. He finished the evening giving up only four hits, two runs (both earned), one walk, and five Ks. With their exception of the Toglia homer, the Rockies were unable to do much with Smith-Shawver’s splitter.

Enyel De Los Santos entered the game and promptly gave up a single to Hunter Goodman with Beck on third. Toglia earned an RBI on a fielder’s choice as Beck came home, making the score 7-2.

Seth Halvorsen, though, continues to struggle. He gave up a lead-off double in the eighth that led to a run, and the inning finished with Atlanta leading, 8-2.

And that was it for the Rockies offense. There was a hint of a rally in the ninth that ended when Kyle Farmer grounded into a double-play.

There are some signs of improvement. Jordan Beck was 1-for-3 with a walk, Michael Toglia with 1-for-3 with a home run (and no strikeouts!), and Hunter Goodman continues to find his swing, going 2-for-4 with two hits.

Others, though. continue to struggle. Brenton Doyle was 0-for-4 with two Ks, and Ryan McMahon, who is now 0-for-31, was 0-for-4 as well.

As a team, they finished with two runs on six hits, one walk, and seven Ks.

“Guys are frustrated for sure,” manager Bud Black said after the game. “We’re just not getting the results overall from all 26 guys.”

Germán Márquez continues to struggle

The Rockies all-time strikeout leader was unable to fool Atlanta tonight, and finished his evening striking out only one batter. He pitched 5 ¹⁄₃ innings, giving up 11 hits for seven runs (all earned) and one walk. As of the game’s conclusion, Márquez has a 9.82 ERA.

“Too many pitches in the middle of the plate,” Black commented after the game. “He just couldn’t consistently get to the edges when he needed to.” He did see Márquez’s delivery as improving since his last outing.

“He just didn’t make a lot of good pitches.”

It’s worth noting that this is only the 11th game Márquez has pitched in since 2023 given the challenges he has faced in returning from Tommy John surgery. However, at this point, it’s worth asking how much he has left in the tank.

Can we talk about Jimmy Herget?

So far, Jimmy Herget has been an underappreciated reliever for the Rockies. Tonight, he entered in relief of Márquez and went 1 ²⁄₃ innings, issuing one hit and one run. His ERA is 2.40. Of Rockies relievers with at least 10.0 IP, only Jake Bird has a lower ERA.

Defensive miscues and gems

The Rockies bad luck and defensive errors persisted. Due to a miscommunication in the fifth inning, Jordan Beck and Brenton Doyle barely avoided a collision that could have resulted in injuries. In addition, Mickey Moniak and Alan Trejo racked up errors.

Overall, the Rockies have 25 errors, the most in MLB.

However, Ryan McMahon had a stellar defensive game. This dazzler in the fifth merits a re-watch:

Look, take your pleasures where you can this season.