Rockies Report, Game 157:

ROCKIES BOTTOM LINE: Seven innings of pitching brilliance against the Seattle Mariners fell apart in the eighth inning Tuesday night, as Juan Mejia loaded the bases by hitting two Seattle Mariners and walking another, and Victor Vodnik surrendered a bases-clearing double to Josh Naylor, turning a 3-1 Rockies lead into a 4-3 loss at T-Mobile Park.

In a season flooded with disheartening moments, the eighth inning might have been the most crushing of them all, as the Rockies had the hottest team in baseball on the ropes thanks to seven splendid innings from rookie starter McCade Brown and relievers Jaden Hill and Jimmy Herget.

Together, they held the Mariners to two hits and a single run, allowing the Rox to eke their way in front via Kyle Karros’ infield RBI single and Ezequiel Tovar’s 2-RBI single in the sixth.

Tovar comes through 🤲 pic.twitter.com/cSdODeAmv4

— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) September 24, 2025

Brown, Hill, Herget, Mejia and Vodnik combined for 16 strikeouts, a season-high for the Rox.

For a moment in the fateful eighth inning, it looked as if Mejia could escape. After opening the eighth inning by plunking Luke Raley and walking J.P. Crawford, he struck out Randy Arozarena with an outside fastball that missed the zone, but was generously called a third strike by home-plate umpire Adam Beck.

Then, Mejia struck out MVP candidate Cal Raleigh on three pitches, getting him to chase a low inside slider for the second out as “M-V-P” chants roared through the crowd.

But four pitches later, Mejia went up and in on Julio Rodriguez, nailing him to load the bases. That was Mejia’s 19th pitch, leading interim manager Warren Schaeffer to call for Vodnik to make what he hoped would be a four-out save.

Three pitches later, Naylor drove a high fastball to the left-center field gap, and the two-run lead the Rox worked so hard to build evaporated into the Pacific Northwest night.

Colorado fell to 43-114.

ROCKIES STARTER’S REPORT

This was a different McCade Brown, and if this was a sign of what the Rockies will get from him in the future, they could have a gem.

Brown went a full five innings for the first time in six major-league starts, and spent most of his night dismantling a powerful lineup that entered the night averaging 6.8 runs per game in its previous 15 games.

After battling some control problems in the first inning, hitting Raleigh with an errant curveball and walking Rodrigues, he got Naylor to hit into a 6-3 double play, then struck out the next five Mariners he faced. He didn’t allow a hit until the fourth inning; the only run he surrendered was via Dominic Canzone’s solo shot in the fifth.

Of Brown’s 10 strikeouts, four saw him catch Mariners batters looking. Seattle’s batters struggled to catch up with his fastball; six of his strikeouts came via that pitch.

BITS AND PIECES

IT WAS DECIDED FOR THE ROCKIES WHEN: Naylor lined Vodnik’s fastball at the top of the zone to the gap.

NUMBER TO NOTE: 10 — Strikeouts for Brown, which was just one fewer than his total from his first five major-league starts combined.

WHAT’S NEXT: Tanner Gordon looks to end his season with a .500 mark. Luis Castillo starts for the Mariners. First pitch from T-Mobile Park is set for 7:40 p.m. MDT.