DENVER, Colo. – The Phillies came into Coors Field and received excellent starting pitching from Aaron Nola and Jesus Luzardo in beating the Colorado Rockies on Friday and Saturday.

A good one from Taijuan Walker on Sunday would have put the Phils in position to sweep their first road series of a season since 2001 when the immortal trio of Omar Daal, Robert Person and Bruce Chen took the mound against the Florida Marlins.

Alas, Walker could not follow the trail blazed by Nola and Luzardo. He was tagged for four runs on three homers and the Phillies lost the series finale to the Rockies, 4-1. The Phillies had won nine in a row against the Rockies, dating to 2025. The loss left the Phillies at 5-4 on the new season as they head to San Francisco for three games against the Giants.

After two games in which so much went right for the Phils – from a combined 13 innings of two-run ball by Nola and Luzardo to 12 runs from the offense – not much went right Sunday.

The bats produced just four hits through the first eight innings.

And the starting pitching was just not there. Walker gave up a pair of long solo homers to Mickey Moniak, one in the first inning and one in the fifth. He gave up a second homer in the first, a two-run shot to TJ Rumfield, as the Rockies went ahead, 3-0.

Moniak, of course, was the first overall selection in the 2016 draft by the Phillies. Traded to the Los Angeles Angels for Noah Syndergaard in the summer of 2022, he has found his stroke in the light air of Denver. He hit 24 homers for the Rockies last season.

Rumfield is also former Phillies’ property, selected in the 12th round of the 2021 draft. He was traded to the New York Yankees as a young minor-leaguer and again to the Rockies this winter.

In 93 games over three seasons with the Phillies, Moniak hit just one homer for the Phillies.

He hit 870 feet worth of homers in the first five innings against the Phillies on Sunday.

After the game, Moniak did not play the I-showed-those-bleep-bleepers card that so many athletes do after a team moves on from them. He expressed thanks to the Phillies.

“It’s always cool hitting two home runs in any game,” Moniak said. “I still have a lot of buddies over there, and the coaching staff. That’s the team that kind of raised me. I spent seven years over there, had a lot of ups and a lot of downs, and I think it made me into the player I am today.”

Moniak worked hard with hitting coach Kevin Long in the spring of 2022. He still carries some of the lessons and wisdom Long imparted on him.

“Absolutely, K-Long was a huge part of the success I’ve had the last four years since being there,” he said. “He instilled confidence in me to really believe in myself. I think he’s one of those guys I’ll look back on at the end of my career and say he had a huge part in my success. I’m very grateful to have crossed paths with him.”

Both of Moniak’s homers came with two outs and two strikes. He hit a 1-2 fastball 433 feet in the first inning and a hanging 1-2 curveball 437 feet in the fifth.

“With two outs, I left some pitches over the middle,” Walker said. “I’ve got to make better pitches.”

Walker, who is keeping Zack Wheeler’s spot in the rotation warm, did get 10 swings and misses, mostly on his curveball and splitter, but the mistakes killed him.

Overall, in two starts, Walker has not fared well. “Rough,” is the word he used. In 9 2/3 innings, he has given up 17 hits and 11 runs, 10 of which have been earned. He has walked four and struck out six.

Wheeler will make two more starts at the minor-league level and could return during the week of May 20. At that time, Walker will likely go to the bullpen.

Colorado starter Tomoyuki Sugano held the Phillies to four hits and a run over six innings. He walked one and struck out five.

Trailing 3-1 in the top of the fifth, the Phillies had Sugano on the ropes when Justin Crawford (infield hit) and Trea Turner (sun-aided double) both reached base with two outs, bringing Kyle Schwarber to the plate. Something had to give when last year’s NL home run king (Schwarber hit 56) faced last year’s American League leader in homers allowed (Sugano gave up 33 with Baltimore). Schwarber did his part. He drove a ball 421 feet to center. It would have been a go-ahead, three-run homer in 28 of 30 big-league parks, according to Statcast. But in Coors Field, it was an out, ending the Phillies’ threat. The next half inning, Moniak hit his second homer against Walker to put Colorado ahead, 4-1.

It was the type of day the Phillies had hoped Moniak would have when they drafted him first overall 10 years ago. Only it happened with a different team.