The Rockies broke their road hex on Wednesday at Chase Field.
After dropping Monday’s series opener, Colorado rallied with wins on Tuesday and Wednesday to take the series, snapping an eight-series losing streak on the road.
It also broke a longer road series drought within the National League West, as Colorado had previously lost 20 straight road series against NL West teams, tied for the longest such streak against divisional opponents by any team in the Divisional Era (since 1969).
Here are five takeaways from the series victory as Colorado now heads to San Francisco for a three-game series this weekend, before returning to Coors Field on Monday to face the two-time defending champion Dodgers.
The league is adjusting to Gabriel Hughes. Can he adjust back? Following a solid first month in the big leagues in which the rookie right-hander posted a 3.33 ERA over five games, Hughes has come back down to earth in his last two starts.
The Rays tagged him for five runs in five-plus innings on Aug. 4, before the D-backs blitzed him for 7 runs in 4 innings in Monday’s series opener to inflate his ERA to 5.61. Struggles were inevitable for Hughes, especially considering he ranks in the bottom fifth of baseball in average fastball velocity at 92.3 mph. How Hughes responds down the stretch will be telling for his rotational role in 2027.
Nolan Arenado reaffirms Hall of Fame future against former team. The Arizona third baseman was central in blowing up Hughes in Monday’s opening inning, launching his eighth career grand slam. Now in his 14th big-league season, and with a year left on his contract that will take him through his age-36 season, the longtime Colorado fan favorite remains on a trajectory toward Cooperstown.
No, he doesn’t have quite the power he once did. He hasn’t won a Gold Glove Award in four years. But even in his mid-30s, he remains a solid player. He is on track, or ahead of pace, to enter the National Baseball Hall of Fame after he retires by numerous statistical predictors, including the Black Ink, Gray Ink, Hall of Fame Monitor and Jaffe WAR Score system.
The biggest question left: Will his plaque have a Rockies cap or a Cardinals one? Arenado’s peak years largely came with Colorado, but his departure from LoDo came on a sour note.
Starting pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano (11) of the Colorado Rockies pitches against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the first inning of the MLB game at Chase Field on Aug. 11, 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Sugano has been stellar — and the Rockies should try to re-sign him. The Japanese starter gave up a pair of solo homers in the first inning of Tuesday’s game, then promptly settled in for a quality start by throwing five shutout innings. When Colorado’s mid-game rally put Sugano in line for the win, he became only the sixth Colorado pitcher to win 12 of his first 17 decisions in a season, and the first to do so since German Marquez in 2019.
The Rockies went 1-for-3 signing veteran free-agent starters this offseason — Jose Quintana hasn’t pitched since late May due to a left elbow sprain, and Michael Lorenzen hasn’t been good with a career-high 6.83 ERA. But by hitting on Sugano, the Rockies found a guy who can pitch at elevation (3.93 ERA in 10 starts at Coors Field) and whom they should make a push to bring back in 2027 considering the team’s thin options in the rotation.
Sugano might want to try and sign with a contender, where he could be a valuable back-end starter, but it’s worth a try for Colorado to pursue him again after the club got its money’s worth out of the 36-year-old’s one-year, $5.1 million deal this season.
Veen makes an immediate splash in his season debut. Outfielder Zac Veen, recalled from Triple-A Albuqurque on Tuesday, made his impact felt in Wednesday’s game when he hit a two-run homer in the fourth inning for his first hit of the season. Veen played briefly in the majors last year after debuting, then spent the rest of the season in Triple-A, where he raked all summer before this week’s promotion.
Considering Colorado’s outfield depth, maybe Veen plays well enough down the stretch to stoke front-office confidence that he can be a future lineup pillar. On the other side of the coin, maybe a solid August/September performance makes him a trade candidate.
Whatever happens, there are a lot of cooks in the Colorado outfield kitchen right now, and somebody is likely to be offseason trade bait for starting pitching. It won’t be Mickey Moniak (just signed a new two-year contract) or promising rookie Cole Carrigg, but Veen, Jordan Beck, Troy Johnston and/or Jake McCarthy could all be on the block come November.
The road to avoiding 100 losses is getting tight. Even with the 6-4 win in Wednesday’s series finale, which was much-needed considering the Rockies are now just 4-13 in rubber games this season, the window to avoid becoming the fifth MLB franchise with four seasons of 100-plus losses is narrowing.
The Rockies (48-73) need to go 15-26 down the stretch to avoid 100 losses, a .365 winning percentage that’s slightly lower than its current winning percentage of .397. But keep in mind that 12 of the Rockies’ 13 remaining series are against teams that are in playoff contention. By Fangraphs’ projections, Colorado will just miss further infamy and finish with 98 losses.
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