The Rockies struck out 11 times and the 2-3-4 hitters went a combined 0-12 as the Rockies lost their seventh straight to the Astros on Thursday night. Mickey Moniak hit a two-run homer to account for Colorado’s scoring and a ninth-inning comeback attempt came up short for the Rockies (19-67). The Astros improved to 52-34 and earned the series win with the victory.

Gomber Recovers After Rocky Start

Houston wasted no time taking an early lead as Jake Meyers hit a one-out double down the third baseline, Jose Altuve singled on a bunt and Cam Smith hit an RBI single to put the Astros up 1-0. Shay Whitcomb hit a solo homer, the first of his career, in the second to help Houston take a 2-0 lead. The Astros were hitting Gomber hard from the jump, but it often resulted with flyouts on the warning track. Gomber also got out of both of those innings with minimal damage by leaving two runners on base in each inning.

Gomber got through the next three innings in scoreless fashion and ended his night giving up two earned runs on eight hits with one strikeout and one walk on 78 pitches, 55 of which were strikes.

Bullpen Blows It

Angel Chivilli relieved Gomber in the sixth and it wasn’t his day. He gave up a lead-off single to Cooper Hummel, but seemed to recover by striking out Whitcomb. Then he walked Dubón, but again recovered by getting to Isaac Paredes to pop out. With two runners on his book, Chivilli was pulled for Jake Bird. who wasn’t having a good night either.

Bird hit Meyers in the ribs to load the bases and then gave up a two-run single to Jose Altuve. Cam Smith then followed with another hit to drive in another run and put the Astros up 5-2.

In the final three innings, the bullpen was solid as Tyler Kinley threw a scoreless seventh and Ryan Rolison followed with two scoreless frames to end the game and give the Rockies a chance for a comeback.

Moniak Hits A Dozen, Freeman Extends to 17

Down 2-0 in the bottom of the second, Mickey Moniak capitalized on a Thario Estrada single before him by blasting a homer 108.5 mph 420 feet to right field to tie the game at 2-2. It was Moniak’s 12th homer of the season.

Tyler Freeman went 3-for-4, extending his on-base streak to 17 games. All three hits were singles, but he made up a big chunck of the seven Rockies runners left on base in the game. Colorado also went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position. Estrada went 3-for-4 with three singles. Estrada and Freeman combined for six hits and, combined with Moniak’s bomb, made up the entirety of the Rockies offense through eight innings.

In the ninth, Brenton Doyle hit a pitch-hit double that dropped in on the right field line. Michael Toglia followed with another bloop single, but Kyle Farmer then pitch hit and hit into a double play. It scored Doyle, but killed the momentum.

Ryan Ritter followed with another bloop single, but Freeman ended the game with a strikeout.

Colorado’s 10 hits were outnumbered by Houston’s 16. After big nights on Tuesday, Hunter Goodman, Jordan Beck and Ryan McMahon each went 0-4, which hurts with Freeman hitting well before them and Estrada hitting well after them.

Fernandez Flashes Fielding Skills

Despite going 0-3 in his MLB debut with two groundouts and a strikeout, Yanquiel Fernández had a good play in the seventh inning in right field. With two outs and Cooper Hummel on first, Mauricio Dubón doubled to the right field corner. The ball took a tricky bounce off the wall, but Fernández was in the perfect spot to grab it and get it to Estrada, second baseman turned relay man, who wheeled and dealed to Goodman on one bounce to get Hummel at the plate.

Still Got Strikeout Problems

Colorado hitters recorded 11 strikeouts on Wednesday night. Through six innings of work, Brown struck out eight Rockies, including Toglia three times and McMahon twice. With a fastball in the high-90s and vertical movement that averages 17 inches, the Rockies missed a lot of pitches by about a mile. It didn’t get much better when the bullpen came in as the Astros posted three more strikeouts.

On the flip side, Gomber struck out one in five innings, Chivilli struck out one in his one-inning appearance, and Rollison added another in the eighth, but that was it. A 10-3 strikeout margin is less than ideal.

Up Next

The Rockies and Astros will conclude their three-game series on Thursday with a showdown at 1:10 p.m. Kyle Freeland (1-9, 5.56 ERA) will start for the Rockies while Brandon Walker (1-1, 3.34 ERA).