Anthony Molina bombed on Blake Street. That was not a good thing.

Called up from Triple-A Albuquerque as a replacement part for the Rockies’ rickety rotation, the right-hander gave his team a fighting chance for five innings Tuesday night. True, he gave up a solo home run to Nathan Lukes in the third and a two-run blast to Daulton Varsho in the fourth. But the Rockies trailed only 3-2.

Then the Blue Jays played Home Run Derby in the sixth, launching three bombs in four at-bats en route to a 10-4 victory that clinched the three-game series as Colorado’s discombobulated season limps on.

The five home runs Molina served up tied a Rockies franchise record. The last time was when left-hander Kyle Freeland gave up five on June 11, 2021, at Cincinnati.

Two injuries to starting infielders — possibly significant injuries — compounded Colorado’s third straight loss at home. In the fifth, third baseman Orlando Arcia singled to right but immediately headed to the dugout after reaching first base. Manager Warren Schaeffer said after the game that it was an elbow injury.

In the sixth, second baseman Thairo Estrada injured his left hamstring as he crossed the first base bag trying to beat out an inning-ending double play. Estrada missed the first two months of the season after suffering a broken wrist during spring training and missed five games in June with a bruised right hand. Now he could miss more time.

Despite the damage Toronto inflicted on Molina the third time through the order, manager Warren Schaeffer said he stuck with Molina after the fifth inning, noting that the right-hander had thrown only 68 pitches.

“We needed to capitalize on that and not go to our bullpen early, in terms of how often we have been going early to our bullpen lately,” Schaeffer explained. “It was a good day to save our bullpen, in general, especially in the dog days.”

And despite Molina’s ugly line — seven runs allowed on nine hits (including the five homers) over five-plus innings — Schaeffer said that Molina gave Colorado a decent start.

Varsho had a huge night, launching two homers and driving in a career-high six runs. Varsho’s two-run double off Jaden Hill in Toronto’s three-run ninth iced the game.

Toronto’s sixth-inning power display was impressive. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. led off with a 107 mph liner into the right-field seats, ambushing Molina’s 3-0 fastball. One pitch later, Addison Barger sent Molina’s slider into the right-field seats.

Looking rattled, Molina walked Alejandro Kirk, setting up Varsho’s second two-run homer of the night — this one clanging off the third-deck facade in right, 467 feet from home plate.

Molina was cooked. Colorado starters have a 6.36 ERA this season, on pace for the highest in franchise history, topping 6.19 in 1999. Over the last seven games, Colorado’s starters own a 14.40 ERA.

“I don’t know if it was anything (the Blue Jays) were seeing, he just fell behind (hitters),” Schaeffer said, explaining Molina’s meltdown. “He fell behind 3-0 to Guerrero in the sixth. Other than that, he was pretty sharp today, I thought. His changeup was working well. He threw some good curveballs, some good sliders, and he was locating his fastball, in general.”

Maybe so, but the Rockies’ pitching is a disaster. They have allowed at least three home runs in four straight games, tied for the second-longest streak in franchise history and the longest since a four-game streak in 2024. Over the last 11 games, the Rockies have a 9.47 ERA and have served up 28 home runs.

The first-pitch temperature at Coors was 96 degrees, and the Rockies got out of the gate hot. Ezequiel Tovar slashed a double to left off Jose Berrios and trotted home on Hunter Goodman’s homer to left, Goodman’s 22nd homer.

Berrios mostly shut down Colorado for the next four innings. In the sixth, the Rockies reached him for two runs on RBI singles by Mickey Moniak and Warming Bernabel, cutting Toronto’s lead to 7-4.

With a 30-83 record, Colorado needs to win 12 of its final 49 games to avoid matching the 2024 White Sox’s modern era record of 124 losses.

 

Originally Published: August 5, 2025 at 7:44 PM MDT