Today was not the party the Rockies or their fans were hoping for.<\/p>\n
For a moment, it felt like it might be possible. A perfect afternoon, a packed house, and Hunter Goodman receiving his Silver Slugger before first-pitch set an optimistic tone.<\/p>\n
Then the first inning happened. <\/p>\n
Michael Lorenzen never settled in. Trea Turner led off with a double, walks piled up, and Bryce Harper made it hurt with a two-run single. Bryson Stott followed with a double, and Brandon Marsh \u2014 Charlie Blackmon-esque beard and all \u2014 turned on an 0-2 fastball and launched it into the right field seats.<\/p>\n
Seven runs crossed before the inning finally ended, aided by a ball lost in the sun in right that only made things feel sloppier.<\/p>\n
Lorenzen\u2019s final line told the story: three innings, 12 hits, nine runs \u2014 all earned \u2014 with two walks and two home runs allowed. He takes the loss and falls to 0-1 with a 14.73 ERA through two starts. The first inning was the clear nightmare, a rude introduction to the home crowd in his first start at Coors Field as a Rockie.<\/p>\n
It didn\u2019t get better. Harper added a homer in the second, and Kyle Schwarber later crushed one into the second deck \u2014 a 460-foot blast, the longest in the majors so far this season.<\/p>\n
The damage was spread throughout the lineup. Turner (3-for-4) set the tone, Schwarber supplied the power, Harper reached three times, and Alec Bohm and Stott kept innings moving. It was complete, relentless offense.<\/p>\n
Lorenzen looked stiff, out of rhythm, and unable to command his fastball. It was a rough, disappointing start\u2014but not the whole story.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Nola looked like vintage Nola. <\/p>\n
Aaron Nola improves to 1-0 with a 3.18 ERA through two starts, going 6.1 innings and allowing one earned run on five hits with a walk and nine strikeouts. He now has 16 strikeouts on the season. Nola worked ahead, changed speeds, and kept Rockies hitters defensive all afternoon. With a lead, he never had to do more than control the game \u2014and he did that with ease. Still, the Rockies had chances.<\/p>\n
In the second, Willi Castro ripped a 104.2 mph double down the line, TJ Rumfield battled his way on, and Jake McCarthy drove one to the track \u2014 but it died in center.<\/p>\n
In the fourth, Mickey Moniak and Ezequiel Tovar singled, Rumfield hustled out an infield hit, and a run finally scored on a Castro grounder. Not pretty, but something.<\/p>\n
Too often, though, it wasn\u2019t enough. <\/p>\n
Brenton Doyle struck out looking twice in big spots. The strikeouts piled up. Runners were left on. Momentum never stuck.<\/p>\n
Through the game, the line told the story: 15 strikeouts against just one walk, no hitter with more than one hit. That\u2019s now 32 strikeouts over the last two games \u2014 eye-watering stuff. Add it up, and your head starts to spin.<\/p>\n
Doyle and Goodman each struck out three times.<\/p>\n
Even late, nothing came easy. Kyle Backhus, a funky Phillies lefty, kept hitters uncomfortable.<\/p>\n
Even a brief spark \u2014 a Doyle single in the seventh \u2014 went nowhere. Strikeout. Lazy fly. Inning over.<\/p>\n
And that was the story the rest of the way, with Zach Pop striking out Doyle to end it in the ninth.<\/p>\n
If there was a bright spot, it was Valente Bellozo. <\/p>\n
Recently added to the roster, he didn\u2019t look the part of a prototypical power arm \u2014 but he pitched like one. Efficient, composed, and exactly what the Rockies needed.<\/p>\n
Six innings. One hit. One run. One walk. Seven strikeouts.<\/p>\n
The only blemish: the Schwarber homer \u2014 yes, that one \u2014 the 460-foot missile into the second deck, still the longest in the majors this season. (Schwarber is ridiculous. He would look pretty good in purple, not going to lie\u2026)<\/p>\n
Bellozo stabilized the game, saved the bullpen, and was easily the Rockies\u2019 MVP of the afternoon.<\/p>\n
Behind him, Kyle Karros looked like a big leaguer in the field. Clean plays, steady presence \u2014 nothing flashy, just reliable defense.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s also a broader way to look at this one. <\/p>\n
Take away the disastrous first inning, and it\u2019s a 3-1 game. The Rockies still likely come up short, but it\u2019s at least competitive. And that\u2019s what lingers more than anything \u2014 this wasn\u2019t just about Lorenzen having a rough day.<\/p>\n
It was about the offense.<\/p>\n
Right now, it doesn\u2019t look like a lineup. It looks disconnected. The at-bats feel isolated, the approach inconsistent, and there\u2019s no sense of momentum building from one hitter to the next. Too many strikeouts. Too many empty stretches.<\/p>\n
At times, it feels like a collection of 7, 8, and 9-hole hitters trying to get through the order.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s one game \u2014 but it felt like one we\u2019ve seen before.<\/p>\n
And yet\u2026 this is part of it.<\/p>\n
There was always going to be adversity with this team. New faces, new ideas, a new direction. Days like this were going to happen.<\/p>\n
You just hoped it wouldn\u2019t show up like this.<\/p>\n
Not on today. Not when the party was just getting started.<\/p>\n
The Rockies return to Coors tomorrow at 6:10 p.m., with Jes\u00fas Luzardo set to go for the Phillies. Colorado\u2019s starter? Still TBD.<\/p>\n
And that\u2019s part of the story.<\/p>\n
Is it a bullpen game? Is it time for Chase Dollander? However it shakes out, today\u2019s outing from Bellozo looms larger \u2014 six innings that may end up giving the Rockies just enough flexibility to get through tomorrow.<\/p>\n
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