The Colorado Rockies are better than they were a year ago.<\/p>\n
That is true. It is also not especially\u00a0comforting\u00a0after the last two nights.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, the Rockies carried a one-run lead into the ninth inning against the Texas Rangers<\/a> and lost 5-4<\/a>. On Thursday, they wasted an impressive first career start from Zach Agnos<\/a> in a 2-1<\/a> walk-off loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Two games. The same frustrating result.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n The season splits<\/a> make the frustration easy to understand. Colorado<\/a> is 5-14 in May and has been outscored 122-74 this month, so this has not all been heartbreak. They have had their doors blown off, too. But the pain comes from the games that were there to be won. The Rockies are 5-8 in one-run games, have blown 12 leads, and have four walk-off losses without a walk-off win of their own. Some nights get away early. The ones that stick are the ones they\u00a0fail to\u00a0finish.<\/p>\n After Thursday\u2019s loss, Warren Schaeffer did not\u00a0dress it\u00a0up<\/a>. Arizona executed. Colorado did not.<\/p>\n And, yes, that is\u00a0pretty much it.<\/p>\n The Rockies did not lose because of bad luck, bad vibes, or some complicated baseball mystery. They lost because Arizona made the pitches and plays\u00a0when it\u00a0mattered, and the Rockies did not.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Tonight, the Rockies enter at 19-32 and get another chance against an Arizona team that comes in at 26-23 and has won five\u00a0straight. Colorado is 1-3 against the Diamondbacks this season and has been outscored 21-12 in the series.<\/p>\n Taking the ball for Colorado is 36-year-old veteran righty Tomoyuki Sugano<\/a> \u83c5\u91ce \u667a\u4e4b, who\u00a0enters at\u00a04-3 with a 4.02 ERA and 1.26 WHIP. Sugano is coming off his 150th career win in professional baseball after beating this same Arizona\u00a0team\u00a0in his last start<\/a>. The Diamondbacks made Sugano work, but he kept the ball in the yard and gave Colorado a chance. He\u00a0went\u00a05.0 IP, allowing seven hits and two earned runs with two walks and one strikeout.<\/p>\n Sugano does not miss bats, and the underlying numbers are still flashing warning signs, including a .310\u00a0xBA, .589\u00a0xSLG, and 7.37\u00a0xERA. But he\u00a0generally avoids\u00a0walks, and when he keeps the ball in the park, the Rockies have been able to live with\u00a0the contact.<\/p>\n On the mound for Arizona is 28-year-old right-hander Michael Soroka<\/a>, who\u00a0enters at\u00a06-2 with a 3.49 ERA and 1.33 WHIP. In his last outing<\/a>, Soroka faced the Rockies at Coors Field and gave Arizona 5.2 innings, allowing six hits, two earned runs, two walks, and no home runs while striking out eight.\u00a0 Soroka threw 98 pitches and used a five-pitch mix, led by 38 slurves, 21 four-seam fastballs, and 19 cutters.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n The slurve is the pitch that makes his arsenal work. He has thrown it 33.0% of the time this season, and it has produced a 36.9% whiff rate. The four-seamer has been more vulnerable, allowing a .349 batting average and a 47.8% hard-hit rate.<\/p>\n Against Soroka, the assignment is simple: do not let the slurve control the at-bat, and do not miss the fastball.<\/p>\n For Colorado, the rest of the formula is unforgiving: Sugano has to thread the needle, the defense has to be sharp, and the bullpen<\/a> has to execute well enough to give the Rockies another chance to finish one.<\/p>\n The long-term project is still\u00a0the\u00a0long-term project. Nobody needs to pretend otherwise.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n But even bad teams should want to win.<\/p>\n And after the last two nights, a win would feel\u00a0awfully good.<\/p>\n The details\u2026.<\/p>\n First Pitch:\u00a07:40 PM MDT<\/p>\n TV:\u00a0Rockies TV<\/p>\n Radio:\u00a0KOA 850 AM\/94.1 FM; KNRV 1150 (Spanish)<\/p>\n Diamondbacks SB Nation site:\u00a0AZ Snake Pit<\/a><\/p>\n Lineups:<\/p>\n Join the conversation!<\/p>\n