Spoiler alert: The Rockies’ bullpen is about as volatile as Colorado’s May weather.
On a night when shortstop Ezequiel Tovar had the first two-homer game of his young career and Cal Quantrill made another terrific start, the Rockies found a way to lose, 5-4, to the Athletics Tuesday night at the Oakland Coliseum.
After a heartening seven-game winning streak, Colorado has now dropped four straight. Oakland snapped its eight-game losing streak.
Abraham Toro’s leadoff homer in the eighth off reliever Tyler Kinley provided the deciding run.
Seth Brown’s two-run homer off Justin Lawrence in the seventh tied the game 4-4. Lawrence got himself in trouble by walking Zack Gelof before serving up the long ball to Brown.
“They got us at the end,” manager Bud Black told reporters in Oakland.
Regarding Lawrence, Black said: “I saw a fastball in the middle of the plate (on Brown’s homer). He got a (groundout) to start the inning and then the walk. We talk about the walks out of our bullpen. We have to do a better job there. Those eight guys out there have to reel it in, and they know it. That’s the thing that’s a little frustrating because they are trying like heck to throw strikes.”
Colorado’s bullpen walks 4.8 batters per nine innings, the worst mark in the majors, and those walks are a big part of the reason Colorado has a 15-32 record.
Quantrill, who now has seven quality starts, has become the Rockies’ human Toro, mowing down hitters in every outing.The right-hander, utilizing his devastating split-finger changeup, gave up two runs in six innings, struck out eight and walked one.
And Quantrill’s line should have been even better. With one out in the sixth, JJ Bleday lined a shot to left, but rookie Jordan Beck made a risky dive for the ball — and missed. Bleday ended up third with a triple and scored on Quantrill’s wild pitch to cut Colorado’s lead to 3-2.
Quantrill’s one big mistake was hanging a sinker to J.D. Davis in the third inning. Davis’ leadoff homer traveled 407 feet.
“I thought Quantrill did his thing — he pitched great,” Black said. “I thought his fastball was really crisp.”
Quantrill, who has a 1.40 ERA in four May starts, said he struggled to command his split-finger change during his warmup in the bullpen, but he did fine when the game started.
“It wasn’t very good in the ‘pen,” Quantrill told reporters. “I kind of had to delay its usage a little bit. But I think Ellie (catcher Elias Diaz) and I made a decision pretty early in the second inning that we were going to need it today, so we had to find it. I think we threw like 12 in a row.”
Tovar’s second solo homer, a 411-foot blast to left off Scott Alexander in the seventh, put the Rockies ahead, 4-2. Tovar, just 22, also hit a solo shot in the fifth. That blast soared 443 feet, the second-longest homer of his career.
Third baseman Ryan McMahon continues to shine like an All-Star. He gave the Rockies a 2-0 lead in the first, lining a 393-foot homer to right off right-hander Aaron Brooks to drive in Charlie Blackmon, who was hit by a pitch to open the game. McMahon has reached base in 14 consecutive games and is riding a nine-game hitting streak.
Kris Bryant, coming back from an extended stint on the injured list that cost him 31 games, went 0 for 4 with one strikeout. He’s hitting .137.
Wednesday’s pitching matchup
Rockies LHP Austin Gomber (1-2, 3.02 ERA) at A’s RHP Mitch Spence (3-2, 3.90)
7:40 p.m. Wednesday, Oakland Coliseum
TV: Rockies.TV (streaming); Comcast/Xfinity (channel 1262); DirecTV (683); Spectrum (130, 445, 305, 435 or 445, depending on region).
Radio: 850 AM/94.1 FM
Gomber has been dealing. He enters Wednesday night’s game with a 0.48 ERA (18.2 IP, 1 ER) in his three starts in May, the third-lowest ERA in the majors. Since June 14 of last season (23 starts), the lefty has posted a 3.56 ERA, 10th-best in the National League (minimum 20 starts). Gomber is facing the A’s for the first time in his career.
Spence is facing Colorado for the first time. He’s pitched in 12 games this season but was a reliever in each of his first 11 outings. He had his first career start last Friday and took the loss in Oakland’s 6-2 defeat at Kansas City. He pitched 4 2/3 innings, allowing one run and five hits with one walk and four strikeouts. Spence walked three batters in his major league debut on March 29 against Cleveland but has walked one batter or fewer in his 11 appearances since. He was selected by the A’s from the Yankees organization in the Rule 5 draft in December.
Pitching probables
Thursday: Rockies RHP Ryan Feltner (1-4, 5.69) at A’s RHP Joey Estes (1-1, 9.35), 1:37 p.m.
Friday: Phillies LHP Cristopher Sanzchez (2-3, 3.31) at Rockies LHP Ty Blach (1-2, 5.54), 6:40 p.m.
— Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post
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