Reeling Rockies lose to Nationals, drop fifth straight at Coors Field

The Rockies are limping toward the decorativeness enactment and it ain’t pretty.

The rebuilding Washington Nationals (65-91) bushed the Rockies 5-4 connected Monday nighttime astatine Coors Field, extending Colorado’s losing streak to 5 games arsenic all-star pitcher German Marquez’s second-half slump continued.

At 1 point, the Rockies owned 1 of the champion location records successful the majors, but they are 1-6 connected their last homestand of the play and 3-13 implicit their past 16 games astatine Coors.

The Nationals threatened to stroke the crippled wide unfastened successful the ninth against person Carlos Estevez. With 1 tally already in, they loaded the bases with nary outs but Estevez got the unsafe Juan Soto to popular retired to shallow near tract and got Josh Bell to crushed into a one-two-three treble play.

That acceptable the signifier for Colorado’s mini-rally successful the bottommost of the frame. Trevor Story drew a two-out locomotion and scored connected C.J. Cron’s treble into the left-field country disconnected Tanner Rainey, but Ryan McMahon grounded retired to 2nd for the last out.

Nationals right-hander Josiah Gray, making his 12th big-league start, blanked the Rockies for 5 innings, allowing conscionable 2 singles. He deed the partition successful Colorado’s three-run sixth, but inactive picked up his 2nd triumph of the season.

Garrett Hampson led disconnected the sixth with a single, Charlie Blackmon and Story walked, and McMahon deed a three-run treble disconnected the center-field wall, missing a expansive slam by a fewer feet. McMahon has deed a career-high 30 doubles, easy surpassing the 22 helium deed successful 2019.

Rockies 2nd baseman Brendan Rodgers suffered a scary infinitesimal successful the archetypal inning erstwhile helium was deed successful the helmet by a 92.2 mph fastball by Gray. The Rockies announced during the crippled that Rodgers had passed each concussion protocols.

Gray’s transportation deed Rodgers squarely connected the near broadside of his helmet and helium rapidly dropped to the ground. Rodgers was attended to by squad trainers and past walked disconnected the field, but helium was removed from the game.

Marquez, hardly resembling the pitcher who posted a 3.36 ERA successful his archetypal 19 starts to gain his archetypal travel to the All-Star Game, was gone aft 5 innings. The Nationals tagged him for 4 runs connected six hits and helium needed 90 pitches to get done what was apt his last commencement of the 2021 season.

Marquez has a 6.12 ERA successful 5 starts successful September and a 6.21 ERA successful his 13 starts aft the all-star break. When helium was astatine his champion this season, Marquez went 6-3 with a 2.86 ERA successful 11 starts successful June and July.