LoDo, we have a problem.
An ongoing problem to be precise.
Playing at a hitter’s paradise, better known as Coors Field, the Rockies’ offense continues to underperform.
The Rockies had nine mostly empty hits in a 5-2 loss to the Cardinals on Wednesday night. They were 1 for 6 with runners in scoring position and struck out 11 times.
Fireworks came late with Brenton Doyle’s leadoff homer in the ninth off lefty reliever Matthew Liberatore. It was Doyle’s 23rd homer of the season, but his first since Aug. 29.
Colorado, on course for its second straight 100-loss season, has scored three runs or fewer 35 times at home this season, extending a franchise record. The old mark was 31 times in 2011.
“Offensively, it hasn’t been the year that we had hoped for,” manager Bud Black said. “When you start the season, you have expectations for your group. We had some guys take a step back, but we also had some guys take a step forward.
“But this season … there haven’t been enough guys have the type of season we anticipated.”
Black hopes the younger players will continue to grow, but knows the whole team needs to improve.
“We have talked about this a lot,” he said. “We have to cut down on our strikeouts and we need a better two-strike approach. (Our) situational hitting needs to improve.
“Tonight, again, we had double-digit strikeouts. We have to make sure that (improving the offense) is a huge priority going into next year, whether it’s personnel or whether it’s major adjustments.”
With a 60-98 record, the Rockies must win three of their four remaining games to dodge 100 losses. Last year’s 103-loss season was the worst in franchise history.
Cardinals right-hander Erick Fedde was in command for seven innings, scattering six hits, allowing one run, and fanning 10.
Rockies starter Austin Gomber wasn’t great in his final start of the season, but he wasn’t as bad as the black-and-white box score will show: Four runs allowed on seven hits over five innings. He struck out three and didn’t walk any.
Gomber took pride in the fact that he “went to the post” all season and his rigorous offseason routine kept his back healthy.
“Compared to the last couple years I feel great,” he said. “My back feels great. Not one day this year did I wake up with a sore back or anything. That was nice and it shows that the adjustments I made paid off.”
Wednesday night, the left-hander was victimized by a few hard hits balls and several hits that rolled to daylight.
St. Louis scored a single run off Gomber in the second, third, fourth and fifth innings:
• Thomas Saggese’s RBI double to drive in Ivan Herrera was the key hit of the second.
• Masyn Winn led off the third with a triple off the right-field wall and scored on Brendan Donovan’s sacrifice fly.
• Singles by Nolan Arenado, Saggese and Pedro Pages produced a run in the fourth.
• In the fifth, Winn scorched a leadoff double off the right-field wall, advanced to third on Donovan’s groundout to second and scored on Paul Goldschmidt’s sacrifice fly to right.
Gomber finished his season 5-12 with a 4.75 ERA over a career-high 30 starts and a career-high 165 innings pitched. He walked one or fewer batters in his last five starts, finishing the season with a career-low 2.07 walks per nine innings.
“I’m proud of the fact that Austin got to 30 starts and pretty much answered the bell all season,” Black said. “He held up his end of the bargain, in the big picture.”
Colorado’s lone run off Fedde came in the third, but the inning could have been more bountiful. Jacob Stallings led off with a single and Nolan Jones followed with a double to left-center that nearly cleared the wall.
Second baseman Aaron Schunk, filling in for Brendan Rodgers who’s still nursing a tight right hamstring, drove in Stallings with a single to left.
But Schunk was thrown out trying to steal second and then Charlie Blackmon scorched a line drive straight into Goldschmidt’s glove at first, and Goldschmidt threw across the diamond to double-up Jones at third base.
Given some consistent playing time, Schunk has delivered. He extended his career-best hitting streak to seven games, during which he’s hit .526 (10 for 19).
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Thursday’s pitching matchup
Cardinals RHP Kyle Gibson (8-8, 4.13 ERA) at Rockies LHP Kyle Freeland (5-8, 4.95)
1:10 p.m. Thursday, Coors Field
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
After a terrible four-game start to his season, followed by a two-month stint on the injured list with a left elbow strain, Freeland has been solid. He’d certainly like to finish his season strong, especially after not pitching particularly well in his last start in Los Angeles where the Dodgers tagged him for four runs on seven hits over six innings. The lefty has fared well at home, going 2-1 with a 3.75 ERA in nine starts at Coors Field. Freeland has faced the Cardinals six times in his career, going 0-3 with a 4.54 ERA, including 22 strikeouts and 13 walks. Freeland last faced St. Louis at Coors on April 11, 2023, allowing two runs on six hits in across six innings.
Gibson will make his fifth career start vs. Colorado. He last faced the Rockies on June 8 at Busch Stadium, allowing three runs over six innings in the Cardinals’ 6-5 loss. He has not allowed a home run in two starts (12 1/3 innings) at Coors Field, where’s 1-0 with a 3.65 ERA. Gibson was charged with a loss last Friday when the Cardinals lost, 5-1, to Cleveland. He gave up four runs (three earned) on six hits and three walks over six innings. He struck out two.
Pitching probables
Friday: Dodgers TBA at Rockies RHP Cal Quantrill (8-10, 4.72), 6:10 p.m.
Saturday: Dodgers RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto (6-2, 2.96) at Rockies RHP Antonio Senzatela (0-0, 3.38), 6:10 p.m.
Sunday: Dodgers RHP Landon Knack (3-5, 3.74) at Rockies RHP Ryan Feltner (3-10, 4.66), 1:10 p.m.
End of regular season