Too little, too late, too bad, too often.
That familiar Rockies refrain played out again Wednesday night in a 10-2 loss as the Red Sox finished off a three-game sweep at Fenway Park. The red-hot Sox hit four home runs Wednesday night and outscored the Rockies 29-7 over the series.
“They have a lot of good players over there, and they are hot right now,” Colorado manager Warren Schaeffer told reporters in Boston.
Boston blanked the Rockies for eight innings until Kyle Farmer hit a two-run homer over the Green Monster in left field off Isaiah Campbell. Farmer drove in rookie right fielder Yanquiel Fernandez, who reached on a one-out single.
Of course, in traditional Rockies fashion, that momentary flash of success was wiped out by Romy Gonzalez’s two-run homer off Seth Halvorsen in the bottom of the frame, followed by Jarren Duran’s three-run homer off Halvorsen.
The Rockies — owners of a 21-72 record and a mind-boggling minus-251 run differential — were blanked for six innings by right-hander Lucas Giolito, who allowed just four hits, struck out six and walked none.
“You have to tip your hat to them, and Giolito was good,” Schaeffer said.
The Rockies made some noise in the fourth inning off Giolito. Tyler Freeman, who extended his on-base streak to 23 games, led off with a single. He attempted to score from first on Michael Toglia’s double off the Green Monster but was cut down at the plate on a perfect throw from shortstop Trevor Story, the former Rockies All-Star.
Colorado right-hander Antonio Senzatela didn’t come close to matching Giolito. Over five innings, Senzatela gave up four runs on eight hits, including a 434-foot leadoff homer to Carlos Narvaez in the second and a two-run blast by Wilyer Abreu in the fifth. Senzatela (3-13) struck out three and walked one as his ERA rose to 6.60. Opponents are hitting .354 against him.
“The fastball was good, but the off-speed command wasn’t quite there,” Schaeffer said. “He got behind in a lot of counts. Against a team that is swinging the bat that well, that is not really a good recipe. But he battled.”
Boston, winners of six straight games, are hitting against everyone these days. The Red Sox are 9-2 in their last 11 games, outscoring opponents 96-39 (plus-57) over that span.
The Rockies, meanwhile, are trying to avoid the ignominy of being baseball’s worst team of the modern era. Schaeffer, however, gave a passionate response when a reporter asked him how the Rockies stay motivated.
“When a group of guys are around each other all the time, playing in the biggest stadiums in the world, on a nightly basis, if you can’t get yourself motivated to try to win a ballgame together with guys that you love, and that you are with every single day of the year for every waking hour, if you can’t get it up to compete that night, shame on you,” he said. “I think it’s easy for us to (stay motivated) because everybody in there loves each other and is pulling for each other. We are just trying to go out there and get better every day, and win ballgames.”
Pitching probables
Thursday: Off day
Friday: Rockies RHP German Marquez (3-10, 5.84 ERA) at Reds RHP Chase Burns (0-1, 8.10), 5:10 p.m.
Saturday: Rockies TBA at Reds TBA, 2:10 p.m.
Sunday: Rockies LHP Austin Gomber (0-2, 5.92) at Reds TBA, 11:40 a.m.
Monday-Thursday: All-Star break
— Patrick Saunders, The Denver Post
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