The comeback kids came up short.
Trailing 8-1 in the sixth inning, the Rockies hit back-to-back-to-back home runs for the first time in more than seven years. But it wasn’t enough.
The Pirates hung on to win, 9-5, Sunday afternoon at Coors Field, denying Colorado its first home sweep of the season.
Friday night, the Rockies came back from a 9-0 first-inning deficit to beat Pittsburgh, 17-16, on Brenton Doyle’s walk-off, two-run homer. Saturday afternoon, they trailed 4-0 but rallied for an 8-5 victory.
Sunday, however, the hole proved too deep and the climb too steep after the Pirates torched Rockies pitchers for a pair of two-run homers and a three-run homer. Pittsburgh leadoff hitter Spencer Horwitz did the most damage, belting two of the homers and driving in a career-high six runs.
Before Colorado rallied, its bats were as mellow as the Sunday crowd of 32,394.
But in the sixth, Tyler Freeman drew a leadoff walk from right-hander Mitch Keller, who had stifled the Rockies for five innings, allowing only four hits. But Mickey Moniak crushed a 433-foot homer down the right-field line, scoring Freeman.
Next up was catcher Hunter Goodman, who busted a bat over his thigh in frustration when he fouled out in the fourth inning. This time, Goodman ripped Keller’s 0-1 sweeper 451 feet and onto the left-field concourse. Then Jordan Beck hit Keller’s 2-2 sweeper over the left-field wall to make it an 8-5 ballgame.
It was the first time since June 19, 2018, that the Rockies hit three consecutive homers in three at-bats. In that game, Nolan Arenado, Trevor Story and Ian Desmond pulled off the three-peat in a 10-8 win over the Mets at Coors Field.
The Rockies’ poor starting pitching — which owns a major league-worst 6.23 ERA — continues to put the team in early deficits. Right-hander Bradley Blalock gave up seven runs on six hits over 5 2/3 innings as his ERA rose to 7.68. He walked four and struck out two.
Pittsburgh struck quickly. Horwitz led off the game with a double and scored on Nick Gonzalez’s single. Tommy Pham drove in Gonzalez with a 446-foot homer to center. Horwitz’s two-run homer in the second put Pittsburgh ahead, 5-0. His three-run homer off lefty reliever Ryan Rolison in the sixth put the Pirates ahead, 8-1.
Want more Rockies news? Sign up for the Rockies Insider to get all our MLB analysis.