What do Hunter Goodman and Clarence Geoghan “Kid” Baldwin have in common?
You’re officially a hardball geek if you answered that they played for two of the most infamous teams in baseball history.
Goodman is a catcher for the Rockies, who lost 8-3 to the Rangers on Wednesday night at Globe Life Field as the Rangers completed a three-game sweep.
Baldwin caught for the 1884 Kansas City Unions.
The Rockies have begun this season with a 7-36 record. The Unions are one of only three teams to finish their first 43 games with a worse record than the Rockies. The others are the 1876 Red Stockings and the 1895 Louisville Colonels.
In the Modern Era (since 1900), the Rockies stand alone in their futility. The 1932 Red Sox won their 43rd game to improve to 8-35.
OK, enough history, except to say that Colorado’s 2-20 road record is the worst to start a season in franchise history and among the worst ever in major league history.
The Rangers jumped on Colorado right-hander Antonio Senzatela for four runs on five hits and a walk in the first inning and never looked back. Wyatt Langford’s two-run homer was the big blow.
Senzatela was gone after 4 2/3 innings, having given up six runs on eight hits and four walks. His ERA rose from 5.77 to 5.98, and teams are hitting .381 against him.
Meanwhile, Patrick Corbin, the Rangers’ veteran lefty, struck out nine Rockies over his six innings, including six Ks in a row in the fourth and fifth innings.
The Rockies did launch two homers off Corbin. Michael Toglia hit a one-out, solo shot in the second for his sixth homer. Shortstop Kyle Farmer hit a two-out dinger off Corbin in the sixth, Farmer’s first home run in a Rockies uniform.
Farmer’s homer cut the Rangers’ lead to 6-3, but hopes of a late rally were extinguished in the bottom of the frame when Adolis García hit a two-run homer off reliever Angel Chivilli, who threw a belt-high 97.6 mph fastball.
The Rockies have reduced their chase rate and strikeouts in recent games, but they whiffed 14 times on Wednesday night. Goodman, who’s been Colorado’s best hitter, struck out three times. Ryan McMahon, Colorado’s best hitter in May, also fanned three times.
The Rockies are off on Thursday before beginning a three-game series at Arizona on Friday.
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