Chase Dollander delivered in his return from Triple-A, but the Rockies could not.
Dollander was recalled from Albuquerque before the game and spun five innings of one-run ball in the series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. But the Colorado offense lacked any significant punch — the club was no-hit through five innings by Miles Mikolas — before the bullpen blew the game at the end in a 3-2 loss.
“(Dollander) competed really well tonight,” interim manager Warren Schaeffer told reporters. “He had a good four-pitch mix. When he had his walks, he got right back in the zone and got back in there with good poise. He did a really nice job coming back up and getting on track.”
Brendan Donovan’s pinch-hit double off rookie Juan Mejia in the eighth inning sent the Rockies to their eighth straight loss. It’s Colorado’s fifth eight-game losing streak this season as the Rockies (30-88) continue to flirt with surpassing the 121-loss 2024 White Sox for the worst season in modern baseball history.
“(Mikolas) pushed and pulled, and kept us off balance,” Schaeffer said. “He kept off our barrels, and we didn’t get much hard stuff off him.”
Dollander, demoted to Albuquerque on July 7 to tune up his command, was sharp in his return. The only damage against him was Alec Burleson’s RBI single in the third inning. The right-hander scattered five hits and three walks, and also had five strikeouts as his fastball command was solid.
“(The fastball) seemed effective tonight,” Schaeffer said. “When he’s in the zone, it plays big time.”
The rookie departed with a 1-0 deficit, but the Rockies plated two in the seventh off Mikolas to chase him from the game.
After Jordan Beck led off the frame with a bunt single, Warming Bernabel’s RBI groundout evened the game. Then the Rockies took the lead off Brenton Doyle’s two-out single to center that made it 2-1 and ended Mikolas’ night.
“Beck created a little chaos with the bunt, and for us to push (some runs) across, that was good to see for our team after getting no-hit for so long,” Schaeffer said.
But that was all the offense Colorado could generate as the visitors only had four at-bats with runners in scoring position all night. The Cardinals, meanwhile, were just 3 for 13 with runners in scoring position, but the all-star Donovan’s clutch knock was the difference.
After Nick Anderson and Jimmy Herget held the fort in the sixth and seventh, St. Louis got to Mejia in the eighth. A walk and a single set the table for Donovan’s two-run double in which pinch runner and former Rockie Garrett Hampson scored.
“The walk came back to hurt (Mejia),” Schaeffer said.
A loss on Tuesday in Game 2 of the series would set Colorado’s season high with nine consecutive defeats.
Tuesday’s pitching matchup
Rockies LHP Kyle Freeland (2-12, 5.53 ERA) at Cardinals LHP Matthew Liberatore (6-9, 3.98)
5:45 p.m. Tuesday, Busch Stadium
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
Trending: Over the previous 15 games entering Monday’s series opener in St. Louis, the Rockies had an ERA of 10.17, making them the first team since the 2007 Orioles to allow at least 149 runs in a 15-game span. They are also the first team in the modern era (since 1901) to allow at least 149 runs, 198 hits and 37 homers in a 15-game span.
Pitching probables
Wednesday: Rockies LHP Austin Gomber (0-6, 6.52) at Cardinals RHP Michael McGreevy (4-2, 4.40), 12:15 p.m.
Thursday: Diamondbacks LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (4-7, 5.68) at Rockies RHP Bradley Blalock (1-3, 7.89), 6:40 p.m.
— Kyle Newman, The Denver Post
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