The Colorado Rockies have dropped a franchise-record 10 games in a row at home and are on pace to lose 100 games for a fourth consecutive season.
There are reasons for optimism, however.
Colorado (52-86) had a Rookie of the Year candidate in TJ Rumfield in its lineup Monday night in a 2-1 series-opening loss to the Baltimore Orioles (69-69), and two other second-year Rockies players were in the lineup.
Colorado will have another youngster on the field in starting pitcher Gabriel Hughes for Tuesday night’s game against the Orioles in Denver.
Hughes (0-6, 6.61 ERA) will make his 11th appearance and 10th start since being recalled from the minors in early July.
The Orioles will counter with fellow right-hander Kyle Bradish (7-12, 4.03 ERA), who will start against Colorado for the second time in his career.
Hughes posted a 3.33 ERA in five games in July but struggled in August. He had a 10.03 ERA last month after surrendering four runs in five innings in a 7-1 loss at Washington on Thursday.
“He didn’t get ahead the way he wanted to,” Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer said of the 25-year-old. “He didn’t put guys away like he wanted to, and there were a couple walks, (but) Gabe’s getting better.”
The Rockies have lost five games in a row overall, and Hughes will face the Orioles for the first time in his career.
Connor Norby isn’t a rookie, but he is a young player with a high upside. Acquired from the Miami Marlins at the trade deadline, Norby made his Rockies debut on Aug. 11 at Arizona. He was batting .205 when Miami optioned him to the minors but he hit .295 in August.
Bradish isn’t a rookie, but he will make his first career start in Denver. His only other appearance against Colorado came on Aug. 26, 2023, a 5-4 win by the Orioles in which Bradish allowed two runs over six innings.
He struggled in his last outing, allowing seven runs in 4 1/3 innings at St. Louis on Wednesday night. Baltimore prevailed 8-7 amid a stretch of eight wins in 10 games that has put it on the brink of the final wild-card spot in the American League.
The Orioles are a half-game behind Cleveland for the final wild-card slot and added an outfielder for the final month of the season. Baltimore claimed Luis Robert Jr. off waivers from the New York Mets on Monday, and he is expected to join the team Tuesday when rosters expand to 28 players.
Robert, 29, spent nearly three months on the injured list with a lumbar spine disc herniation and struggled when he first was activated on July 20. He picked up the pace in August, batting .288 with six home runs in 21 games since Aug. 6.
“Excited to have Luis. That’s a great addition. The talent stands out big time,” Orioles manager Craig Albernaz told reporters before Monday’s game. “Talk about a player that takes his craft seriously and is looking to get better, and has gotten better. So with Luis, we heard a lot of great things about him. … It wasn’t a long time ago where Luis was talked about as one of the best players in the game. The talent is there.”
–Field Level Media
