Send to Email Address Your Name Your Email Address Post was not sent - check your email addresses! Email check failed, please try again Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.<doc-sep>Shortly before first pitch Friday afternoon, the 120th Fighter Squadron from Buckley Air Force Base screamed over Coors Field in a stirring display of firepower. Taking their cue, the visiting Dodgers, launching home runs at a historic pace early this season, drubbed the Rockies, 10-6, spoiling the opening-day party for the 48,404 fans in attendance. All of the red-white-and-blue bunting, purple jerseys and party energy in LoDo couldn’t lift the Rockies above their early-season problems. Namely, an offense still trying to emerge from hibernation, and the ongoing struggles of left-handed starter Tyler Anderson, who’s clearly the weak link in the rotation. Yes, the Rockies’ offense showed signed signs of life late, but it was way too little and way too late in a game that droned on for 3 hours, 52 minutes. Boxscore “It’s good that we put up a little fight there at the end, and it’s good that we got the bats going, so it’s good for tomorrow,” said shortstop Trevor Story who hit two late home runs. “But you don’t want to lose like that.” RELATED: Rockies sign veteran southpaw Jorge De La Rosa to a minor league deal Colorado Rockies MLB scoreboard MLB standings Schedule Colorado Rockies stats Rockies Mailbag Ask mailbag questions A prime example of Colorado’s offensive woes arrived in the fifth inning when it loaded the bases against right-hander Kenta Maeda. Story strode to the plate with a chance to get his team back in the game. Instead, he struck out on three pitches, going down looking as Maeda’s slider caught the black. To Story’s credit, he rebounded to hit a two-run shot off right-hander Brock Stewart in the Rockies’ three-run seventh. He also blasted a two-out solo home run in the ninth. David Dahl also added a solo home run in the ninth, a 447-foot shot off Yimi Garcia. “It was a good to see a couple of good swings and it got a little better as the game progressed,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “We had some opportunities early and we got some walks against Maeda. He was sort of pitching on the fringes. We loaded the bases a couple of times and we just couldn’t break through.” The Rockies, who fell to 3-5, are hitting .209 and have five home runs this season, three by Story. The Dodgers, winners of six consecutive National League West titles, came into the game having hit 18 home runs. They added three more: A solo shot by Max Muncy off Anderson in the fourth; a back-breaking three-run blast by Cody Bellinger off Anderson in the fifth; and a solo homer by Russell Martin in the sixth off reliever Carlos Estevez. Bellinger’s six homers in the Dodgers’ first eight games set a franchise record and his 16 RBIs through eight games is also a franchise record. Colorado has now dropped six consecutive games to the Dodgers, who have a stranglehold on the National League West with six consecutive titles. Related Articles Rockies’ Josh Fuentes now, officially, Joshua Fuentes, thanks to hot streak Rockies-Mets game postponed; doubleheader scheduled for Thursday Rockies Mailbag: Colorado has no plans to trade Trevor Story prior to All-Star Game Kyle Freeland’s Rockies season debut spoiled in 3-1 loss at New York Mets Rockies’ Elias Diaz aiming to build on first home run of season Asked about the Dodgers’ formidable firepower, Story said: “They’re good. Obviously they have won the division the last few years. They have good leadership. But it’s not like we look over there and we’re like, ‘Oh man!’ We’re excited to play the best teams and we feel like we can win against anybody.” Anderson, whose 30 home runs surrendered last season tied him with Milwaukee’s Chase Anderson for the most in the NL, lasted four-plus innings, giving up six runs on nine hits. He fell to 0-2 and his ERA sits at 11.00. The fifth inning encapsulated Anderson’s woes. He walked leadoff hitter Kike Hernandez, gave up a single to Corey Seager and an RBI double to Justin Turner. Anderson, clearly going off the rails at that point, got a mound visit from pitching coach Steve Foster. It didn’t help. Bellinger ripped an 0-1, 90 mph fastball over the inside corner deep into the right-field seats to put the Dodgers ahead 6-1. “They have some guys that are really hot and they stayed hot,” Anderson said. “I think really the one (hit) that turns a day when you’re grinding into a bad day, was that Bellinger homer. That was a pretty good pitch that usually in the past he hasn’t gotten to. But he’s pretty locked in right now so he didn’t miss.” On Deck Dodgers RHP Walker Buehler (0-0, 15.00 ERA) vs. Rockies RHP Jon Gray (0-1, 4.05) 6:10 p.m. Saturday at Coors Field TV: ATT SportsNet Radio: 850 AM/94.1 The last time Buehler faced the Rockies, he mowed them down with six-plus innings of one-hit, shutout ball as the Dodgers clinched the division title in a tiebreaker game at Chavez Ravine. However, the 24-year-old was hit hard in his 2019 debut against Arizona, lasting only three innings while giving up five runs. Colorado is hitting .183 in 109 at-bats against him with four home runs, while Los Angeles is hitting .337 with five homers in 98 at-bats against Gray. Max Muncy and Joc Pederson have both taken Gray deep twice as the right-hander is coming off a decent season debut in which he allowed three runs in six-plus innings against the Marlins. Trending: Dodgers right-hander Kenta Maeda has been solid within the hitter-friendly confines of Coors Field, where he entered Friday with a 3.19 ERA in eight games (five starts). He continued that reliability at altitude Friday, yielding one run on four hits over five innings. At issue: Colorado takes on the Dodgers 18 more times this season, and as opening day as well as Los Angeles’ historic early home run pace has demonstrated, slugfests with the boys in blue are certainly not in Colorado’s best tactical interests. The Dodgers won last year’s season series 13-7. Upcoming pitching matchups<doc-sep>A Denver police officer was injured Friday night in a disturbance in LoDo after the Colorado Rockies’ home game opener had let out. #DPD Officers responded to the area of 1900 Market St. on the report of a disturbance. A DPD Officer was injured and transported to Denver Health by ambulance. pic.twitter.com/1YwaLVghl6 — Denver Police Dept. (@DenverPolice) April 6, 2019 The incident happened at about 7:30 p.m. at 19th and Market streets, according to police. The intersection is a couple of blocks away from Coors Field. Police were responding to a report of a disturbance when the officer was hit in the head, said Kurt Barnes, a police spokesman. The officer was taken to Denver Health Medical Center where he received stitches. He’s expected to be treated and release. The person who assaulted the officer remains at large, Barnes said.<doc-sep>Former pitcher Earl Wilson is credited with once saying, “A baseball game is simply a nervous breakdown divided into nine innings.” Colorado Rockies fans can say a hallelujah to that one after what has been anything but a smooth start to the 2019 season. Following the Colorado Rockies‘ 7-2 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday night, there are a lot of statistics and jargon that could be thrown out about the game or about the start of the season that has seen the Rockies stumble out to a 3-6 start. But when you boil all of the current issues down, here are a few things that are really standing out at the moment. The offense is stuck in neutral Colorado has scored 25 runs in nine games. Take away the 12 combined runs scored in the first two games of the season in Miami and the statistic even gets a little more alarming. So what’s happening with the offense? The one free agent piece that was brought in over the offseason (Daniel Murphy) to jumpstart last season’s lethargic efforts at the plate is on the shelf until at least the start of May. As a side note, he was 1-for-10 when he went on the injured list, so he wasn’t exactly tearing it up at the time of the injury. Ryan McMahon joined him on the injured list yesterday, putting two key infield contributors out of the lineup at a time when the Rockies most desperately need a spark. David Dahl is cooking at the plate with a .353 average but the team overall is hitting just .207, trying them for 25th out of the 30 Major League teams. Why the drop? Ian Desmond is 3-for-30 (with 14 strikeouts). Garrett Hampson is 2-for-20. Mark Reynolds (who will likely shoulder the load at first base with Murphy and McMahon out) is 3-for-15 with six strikeouts. You get the idea. The Rockies aren’t hitting. But it isn’t just that. The Rockies aren’t even making contact right now. Their 95 strikeouts as a team is the third-highest number in the National League. Part of that problem? The Rockies are fifth-highest in MLB at O-Swing% (swinging at pitches that are outside of the strike zone). Through Saturday night, that number stood at 32.8%. It gets even worse looking at the number of swings and misses divided by the total number of pitches. Colorado is tied for the second-highest number in Major League Baseball at 14.1%. The whiffs are happening way too much. These are problems that Colorado supposedly fixed in the offseason. So far, however, improvement hasn’t been shown.<doc-sep>
ATLANTA, GA - AUGUST 19: David Dahl #26 of the Colorado Rockies slides into second safely for a stolen base before Ozzie Albies #1 of the Atlanta Braves can make the tag during the first inning at SunTrust Park on August 19, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/Getty Images) Atlanta Braves: What’s the best rotation for 2019? by James Kunkle In preparation for the Atlanta Braves upcoming series with the Colorado Rockies, we asked Kevin Henry from Rox Pile a few questions. The Atlanta Braves will head to Coors Field for a quick three-game road trip starting Monday night against the Colorado Rockies. Colorado is off to a slow start this season after splitting a four-game series with the Miami Marlins, and we have learned how pesky they can be. And then lost a series to the Rays and were swept by the Dodgers. They are just 1-7 in their last eight games, including 0-3 at home, so they will be looking to break out of their funk against the Atlanta Braves. Here is our Q&A with Kevin Henry from Rox Pile: Q: What are your early thoughts about this Rockies team? It’s been anything but easy for the Rockies, starting off 3-7 with an offense that has sputtered mightily out of the gate. Injuries have been a big factor. Daniel Murphy, signed in the offseason to kickstart the offense, went down in the second game with a broken finger and will be out another month at least. Ryan McMahon, one of the heroes of last season’s late-season push to the postseason, is out with an elbow strain. The Rockies are also missing a reliever (Jake McGee) and starter (Tyler Anderson) in addition to two key bullpen pieces who missed Opening Day because of injuries. They are better than they’re playing right now, but a three-game sweep to open the home schedule against the Dodgers certainly has people worried about what the near future holds for the team. Q: What hitter has looked the best at the plate so far? David Dahl, who left Sunday night’s game with an oblique injury and could be on the shelf for a while. He was hitting a team-high .353 when he went out. Nolan Arenado is starting to look like Nolan at the plate again, and Charlie Blackmon and Trevor Story are having their moments. However, after the top of the order, it has been tough for anyone to put anything together on a consistent basis. Q: What can we expect from pitching staff? Monday and Tuesday, Atlanta will see Colorado’s best two starters in Kyle Freeland and German Marquez. They have easily been the bright spots for the team. Freeland finished fourth in last year’s Cy Young balloting and Marquez has been mentioned as a player to watch this season. Wednesday will be a question mark. The Rockies will likely call up someone to take Anderson’s spot in the rotation. Could that be rookie Peter Lambert, who many think has a very bright future on the mound? Q: Is there a new player or a rookie we haven’t heard of that we should keep an eye on? Garrett Hampson will get some more playing time with a lot of the injuries swirling around the Rockies clubhouse. He’s a guy who can play infield or outfield and has speed if he gets on base. Keep an eye on him and let’s see if he can turn around his early-season struggles at the plate. Q: How do you see this series playing out? With Freeland and Marquez on the mound, Colorado’s confidence level rises. Colorado’s three wins this season have come with one of them on the hill. At home, I think Colorado wins two of three in this matchup. Thanks again to Kevin of Rox Pile for taking some time to answer a few questions as we prepare for the Atlanta Braves taking on the Colorado Rockies this week.