The Rockies found misery again in their first extra-inning game of the season.
Philadelphia walked off Colorado, 2-1, in the series opener at Citizens Bank Park on Monday night, dropping the Rockies to 4-13 on the year.
The Rockies couldn’t solve ace Aaron Nola, and then came up short in a pair of opportunities to score in the ninth and 10th innings before Cristian Pache’s single lifted Philadelphia to the victory.
“Whoever came out on the short end of this one, it was going to be a tough one,” Rockies manager Bud Black told reporters. “Nola pitched great, and so did (Cal) Quantrill. … It was a well-played game by both sides.”
Quantrill was all the Rockies could ask for, throwing six innings of one-run ball with just four hits allowed. It was by far his best start in a Rockies uniform.
His lone blemish came in the third, when Bryce Harper hit a two-out single to score Trea Turner to give the Phillies a 1-0 lead.
“(Quantrill) had a good split-finger going, and his secondary pitches mixing with the fastballs kept them honest,” Black said.
But as Quantrill held Philadelphia at bay, the Colorado offense got virtually no traction against Nola. That finally changed in the fifth, when Michael Toglia launched a 389-foot, no-doubt homer to right center to tie the game 1-1. Up until that point, the Rockies’ lone baserunners came from singles by Brenton Doyle and Elias Diaz.
Justin Lawrence took care of the seventh inning, and the combination of Jalen Beeks and Nick Mears kept the Phillies off the board in the eighth despite a leadoff walk issued by Beeks to Kyle Schwarber.
In the ninth, Diaz stroked a two-out double off former Colorado pitcher Jeff Hoffman. Kyle Freeland pinch ran for Diaz, getting to third on a wild pitch, and an intentional walk to Nolan Jones followed.
With Elehuris Montero at the plate, another wild pitch from Hoffman was gathered by J.T. Realmuto just off the dirt circle behind home after the ball bounced straight up in the air. The Phillies catcher fired it to Hoffman at the plate and tagged Freeland out.
The Rockies challenged, possibly in an attempt to get an obstruction call, but the call stood to end the inning. Freeland appeared to hurt his right shoulder on the play when Hoffman — his close friend — fell on top of him. Freeland went right into the clubhouse after the play, but then reappeared in the dugout shortly after. The speed at which the play developed exempted Hoffman from an obstruction violation.
“The home plate umpire saw (that play) as a convergence of two players coming in and both trying to make a play,” Black said. “Kyle trying to get to home plate, and Hoffman trying to get the ball from Realmuto. The convergence and the speed of the play was such where no blocking of the plate was called.”
Black said Freeland is “fine” despite immediately rolling on the dirt in pain after the play. The manager said he chose Freeland to pinch run because “we were trying to win the game” and the pitcher “is one of our fastest players.”
Mears went back out for the ninth, and set the Phillies down in order to force extras.
“On the road in the bottom of the ninth against a championship (caliber) team — good for Nick,” Black said. “That was a growth moment for him.”
Seranthony Domínguez pitched the Philadelphia top half of the 10th, but Montero, Toglia and Doyle were retired in order to strand Nolan Jones at third base.
Jake Bird took the mound for the Rockies in the 10th, and the Phillies led off with Whit Merrifield’s sacrifice bunt to advance the runner Bryson Stott to third. Two batters later, Pache singled Stott home on a stroke to right to walk-off the Rockies.
Black said outfielder Jake Cave and second baseman Brendan Rodgers were unavailable on Monday due to sickness, while Kris Bryant — who left Saturday’s game in Toronto with back stiffness and hasn’t played since — was also unavailable.
Tuesday’s pitching matchup
Rockies LHP Austin Gomber (0-0, 4.91) at Phillies LHP Ranger Suarez (2-0, 2.65)
4:40 p.m. (MDT) Tuesday, Citizens Bank Park
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
Gomber’s lone road start so far this year was mediocre, as Arizona touched him up for four runs in four-plus innings on March 30, which included two homers and three walks. Gomber’s been using his changeup a bit more this year, and he needs his offspeed to be effective, as he’s averaging just 89.9 mph on his fastball. On Monday, he’ll need to be wary of Alec Bohm, as the Phillies third baseman has two homers in five at-bats against him.
Suarez, a southpaw from Venezuela, is off to a solid start to the year. That’s included quality starts each of the last two times out, and a six-inning, no-run gem last week against Pittsburgh. He has 19 strikeouts through 17 innings pitched, so the K-heavy Rockies will need to put the ball in play against him. The Rockies have seen little of him, and haven’t fared well: a .189 average over 37 at-bats.
Pitching probables
Wednesday: Rockies RHP Ryan Feltner (1-1, 3.38) at Phillies LHP Cristopher Sanchez (0-2, 3.52), 4:05 p.m.
Thursday: Off day
Friday: Mariners RHP Emerson Hancock (1-2, 7.98) at Rockies RHP Dakota Hudson (0-3, 4.15), 6:40 p.m.