Rockies’ historic strikeout parade continues in loss to Brewers

The 2024 Rockies are making the wrong kind of history.

In their 5-2 loss to Milwaukee on Saturday night, the Rockies struck out 15 times as they continued their march toward ignominy.

They have now whiffed 1,485 times, the most in the National League, and are well on pace to eclipse the franchise record of 1,543 Ks set last season. On the current road trip, the Rockies have whiffed 75 times, an average of 15 Ks per game over their first five games of the nine-game trip.

Given their futility at the plate, especially against starter Tobias Myers, and given how the Brewers hammered lefty starter Ty Blach, Colorado had little chance to beat the National League Central leaders.

Back-to-back, two-out homers by Willy Adames and Gary Sanchez off Blach in the first inning quickly put the Rockies in a hole. A two-run homer by William Contreras buried the Rockies in the fourth.

Milwaukee’s fifth run arrived in the fourth when Sal Frelick punched a two-out single to right. That was it for Blach. Enter right-hander Jake Bird, who promptly gave up an RBI double to Joey Ortiz.

Blach, called up from Triple-A Albuquerque as an emergency starter when Cal Quantrill went on the injured list, was charged with five runs on six hits over 3 2/3 innings. In his Sept. 1 start, the Orioles punched him for five runs on five hits over four innings. His ERA has soared to 6.94.

Myers, a rookie of the year candidate, gave up one run on four hits with 11 strikeouts over six innings.

The Rockies’ two runs came via solo home runs. Ryan McMahon led off the fourth with a solo blast off Tobias Myers, McMahon’s 18th. Sam Hilliard, who replaced Brenton Doyle in center field, hit a solo homer in the eighth, his sixth.

Doyle left the game in the fifth with a left hand injury suffered when he made a diving catch in the fourth inning. Manager Bud Black told reporters after the game that although Doyle’s hand “swelled up a little bit,” he didn’t think the injury was a big concern.

Bryant could be done. Kris Bryant, who has struggled with injuries throughout his unproductive, three-year tenure with the Rockies, could be done for the season as he continues dealing with a chronic lower-back injury.

“He’s doing better. He’s feeling good,” Black told reporters before Saturday’s game.

But Black also said: “You know, in the NFL, you’ve got ‘probable,’ ‘questionable,’ and ‘doubtful.’ I’m going to say it’s questionable, but we’re running out of time.”

Bryant, 32, has played just 159 games since signing a franchise-record, seven-year, $182 million free-agent contract in the spring of 2022.  He continues exercising and getting treatment to strengthen his back but is not doing baseball activities.

Bryant has not played since Aug. 6 and has been limited to 37 games this season, slashing .218/.323/.301 with two home runs. During his Rockies career, he’s slashed .250/.332./.381 with 17 homers.

The Rockies could have placed Bryant on the 60-day injured list when the major-league roster expanded for September, but that didn’t happen.