The Colorado Rockies and Atlanta Braves wrapped up their season series today, one that was tilted fully in favor of the Braves. Atlanta took all six games, first sweeping a series at Coors Field back in May with 8-6, 9-1, and 11-6 wins, before breaking out the brooms again at Truist Park this weekend.
The two clubs are at opposite ends of the spectrum right now. The Braves lead the NL East and are trying to hold onto the 2-seed in the MLB playoffs. We don't need to rehash where the Rockies are at.
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For as wide as that gap is, the Rockies kept the games in this late August series close but couldn't muster quite enough to steal any. Today's game was the Rockies best shot, but a lack of offense cost them another one-run game.
A strong second start from Mason Adams, with a hiccup in the third
In his MLB debut, Mason Adams faced the league's highest run scoring team in the Washington Nationals and performed well, surrendering only one run through four innings. He faced another tough test today against a Braves lineup that is top 10 in hitting and scoring.
Through the first two innings, you couldn't have asked for more from the rookie. He made good use of his four-seam fastball early and struck out his first batter faced in Drake Baldwin on three straight strikes, finishing him off with a curveball. While he walked his second batter in Ronald Acuña Jr., he bounced back well and escaped with a scoreless first, picking off Acuña Jr. to end the inning after getting Matt Olson to fly out.
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Adams posted a quick 1-2-3 second inning, using just eight pitches, including a three-pitch strikeout of Ozzie Albies.
The first hit for Atlanta came in the bottom of the third. Unfortunately for Adams, it was a solo home run from Sean Murphy. That was followed up by an Austin Riley double launched into left field that nearly left the yard as well. A wild pitch from Adams moved Riley to third before he was brought home by Acuña Jr. Adams was able to escape with the Rockies down 2-0.
To his credit, which was very well-earned, Adams responded with two more strong, clean innings. He gave up a single and a walk in the fourth but also notched another strikeout and prevented any more damage. He got another strikeout in the fifth and got Acuña Jr. to hit into a double play.
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Adams ended his day without any run support and the Rockies behind 2-0. He went 5.0 innings allowing five hits, two earned runs, five strikeouts, and two walks. Aside from the third inning, it was another strong starting performance from the new guy.
After the game, manager Warren Schaeffer celebrated his outing. "I thought he attacked the zone well today. I'm not going to say he did anything wrong today. I thought that Mason was exceptional. You have to put all things into consideration here. I mean, this is the guy's second big league outing."
Mahle remains locked in, Rockies bats remain cold
Tyler Mahle has looked sharp as of late. He picked up wins in two of his last three starts and has kept runs to a minimum through most of his recent stretch. On the other hand, the Colorado offense has gone cold in recent weeks, unable to get any traction going through consistent hitting.
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Whether it was Mahle cruising, the bats continuing to struggle, or a little of column A, a little of column B, the Rockies did not pose a threat for much of the game.
Mahle had his way with the Rockies today, sitting down batters left and right. In particular, Colorado had no answer for his fastball nor his splitter. He posted an incredible 44% whiff rate with his four-seamer, along with a 29% whiff rate for his splitter, logging 17 swings and misses with those two pitches. He had six strikeouts through the first five innings and would end his day with nine.
Mahle ended his stellar day at 6.2 innings with five hits and one run allowed, with nine strikeouts and no walks.
A spark to start a dominant bullpen performance from Feltner
The Rockies offense was in a bad way through the first five innings. After a couple hits to start the game off, Mahle retired 10 straight batters heading into the fifth inning. Mickey Moniak struck out to make it 11 straight before Troy Johnston singled. That would go nowhere, though, as Brett Sullivan followed up grounding into a double play.
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Finally, in the sixth inning, Jake McCarthy would provide a spark. Ending a 33-inning home run drought for the team, McCarthy launched a solo shot to right field, making it a 2-1 game. That would be the only ding against Mahle in this one. The purple home run coat was a welcome sight, despite the Georgia heat.
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After a busy bullpen night on Saturday, Ryan Feltner entered to replace Adams in the bottom of the sixth with the game one run closer. Feltner was expected to be the starter on Saturday but was scratched with an illness.
Feltner showed up today with a fantastic bullpen performance. Feltner worked through the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings without giving up any runs and notching three strikeouts with three hits surrendered.
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Late inning excitement
During Feltner's stretch of work, the Rockies managed to tie the game up. In the top of the eighth inning, the Rockies played small ball and parlayed a Brett Sullivan leadoff single into a run, thanks to a Ryan Ritter sacrifice bunt and a Connor Norby single to bring him home.
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As noted, Feltner worked hard to keep the Rockies in the tie game, working out of a jam in the bottom of the eighth by striking out Albies and Murphy with Michael Harris II on second.
The Rockies trusted Feltner to keep going in the bottom of the ninth inning. That proved to be a wise choice.
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Feltner took those two strikeouts from the bottom of the eighth and extended it to five straight strikeouts, sitting down the side with masterful pitching to take the game into extra innings. After getting Austin Riley to strike out on a foul tip, he got Mike Yastrzemski and Baldwin to go down swinging.
Schaeffer praised Feltner's long bullpen performance. "I thought Felt was awesome, I thought he was no nonsense. He just went right at guys. He looked good coming out of the pen."
Potential fireworks turn into a dud in extras
The Rockies were set up well to steal the game late. Sadly, that didn't come together.
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After tying the game late and getting strong pitching to keep them in it, the Rockies couldn't cash in during extra innings. With Mickey Moniak on second to start the tenth, three straight Rockies batters went down. Cole Carrigg, who pinch hit earlier, popped out, Sullivan struck out, and Veen flew out to end the top of the inning.
The Braves made them pay quickly. With Baldwin as the runner on second, Acuña Jr. hit a line drive to second to put runners on the corners. Olson quickly delivered a walk-off single, hitting a hard ground ball just past first into right field.
Schaeffer noted that "you have to execute in the big moments to beat good teams. And we did not do that today in the tenth inning." The Rockies played a gutsy game on the road, but weren't able to get the job all the way done in Atlanta.
Up next
August slipped away into a moment in time, but the Rockies have one more game left in the month. The Rockies head home for a series against the Baltimore Orioles (67-69) that will turn the calendar to September.
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First up is a Monday night matchup with a 6:40 p.m. MT first pitch.
Tanner Gordon is set to start for the Rockies. Gordon is 1-4 across seven starts and 19 total games. He brings in a 5.38 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP with 69 strikeouts. He got the win in his last start, going seven innings and surrendering just one run against the Washington Nationals.
Kyle Bradish is projected to be the Orioles' starter. Bradish is 7-12 through 26 starts this season, with a 4.03 ERA, a 1.41 WHIP, and 133 strikeouts. The O's are currently in the mix in the Wild Card race, sitting one game out of the last spot.
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