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Colorado Rockies game no. 112 thread: Eric Lauer vs. Tanner Gordon

2025-08-04T14:30:00-06:00

Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images

Gordon looks to rebound against the first place Blue Jays

Reminder that Purple Row will be going dark temporarily at 3 pm MT (5 pm ET) as we migrate the site to a new platform. As a result, there will be no game recap today. You should be able to comment on this game thread as normal, and all comments will migrate in time to the new platform. Starting on Tuesday, if you wish to comment on pieces, you will have to follow the new login process.

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The Colorado Rockies were unable to complete the sweep against the Pittsburgh Pirates, but they were able to show plenty of offensive output in the series. They stumbled out of the gate in each game but managed to pull things together later in the game to make things interesting and take two of the three games. They scored 26 runs after the fourth inning in the series, which highlights of much this team won’t quit, particularly at Coors Field.

While the Pirates have a solid pitching staff that the Rockies managed to crack through against, the visiting Toronto Blue Jays are another matter as a team. The team from the North currently holds a three-game lead over the Boston Red Sox in the American League East. They have emerged as one of the best teams in the league this season, thanks to a productive offense and strong pitching, meaning the Rockies will have quite a challenge.

Tanner Gordon (2-3, 4.85 ERA) takes the mound, looking for some better fortune after his last start. Facing the Cleveland Guardians, Gordon was hammered for seven runs (six earned) on eight hits with two walks and two strikeouts. He ran into the same problem that persisted in 2024 when teams would jump on his fastballs early in the count over the plate. The Blue Jays are an even more dangerous lineup compared to Cleveland, meaning Gordon is going to have to find a way to throw off their timing and keep them off balance. Locating his pitches better will help replicate the success he had against St. Louis on July 23 at Coors Field.

He’ll be opposed by Eric Lauer (6-2, 2.68 ERA). The lefty-hurler is having quite the year with the Blue Jays, after not pitching in the big leagues in 2024. After a few strong seasons with Milwaukee, Lauer struggled in 2023 and elected free agency after he was outrighted after the season. He bounced around with the Pirates and the Houston Astros last season before joining Toronto on a minor league deal. His contract was selected at the end of April, and he hasn’t looked back. He worked mainly out of the bullpen as a long reliever before joining the rotation full-time in the middle of June. He’s typically given up a couple of runs in each start, but he doesn’t walk many and can generate swing and misses. In his last start against the Baltimore Orioles, he allowed two runs on five hits over five innings of work.

It’s worth noting that this will be the first time that Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette, son of Rockies great Dante Bichette, will play a regular-season game at Coors Field. I believe he was injured the last time the Blue Jays came to town. However, it is not his first game ever, as he did appear in the 2021 All-Star Game.

First Pitch: 6:40 p.m. MT

TV: Rockies.tv

Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM, KNRV 1150 AM (Spanish)

Lineups:

First, the Blue Jays:

Check later for the Blue Jays lineup in the comments section

Now the Rockies:

New week, new series ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/KjSjO8K2xq
— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) August 4, 2025

Monday Rockpile: Michael Toglia finds himself at a crossroads

2025-08-04T06:00:00-06:00

Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

Colorado Rockies news and links for Monday, August 4th, 2025

Since team icon Todd Helton ended his Hall of Fame career in 2013, first base had become quite the revolving door for the Colorado Rockies. Veteran stopgaps, rookie hopefuls, and a few decidedly not-first-a-baseman players all manned the position with varying degrees of success. However, none were truly a successor to Helton, and Andrés Galarraga before him.

The Colorado Rockies entered the 2025 season believing they might have finally found their first baseman.

Despite a brutal slump to kick off the 2024 season that saw him optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque, 2019 first-round pick Michael Toglia emerged triumphant on the other side. From June 6th onward, he hit .233/.331/.469 with 14 doubles, three triples, 21 home runs, and 47 RBIs. He finished the season one shy of the team lead for home runs and his 2.2 bWAR was good the the fourth-best rating on the team. Sure, he finished the season with 147 strikeouts, but his excellent walk rate—one of the best in the league—and his effortless power with contact helped offset the damage.

Toglia entered spring training this season virtually unopposed. His only competition—non-roster invitees Nick Martini, Keston Hiura, and Owen Miller—were not first basemen by trade and unlikely to make the Opening Day roster. Martini made the cut as a right fielder and designated hitter, but was designated for assignment at the end of May.

After parts of three major league seasons, Michael Toglia was the Rockies’ Opening Day first baseman. The seventh such player since Todd Helton retired, expectations of Toglia were high.

“No doubt he can become [a force in the National League] because he’s an everyday player,” former manager Bud Black said during spring training. “He plays defense, he hits for power, he’s durable. He just needs improvement in incremental ways offensively.”

Toglia even broke the franchise record for consecutive starts at first base previously held by Galarraga.

However, the incremental improvements on his successful 2024 rebound never came in 2025.

Toglia didn’t hit his first home run of the season until April 16th and had just three other extra base hits through his first 64 at-bats. During that time he walked only twice and struck out at a 50% clip.

He brushed off the early struggles at the plate.

“I had a stretch like this last year, but at the time, I had 250 at-bats under my belt, so it didn’t get magnified,” he told the Denver Post. “Now, since it’s at the beginning of the season, it just looks a lot worse on the scoreboard. So, keeping that in mind, I don’t let it bother me. I know I can go out and hit a couple of homers and the numbers will look right.”

The numbers never looked right.

Toglia finished May hitting just .194/.266/.349 over 54 games. His walks picked up a little, and he did hit six home runs. But he also struck out a league-leading 81 times.

The Rockies even briefly benched Toglia to work on his swing with the coaching staff, but he still struggled to make meaningful contact. He hit just .210 against fastballs and .170 against breaking pitches.

Having lost their patience, the Rockies chose to option Toglia to Triple-A Albuquerque for what they called “a reset.”

“Mike had some strikeouts, and we tried to be patient,” said Rockies general manager Bill Schmidt. “We thought, coming off last season, he was going to take a step forward. Ultimately, he took a step backwards. So we have to do a little bit of a reset, send him back down to Albuquerque and hopefully make some adjustments and see where it goes. We want consistency. We want him to figure it out. … I think there is a hitter in there. We’ve seen it at times, but not consistently.”

However, like in spring training—and as we discussed in our mid-season State of the Position series—there was really no replacement for Toglia.

The Rockies turned to Keston Hiura, Kyle Farmer, and even Orlando Arcia—who falls into the previously mentioned “decidedly not-a-first-baseman” category—to very little success.

Toglia was quickly returned to the roster, and for a brief moment, it looked like the reset had worked. In his first eight games back, Toglia went 10-for-33 at the plate with three doubles and three home runs, though he did strike out 11 times.

Unfortunately, the success was short-lived. Toglia hit .195/.254.381 in 31 games after being recalled with five home runs and 45 strikeouts. He was essentially right back where he started. However, this time there was a key difference.

There was competition.

The Rockies selected the contract of former top prospect Warming Bernabel following the trade of franchise cornerstone Ryan McMahon. Judging from the context, it was expected that Bernabel would be given a shot at third base while the Rockies looked for short term options.

Instead, the Rockies started Bernabel at first base on July 26th... and have in every game since.

Bernabel hit .438/.455/.906 with four doubles, a triple, and three home runs through his first eight career big league games. He hit in seven straight games starting with his debut, set the new franchise record for extra-base hits in his first seven games (dethroning Trevor Story’s 2016 record) and even played some solid defense at first base. Perhaps most importantly, he’s struck out just four times in 32 at-bats.

Toglia started just one game—as the designated hitter—during that stretch. Having lost his starting job and his regular playing time, on Sunday, he was once again optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque.

“Michael doesn’t need to be here and sit the bench. No good comes from that,” said interim manager Warren Schaeffer on Sunday morning.

However, it was also clear that no excuses were being made for Toglia.

“At some point, you just have to go and play better,” Schaeffer said. “That’s where Michael is. The mental resets — that’s happened this year, for sure — but he needs to go down there and work on what he needs to work on. He needs to flatten his bat path out. He needs to handle the top third of the zone where he’s swinging and missing a lot. He knows all of these things.”

That last part is the key: Toglia “knows all of these things.” They’re adjustments he’s been needing to make for his entire big league career.

Earlier this season, Toglia shrugged off the idea of dialing back his aggression at the plate to reduce his strikeouts.

“I think the trap is that if you fall into is trying to be too cute, and just trying to put the ball in play, for the sake of not striking out,” he said. “That can get you in trouble. I think there might be some of that going on with us. I know I have certainly felt that. I have done that in my career, but I’ve found that you have to be convicted and you have to be aggressive.”

Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post ruminated on this mindset for Toglia earlier this season.

“Make no mistake, the players themselves must also be held accountable. There is a stubbornness, or simply an inability, among many players to make the necessary adjustments,” Saunders wrote.

“Toglia has a long swing and ‘long levers,’ so he is strikeout-prone. I do believe he’s stubborn, especially when it comes to shortening his swing and altering his two-strike approach.”

The problem for Toglia now is that he’s no longer irreplaceable.

With his short-term job now taken by Warming Bernabel, and the next potential long term option in Charlie Condon (no. 2 PuRP) in Double-A Hartford, Michael Toglia now finds himself in a precarious position. On Sunday, the Rockies also claimed Blaine Crim—a career .283/.374/.487 Triple-A hitter with 60 home runs in the PCL—off waivers from the Texas Rangers.

Toglia has never really had a problem hitting in Triple-A. However, he can’t fall back on that during this “reset.” Not this time.

He will need to set aside any resistance to change and continue his evolution as a hitter if he wishes to reclaim what he has lost. His future in Colorado, and perhaps the next phase of his baseball career, depends on it.

★ ★ ★

On the Farm

Triple-A: Sacramento River Cats 8, Albuquerque Isotopes 5

A series win is a series win, but the Isotopes dropped the Sunday finale to the River Cats (San Francisco Giants). The ‘Topes ran a bullpen game with Matt Turner and Connor Van Scoyoc combining for eight earned runs over the first three innings. Collin Baumgartner, Brayan Castillo, and Antoine Kelly kept the River Cats from running up the score further, but it was too big a hole for the Isotopes to dig out of. Zac Veen went 2-for-4 with two doubles and scored twice.

Double-A: Hartford Yard Goats 7, Reading Fightin’ Phils 1

Jared Thomas, Charlie Condon, and newcomer Roc Riggio were they core of the Yard Goat’s offensive attack against the Fightin’ Phils (Philadelphia Phillies) with at least two hits each. Condon went 3-for-5 with a triple and Riggio went 2-for-2 with two RBIs. On the mound, Michael Prosecky and Victor Juárez were the only pitchers used. Prosecky yielded just one run over six innings and Juárez worked a three inning scoreles save.

High-A: Spokane Indians 2, Hillsboro Hops 1 (F/10)

Organizational Pitcher of the Month for July Stu Flesland III gave up just one unearned run in six innings. That run was credited to him after reliever Davis Palermo took over in the seventh inning. The Indians were quiet on offense all night, scoring their first run on an Aidan Longwell sacrifice fly in the first and not scoring again until they walked it off in the tenth. Blake Wright laid down a sacrifice bunt—combined with a throwing error from Hillsboro—to drive in Caleb Hobson and win the game.

Low-A: Fresno Grizzlies 3, Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 2

A strong combined effort of four Grizzlies pitchers held the Quakes to just two runs throughout the evening while the offense took care of the rest. Arizona Complex League standout Wilder Dalis and middle infielder Roynier Hernandez each went 3-for-4 with an extra base hit. Jimmy Obertop went 2-for-4 and drove in the game winning run with an RBI single in the eighth inning.

★ ★ ★

Reminder: We’re going (temporarily) dark soon! | Purple Row

This is a reminder that Purple Row will begin it’s migration to a new platform this evening. Please check out this post for all the information you need. We plan to be back up and running on Tuesday. We ask for a bit of grace and patience as this whole process takes place. We’re new to this as well and hope to continue giving the same great analysis, news and takes that you’ve come to expect.

Thank you all for your patience and understanding, and for being valued members of the best Colorado Rockies community around! We look forward to a new chapter for Purple Row.

Closer Halvorsen (ebow) seeking more information after inconclusive MRI | MLB.com

Rockies righty Seth Halvorsen left the game in the ninth inning on Saturday with an apparently elbow injury, immediately signaling trainers after a pitch. It didn’t look good, and the young flamethrower had his MRI on Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately, the results of the MRI per Halvorsen were inconclusive, and both he and the Rockies will be seeking other opinions as they look to avoid Tommy John surgery.

Marked safe from Deadline move, Márquez focused on guiding Rox youth | MLB.com

Were it not for shoulder inflammation that landed him on the injured list prior to this year’s trade deadline, Germán Márquez would probably be wearing a different uniform right now. With his future uncertain, and unsure if he’d be willing to re-sign with the Rockies for 2026, Márquez is taking it slow and trying to help guide the increasingly young pitching staff at 20th and Blake.

“There’s a lot of talent here,” Márquez said. “It’s gonna turn out pretty good.”

★ ★ ★

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!

Reminder: We’re going (temporarily) dark soon!

2025-08-03T17:00:00-06:00

Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

You can find more info on the homepage

As you have hopefully seen by now, Purple Row is moving to a new platform. There have been a few posts from SB Nation about how you will need to log in a different way, how our posts will be archived, and how things will look different:

These changes will happen on Tuesday, August 5th. We will be preparing the migration on Monday evening, so I’m giving you a “heads up” to all of you in our community.

Tomorrow, our regular game thread will be published earlier than normal, some time around 2:30pm MT (even though first pitch is at 6:40pm MT), and we will not be posting a recap as the migration will begin around 3pm MT (5pm ET). Hopefully, everything will be back up and running on Tuesday morning around 7am MT (9am ET). At that time, you should be able to see the Tuesday Rockpile, as well as everything else that was previously published on Purple Row (such as the PuRPs thread).

From everything I’ve heard, you should be able to comment on Monday’s game thread as normal, and all comments will migrate in time to the new platform. Starting on Tuesday, if you wish to comment on pieces, you will have to follow the new log in process.

We ask for a bit of grace and patience as this whole process takes place. We’re new to this as well and hope to continue giving the same great analysis, news and takes that you’ve come to expect.

Thank you all for your patience and understanding, and for being valued members of the best Colorado Rockies community around! We look forward to a new chapter for Purple Row.

Pirates 9, Rockies 5: Better to have fought and lost than never fought at all

2025-08-03T16:13:22-06:00

Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images

It was a weird game, but the Rockies weren’t able to come back today

The Colorado Rockies made things interesting today, but it wasn’t quite enough to complete the sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates. That said, they’ve still won three of their five series out of the break.

Bradley Blalock struggled in the first two innings, and the Rockies just weren’t able to recover this time.

Another early deficit

For the third time in as many games, the Rockies fell behind in the first inning before even taking the field (though they fell behind in the first against the Cleveland Guardians in two games at Progressive Field earlier this week). Today, the Pirates jumped out to a 3-0 lead to start the game.

Spencer Horwitz got things going with a leadoff double and was knocked in two batters later by Nick Gonzales after Ezequiel Tovar bobbled a ground ball. Oneil Cruz lined out sharply to Tovar, but then Tovar underthrew the ball to Warming Bernabel in an attempt to pick off Gonzales. Luckily the ball didn’t go into the dugout, but Tommy Pham made them pay with a two-run shot to center that put the Pirates up 3-0. Liover Peguero flied out to end the inning.

Things didn’t get better in the second inning, as Blalock issued a two-out walk to Jared Triolo and then Horwitz mashed another homer to right to up the Pirates’ lead to 5-0. After the homer, Bryan Reynolds walked and Gonzales singled to put two men on, but Cruz hit a grounder to Tovar to end the inning.

Here come the Rockies!

Following Tyler Freeman’s single, Mickey Moniak popped out to third but then Freeman stole third (a bit precariously). Hunter Goodman popped out to catcher in foul territory behind the plate, but Jordan Beck singled to score Freeman and put the Rockies on the board. Right where they wanted ‘em! (Until Tovar grounded out to end that inning.)

Fernández did make up for his blunder in the fifth inning, knocking a base hit into left, but Orlando Arcia struck out to end the inning.

But also here come the Buccos!

Blalock was lifted in the sixth inning after walking Jack Suwinsky and giving up a single to Triolo. Fernández tried to get Suwinski out at third, but was just a smidge off line trying to avoid hitting Tovar. That allowed Triolo to snag second. Ryan Rolison entered in his place, and immediately allowed a three-run homer to Horwitz — his second of the night — to give the Pirates an 8-1 lead.

Mickey and Friends

But Moniak said “not so fast!” and smacked a two-run homer to right after Freeman walked to lead off the sixth.

Not to be outdone, Goodman launched one onto the left field concourse to cut the Pirates’ lead in half 8-4.

And Beck, feeling left out, also smashed one into left. Here come the Rockies, indeed! It marked the ninth time in history that the Rockies went back-to-back-to-back, and the first time since Nolan Arenado, Trevor Story and Ian Desmond did it in 2018.

They tried to rally again in the seventh when Arcia singled and Freeman walked, but the Moniak lined out to left, Goodman grounded into a double play, and Beck was called out on strikes and swiftly ejected for (rightfully) arguing with the umpire. He was replaced by Brenton Doyle, who slid into center and shifted Moniak to left.

Free passes will haunt

Angel Chivilli, who came in during the sixth inning, continued pitching in the seventh. He ended up hitting the first two batters he faced to put me on first and second. Triolo grounded out to Tovar, but the runners moved up to second and third. Horwitz grounded out to first and Bernabel tried to turn a 3-2 double play at the plate, but was just off line and Suwinski scored to put the Pirates up 9-5.

Weird rules in play

In the midst of the game, there were a few weird rules that came into effect:

In the sixth inning, Bernabel struck out despite being hit by a pitch on the inside elbow because he swung at the pitch.
In the eighth inning, Tovar called timeout twice, which triggered an automatic strike. Because it was a 2-2 count, he struck out.
In the next at-bat, Bernabel reached on a fielding error by the pitcher Isaac Mattson, but was nearly picked off because he crossed into fair territory (“turned towards second”) after he overran the bag. Luckily he scrambled back just in time to not be picked off.

No more LoDo magic

There were some opportunities in the ninth inning to make things interesting, but unfortunately they didn’t quite go the Rockies way today. Freeman was hit by a pitch to start the inning, but Moniak lined out sharply to Suwinski in right in a “how did he catch that?” play. Goodman grounded softly to third, and Doyle also hit a screaming liner to left but it was caught by Pham to end the inning.

It was a weird game, but the Rockies ran out of LoDo magic today.

Up Next

The Toronto Blue Jays come to town next for a three-game set. Tanner Gordon will take the ball for the Rockies tomorrow against lefty Eric Lauer. First pitch is at 6:40pm MT. See you then!

Colorado Rockies game no. 111 thread: Mitch Keller vs. Bradley Blalock

2025-08-03T12:10:51-06:00

Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images

Can the Rockies complete the sweep?

The Colorado Rockies have completed back-to-back comeback wins against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the last two days. On Friday, they erased a 9-0 first-inning deficit and went on to win 17-16 in an instant Coors Classic. Yesterday, they erased a 4-0 deficit by scoring six runs in the sixth on their way to an 8-5 victory against the formidable Paul Skenes. With the win yesterday, the Rockies have now won three home series in a row, and have back-to-back series wins for the first time since September 13-18, 2024. Prior to the All-Star Break, the Rockies had won just two series period — June 2-4 at Miami and June 16-19 at Washington. If they win today, they will complete their second sweep of the season (they swept the Marlins in June) and it would mark their first home sweep since May 10-12, 2024 against the Texas Rangers.

Ahead of today’s game, they made a flurry of roster moves. Seth Halvorsen suffered an elbow injury last night, so he was placed on the 15-day IL. Michael Toglia was also optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque with the emergence of Warming Bernabel as a viable option at first. In their place, the Rockies recalled Nick Anderson and Braxton Fulford. Additionally, they claimed infielder Blaine Crim off waivers from the Texas Rangers.

Bradley Blalock (1-2, 7.09 ERA) will take the ball for the Rockies as they attempt to sweep the Pirates. It will mark Blalock’s career-high ninth start of 2025. He was outstanding in his last start against the Cleveland Guardians, tossing six scoreless innings and striking out a career-high seven batters. He also became the second Rockies rookie to ever pitch at least six scoreless innings with seven or more strikeouts and zero walks since Jon Gray’s 16-strikeout game against the San Diego Padres on September 17, 2016. Today will mark Blalock’s first-career start against the Pirates.

He will face Mitch Keller (4-10, 3.69 ERA), who is not Paul Skenes but still a dangerous number two. He was the Pirates’ Opening Day starter in 2023 and 2024. He got roughed up in his last outing, though, allowing three runs on five hits with three walks and three strikeouts over just two innings against the San Francisco Giants. He threw 73 pitches — the most through two innings of a start in his career — and it marked his shorted start since August 16, 2022 against the Boston Red Sox. Keller has made four appearances (three starts) against the Rockies in his career and is 2-1 with a 0.39 ERA against them. He last faced them on May 8, 2023 when he threw a four-hit shutout at PNC Park, but has only made one start at Coors Field on July 16, 2022 when he allowed just one unearned run over six innings but lost a 2-0 decision.

Can the Rockies complete the sweep today?

First Pitch: 1:10 p.m. MT

TV: Rockies.tv

Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM, KNRV 1150 AM (Spanish)

Lineups:

Game 3 vs. the Rockies.

@SNPittsburgh
@937theFan | The PRN

Presented by @bet365_us pic.twitter.com/QUwkF1kb3C
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) August 3, 2025

Sunday afternoon starters ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/p2PaNeLzxN
— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) August 3, 2025

Rockies 8, Pirates 5: Paul Who?

2025-08-02T17:17:40-06:00

Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

The Rockies managed to conquer one of the best pitchers in baseball and secure a series win.

The Colorado Rockies took down Cy Young hopeful and two-time All-Star Paul Skenes and his Pittsburgh Pirates for their third home series win of the season, and their second come-from-behind victory in as many days. It wasn’t quite as dramatic as last night’s theatrics, but there was still a little bit of LoDo magic left to use.

The Rockies went down early due to two Pirates home runs, but surged ahead with a six run sixth inning. Jordan Beck, Warming Bernabel, and Mickey Moniak were key players for the Rockies’ offense, but even Austin Nola and Orlando Arcia—and their below .500 OPS—were able to join the fun.

Who on earth is Liover Peguero?

When Austin Gomber was taken deep on the third pitch of the game—a middle-middle fastball—by Pirates leadoff hitter Liover Peguero, I’m sure I wasn’t the only one thinking “oh no, not again” after last night’s first inning.

Thankfully, Gomber honestly locked things down for the next few frames. Through the fourth inning he kept the Pirates off the board and the game within reach, giving up just three hits and striking out four batters despite never really finding a good rhythm.

Unfortunately, a walk and a double in the fifth had Gomber in trouble and Liover Peguero delivered the finishing blow with a second home run. Gomber finished the inning but left the game with four runs—three earned—on his line.

Peguero would hit his third home run of the game against Dugan Darnell in the top of the ninth inning. He entered today’s game with just one home run so far this season and had never hit multiple home runs in a big league game before today.

Paul Skenes? Meet Mike Honcho.

Rockies left fielder Jordan Beck was one of the few Rockies batters seeing Paul Skenes well early in the game. He drew a walk in his first plate appearance and had hits in the next two. Beck’s second hit of the game was a three run home run following a single by Mickey Moniak and an Ezequiel Tovar walk. It was the first three run home run Paul Skenes had allowed all season.

Scorching Bernabel won’t be cooled off

23-year-old Warming Bernabel’s impressive start to his major league career continued with a 3-for-4 afternoon against the Pirates. Most impressively, he had two doubles against Paul Skenes. Bernabel’s eight extra-base hits in his first seven games with the Rockies broke the franchise record set by Trevor Story (seven) back in 2016. Bernabel has an OPS of 1.553 in his first 28 at-bats and he’s struck out just three times.

Bernabel also worked together with reliever Victor Vodnik for a fantastic defensive gem once the game resumed from rain delay.

A solid afternoon from the arm barn, but there’s a catch...

The Rockies bullpen was able to keep the Pirates off the board until the ninth inning when Peguero hit his third home run of the game against rookie Dugan Darnell. Unfortunately, Darnell had entered the game because regular closer Seth Halvorsen had to depart.

Halvorsen looked immediately to the dugout as soon as his fifth pitch left his hand and walked off the field with trainers. Hopefully this is just a scare, similar to Zach Agnos—who had his MRI return clean today.

“I mean, it don’t look good,” said manager Warren Schaeffer after the game. “It’s his [right] elbow. I’ll let you know tomorrow.”

Darnell entered the game with a 3-2 count against the leadoff batter and issued a walk, but was able to quickly induce a double play.

Prior to the ninth, Jaden Hill, Juan Mejia, and Victor Vodnik all worked scoreless innings. Mejia struck out three batters, and Vodnik assisted on an athletic play at first base.

Coming Up Next

The Rockies have a very rare opportunity: completing a sweep at home in 2025. Coming off an excellent last outing, righty Bradley Blalock will start for the Rockies against Pirates righty Mitch Keller. First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 PM MDT.

Colorado Rockies game no. 110 thread: Paul Skenes vs Austin Gomber

2025-08-02T12:10:00-06:00

Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

The Rockies gun for a series win versus one of baseball’s best starting pitchers. Is there a little LoDo magic left after last night?

I don’t think anyone expected last night’s ballgame to become an all-time Coors Field classic after the Rockies went down by nine runs in the first inning, but a late-night win in LoDo has the Rockies pushing for their third home series win of 2025.

Today thee Colorado Rockies will host the Pittsburgh Pirates in a summer afternoon affair for the second of three games.

Making his eighth start for the Rockies this season is the left-handed Austin Gomber. His last time out against the Baltimore Orioles, Gomber went just 4 ¹⁄₃ innings and gave up four earned runs on four hits—including a home run—and three walks while striking out just two batters.

Gomber is one of several veterans on the Rockies roster that survived the trade deadline. A free agent at the end of the season, Gomber is now auditioning for his future either with the Rockies or elsewhere. He’s struggled at home so far, posting a 7.52 ERA over 20 ¹⁄₃ innings at Coors Field with only eight punchouts.

Fitting for Air Force Academy day at Coors Field, the starter for the Pirates is former cadet and right-handed pitcher Paul Skenes.

Skenes has once again been one of the best starting pitchers in baseball this season, with a 1.83 ERA over 22 starts and 146 strikeouts through 133 innings of work. He’s coming off six shutout innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks in which he gave up just three hits and a walk while striking out nine batters. This will be the two-time All-Star’s first appearance at Coors Field.

The Pirates Ace will attack the strike zone with all of his pitches, especially his four seam fastball that averages 98.2 MPH with arm-side carry. He also throws a splitter, a sweeper, a changeup, a sinker, a slider, and a curveball. Only the curveball and splitter have opposing batting averages of .200 or better.

Roster Moves: Prior to today’s game, right-handed pitcher Antonio Senzatela (right middle finger blister) was placed on the 15-day injured list. Left-handed pitcher Ryan Rolison has been recalled from the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes.

First Pitch: 1:10 p.m. MT

TV: Rockies.tv

Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM, KNRV 1150 AM (Spanish)

Lineups:

Game 2 vs. the Rockies.

@SNPittsburgh
@937theFan | The PRN

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Turning the page...

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This Week in Purple: Final push to the end

2025-08-02T11:00:32-06:00

Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images

Colorado Rockies weekend discussion thread for August 2-3, 2025

The Rockies started the week just after trading Ryan McMahon and ended it with a 17-16 wild Coorsy win. The trade deadline officially came to pass, as well, with them trading Tyler Kinley and Jake Bird, the Arizona Diamondbacks having a fire sale, the San Diego Padres landing Mason Miller, and the Minnesota Twins trading away 40% of their roster.

There are officially 53 games left and while the Rockies will absolutely lose 100 games for the third season in a row, they only need 13 more wins to not break the White Sox 121-loss record from last year.

Additionally, SB Nation is getting a new look starting next Tuesday. In preparation for that, there will be no new articles posted after 5pm ET/3pm MT on Monday. We will post a game thread, but there will be no post-game article. Additionally, the Rockpile will be delayed in posting on Tuesday morning, but hopefully not by much. Please be patient with us as we transition to a new system

That all said, here’s what our staff was up to during this busy week, though:

To Read (Rockpiles)

Monday: What’s next for the Rockies at third base without Ryan McMahon? | Evan Lang
Tuesday: The Colorado Rockies need to be sellers at the trade deadline | Renee Dechert
Wednesday: Warming Bernabel is a welcome surprise at first base thus far | Skyler Timmins
Thursday: Do the Colorado Rockies have an ace? | Mac Wilcox
Friday: The trade deadline has come and gone, but are the Rockies better off? | Joelle Milholm

To Read (Other News)

Feature: The Purple Row staff shares their favorite Ryan McMahon moments and memories | Purple Row Staff
Weekly Pebble Report: The prospects you don’t know on a team you can’t watch | Evan Lang
Roster News: Colorado Rockies trade Tyler Kinley to Atlanta | Renee Dechert & Evan Lang
Roster News: Rockies trade Jake Bird to New York Yankees, receive two prospects | Mac Wilcox & Evan Lang
SBN Updates: A new look coming for Purple Row in August
SBN Updates: SB Nation’s new login system: What you need to know
Prospect News: Colorado Rockies prospects: Purple Row Prospects polling thread, mid-season 2025 | Jeff Aberle

Weekend Discussion Topics

What do you think the Rockies will do in this final stretch? Do you think they’ll win 13 more games?

Let us know in the comments!

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