Break it down to build it up. That’s what the Colorado Rockies hope at least.

The “reconstruction” phase of the franchise is well underway, and it met its match against fellow rebuilder the Chicago White Sox in a three-game series loss, salvaged only by a 5-4 win after 14 innings over the White Sox on Sunday to avoid a sweep.

Rockies’ personnel took another turn before the game and will continue to rotate.

Here’s a breakdown of the losing series and the moments that mattered most:

The moment

Riley Pint was handed a tough pitching scenario.

He entered Saturday’s lopsided loss with two runners on, one out, and his club behind 7-3 with its comeback chances dwindling. It was just his second appearance in the majors and it mimicked his debut last year.

Pint allowed a three-run home run on a middle-of-the-zone slider before two wild pitches helped the White Sox add another to their lead. In his debut, the righty walked three and allowed an earned run and hit before being pulled after garnering just one out.

The Rockies have kept Pint on the 40-man roster despite his inability to become a major-league arm. His 3.18 earned run average with Triple-A Albuquerque masks a stat line that includes an 8.9 walks-per-nine-innings rate with four hit-by-pitches and five wild pitches.

Colorado is weeding through its minor leagues to find talent — and more important, rid itself of players who have been with the franchise for years without significant results.

Pint was the fourth overall pick in the 2016 MLB draft. He brought hope as a high school flamethrower from St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Kansas but has dealt with an early retirement stint and troubles with command and anxiety.

His latest chance wasn’t easy but did little to inspire hope for a turnaround.

Takeaway

Colorado is arguably the league’s worst team and isn’t sitting on its hands regarding personnel moves anymore.

The Rockies designated Elehuris Montero for assignment ahead of Sunday’s win. It came two days after they had done the same with Alan Trejo, who cleared waivers and elected to become a free agent instead of staying in the franchise’s minor leagues. Coco Montes also took an offer to play overseas and leave the Triple-A Albuquerque roster.

Montero’s improvements this season came at a cost.

He slashed his strikeout rate from last year’s 36.2 percent rate to 22.7 percent in 2024. The power hitter lost his slugging percentage with it. Montero has hit just four home runs in 224 at-bats and still carries just a .267 on-base percentage despite the strikeout improvement. His slugging percentage has plummeted from .426 to .304 as well.

Being a key piece in the team’s package from St. Louis for former franchise pillar Nolan Arenado likely extended the infielder’s leash but an inability to make significant strides in the field or at the plate doomed him.

Colorado is trying to turn the tide away from losing to fellow standings bottom dwellers. It was swept by Miami and lost series to Oakland, Washington and now Chicago, the league’s worst team by win-loss record.

Last year’s trade deadline was a change and sign that general manager Bill Schmidt is willing to make moves to try out new formulas. This year’s deadline will be another chance for him to stock the minor-league cupboards for what he hopes is sustainable success in the future.

Cutting the cord on underperforming players who aren’t part of that future serves a similar purpose.

What went right

Anthony Molina hasn’t been perfect, but he’s shown that his right arm could give the Rockies a boost soon.

The club picked him out of the Rule 5 Draft and is forced to have him on the active roster throughout the year. Early results were discouraging, but the long reliever has turned things around with added experience. His 1 2/3 innings with four strikeouts in Friday’s loss gave the Rockies a chance they couldn’t take advantage of.

Molina hasn’t allowed an earned run since June 7, and the five-appearance scoreless streak has his ERA down to 5.40 after it reached the high 20s earlier in the year.

Colorado plans to move him into a starting role next year. The trek could send him to the minor leagues to develop, but the hope is he can eventually join the Rockies’ rotation and be a key contributor.

Picking up pitchers from Tampa Bay worked before with Germán Márquez and more recently Jalen Beeks. The Rockies want Molina to be an extension of the trend.

What went wrong

Change is necessary because of Colorado’s results.

The team’s offense put up 13 hits and 10 runs against the White Sox. Chicago’s staff entered the three-game series with a 28th-ranked 4.67 ERA. The struggles are part of an eight-game stretch that has seen the Rockies lose six and collect a combined 28 runs.

Colorado didn’t score its first non-home-run tally until Sunday’s win. All six of its runs in the first two games came on home runs, and though the trend changed in the finale, the Rockies racked up a season-high 20 strikeouts.

“We’ve got to start swinging the bats,” manager Bud Black said. “It’s nice to get the homers, but we’ve got to collect more hits. We’ve got to do a better job of when we get our pitch to hit, we’ve got to be able to square it up and do some damage with it.”

It didn’t help that the Rockies’ rotation allowed 12 earned runs and saw control issues plague it.

Change is here and more is on the way. Mixing up the roster with transactions will continue until the franchise’s losing ways halt.

What’s up next

Colorado returns to Coors Field to host Milwaukee for four games.

It’s a place where the Brewers once completed a three-game sweep over the Rockies in the National League Division Series in 2018. Since then, the latter has gone 325-463 (plus Sunday’s) and lost a franchise-record 103 games in 2023. Two of the franchise’s six losingest seasons have followed the playoff series and 2024 is on pace to be the worst yet.

Rockies 5, White Sox 4 (14)

What happened: Kyle Freeland delivered a second consecutive quality outing without a win to show for it. His teammates scored runs in the 10th and 13th innings, but the bullpen allowed them back before Michael Toglia’s go-ahead sacrifice fly in the 14th.

On the mound: Freeland delivered another great outing off the injured list. He allowed two earned runs over 6 2/3 innings on seven hits and two walks. Back-to-back diving catches from Brenton Doyle and Nolan Jones with runners on in the sixth inning helped him keep Chicago in check. Victor Vodnik inherited a bases-loaded jam from Freeland in the seventh and walked in the tying run. Jalen Beeks threw the final two innings without an earned run allowed to garner a win.

At the plate: Colorado had three of its six hits in the first inning as the offense struggled again. Elias Díaz and Ezequiel Tovar were the team’s lone hitters with multiple knocks. The former’s fourth-inning double was its only extra-base hit and went to waste after three consecutive strikeouts. Sam Hilliard pinch-ran for him in the 10th and stole third before Hunter Goodman’s sacrifice fly drove him in. The Rockies struck out a season-high 21 times Sunday and combined for 13 hits in three games against the White Sox.

What’s next: Milwaukee Brewers (RHP Bryse Wilson, 5-3; 3.89) at Colorado Rockies (LHP Austin Gomber, 1-5; 4.63) on Monday at 6:40 p.m. at Coors Field (Rockies.TV).