Rockies snap 10-game Wrigley Field losing streak, but bullpen woes hover over late innings
CHICAGO — The high-leverage arms for the Rockies also have high ERAs in recent outings. That’s a big problem that has shown up at the wrong time.
Including Colorado’s 5-4 late meltdown inside the friendly confines of Wrigley Field Monday night, the Rockies are 22-5 this season when leading after eight innings. Those five losses are the most in the National League and tied for third among all MLB teams.
In all, during Colorado’s last five losses heading into Tuesday night’s 5-2 win over the Cubs, the Rockies had the lead in each game before eventually succumbing.
On Monday, Chicago scored three times in the final two innings, erasing a 4-2 lead that had been provided by a bases-loaded walk and three-run home run from Cole Carrigg. Three Rockies pitchers threw in those final two innings, and that trio was on the hook for five walks and a pair of hits.
Two of those three pitchers — Victor Vodnik and Juan Mejia — have struggled mightily over their last seven games, posting a 9.00 and 11.12 ERA, respectively, during that time frame. The third pitcher — Seth Halvorsen — issued the game-winning walk against the only batter he faced on Monday. But his ERA of 3.38 over the last seven games is easily the best of Colorado’s high-leverage options.

How bad has it been for the Rockies bullpen lately? Here are six of Colorado’s high-leverage arms and their ERAs in their last seven games heading into Tuesday.
Seth Halvorsen, 3.38 ERA (5.1 innings pitched)
Brennan Bernardino, 5.40 ERA (5.0 innings pitched)
Antonio Senzatela, 6.00 ERA (9.0 innings pitched)
Victor Vodnik, 9.00 ERA (6.0 innings pitched)
Juan Mejia, 11.12 ERA (5.2 innings pitched)
Jaden Hill, 14.40 ERA (5.0 innings pitched)
It can be argued there are some outliers among the numbers above. For instance, Hill’s numbers are a bit skewed as he gave up seven runs and getting just one out against the Milwaukee Brewers on June 7 in a 12-4 loss. He’s allowed more runs during his five outings in June (eight) than his 23 outings in March through May combined (six).
Vodnik, meanwhile, just returned the mound Monday after missing nearly a month with right ulnar nerve inflammation.
However, the fact remains that Colorado’s bullpen is in a collective funk. That’s something manager Warren Schaeffer and his coaching staff not only must work around in late innings, but also help defuse and correct.
“It’s a combination of keeping everybody loose and keeping everybody light and, at the same time, holding a standard of how we operate, so certain things are not OK. Walks are not OK. Everybody knows that,” Schaeffer said Tuesday. “At the same time, if you’re constantly telling yourself we can’t walk, we can’t walk, we can’t walk, that’s usually when you walk people.
“It’s the same thing when you’re hitting. When you say, I’m not going to swing at the slider down the way, I’m not going to do it, I’m not going to do it, you swing at it every dang time. It’s a fine line between having confidence and instilling confidence and understanding what you have to do.”

Senzatela, who has 199 starts under his belt in a 10-year MLB career but has all 21 of his bullpen appearances this season, said the mentality of moving past a bad outing is the same as a starter or reliever but just under a different timeline.
“It’s really the same,” Senzatela said. “As a starter, you have five days. As a reliever, you have to flush it that night.”
If Colorado is to climb out of the National League West cellar, its pitching must improve, especially in the late innings. Some help could be on the way in Jimmy Herget, who is expected to rejoin the team soon after being placed on the injured list May 14 (retroactive to May 13) with right shoulder impingement. The 32-year-old right-hander allowed multiple runs in three of his last four outings, pushing his ERA on the season to 5.06.
Outside of that, there are few other possibilities on the current 40-man roster who could be a bullpen option, meaning the bullpen could be an emphasis at the upcoming MLB trade deadline and offseason if Colorado can’t correct some of the issues plaguing its relievers.
Bullpens are notoriously unpredictable over a 162-game season, but the Rockies need their late-inning arms to rebound quickly. Until they limit walks and execute more consistently, close games will likely continue turning into frustrating losses instead of much-needed wins.
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Rockies 5, Cubs 2
What happened: After retiring the first nine Rockies in order, Chicago starter Edward Cabrera was greeted by three straight hits to open the fourth, including TJ Rumfield’s two-run homer that gave Colorado a lead it wouldn’t relinquish as it snapped a 10-game losing streak at Wrigley Field. Jake McCarthy, who started the fourth-inning rally with a single, went 3 for 5 and has multiple hits in six of his last 13 games.
On the mound: Ryan Feltner threw a career-high 104 pitches and struck out a season-high seven batters across 4.2 innings to give the Rockies a solid start. Feltner allowed a leadoff home run to Pete Crow-Armstrong, then worked his way out of trouble in the first and second innings before settling into a rhythm.
At the plate: Rumfield blasted his 10th home run of the season in the fourth inning. With that, he joins Todd Helton and Trevor Story as the only three Colorado rookies to have 10 homers and 50 hits by the All-Star Game.
What’s next: In the series finale at Wrigley Field on Wednesday at 6:40 p.m., Colorado will send Sean Sullivan (0-0, 0.00 ERA) to the mound against Chicago’s Javier Assad (4-1, 3.99 ERA).




