Unable to cash in vs. Twins, Rox seek better fortune back at Coors

MINNEAPOLIS -- Less than 24 hours after an explosive offensive performance keyed by three Hunger Goodman home runs, the Rockies were unable to find the same timely hitting in the series finale against the Twins.

Despite a strong start from right-hander Ryan Feltner, Colorado struggled to find the definitive hit in a 3-2 loss on Sunday afternoon at Target Field, dropping two of three games in the series.

For Feltner, the performance marked his fourth quality start since returning from the injured list in late May after dealing with right ulnar nerve inflammation. He allowed five hits and two runs (one earned), and he didn't issue any walks or record any strikeouts in six efficient innings. The only damage against Feltner came on a second-inning unearned run following a throwing error by third baseman Kyle Karros and a solo home run by Kody Clemens in the fourth.

Feltner said he missed his location on the offering to Clemens.

"I threw it right in his hole," Feltner said. "I was trying to go away, I pulled it in. I knew it right when I threw it. Overall, I felt like I had most of my stuff today."

Manager Warren Schaeffer noted a distinct difference in Feltner's approach since his return to the rotation.

"When Felt's on attack mode mentally, his stuff is really, really good," Schaeffer said. "So when he's in the zone filling it up, which he has been since he's been back, that's when he's good, and he's been doing it every time up."

But while Feltner kept the game within reach by attacking the zone, Colorado's offense spent the afternoon failing to capitalize on opportunities with runners in scoring position. The Rockies finished the finale with two runs on seven hits, committing one error and leaving nine runners stranded on base. Twins starter Connor Prielipp kept the Rockies off balance, striking out a career-high 10 across six frames as part of a 14-strikeout afternoon for Minnesota’s pitching staff.

The Rockies left two runners on base in the top of the first inning after TJ Rumfield opened the scoring with an RBI single. The costliest sequence came in the fourth, when Cole Carrigg singled, Karros was hit by a pitch and Troy Johnston singled to load the bases with one out. The threat ended when Braxton Fulford struck out and Ezequiel Tovar grounded into an inning-ending forceout.

After Johnston tied the game at 2-2 with an RBI single in the sixth, the lineup left two more runners on base in the eighth. Carrigg hit a two-out double and the Twins intentionally walked Karros to face Johnston, who struck out to end the frame. Those missed chances proved decisive when Ryan Kreidler hit a go-ahead solo home run off reliever Seth Halvorsen in the bottom of the seventh.

Even in the ninth, the Rockies threatened when Fulford was hit by a pitch leading off the frame, but pinch-hitter Jake McCarthy lined out sharply to left-center field before the final two outs were recorded.

"There's no difference in terms of mentality with the guys," Schaeffer said of the offensive output compared to Saturday's win. "They just ran into a guy that was really good today in Prielipp. But shoot, in that last inning -- Jake off the bench smoked that ball to left-center field. If that gets down, the game is tied. We were right there at the end."

The Rockies will have an opportunity to turn the page on the missed chances at Target Field when they return to Denver to open a four-game series with the Marlins at Coors Field on Monday night, beginning a seven-game homestand.