MILWAUKEE -- The best that can be said about the Rockies’ current road trip is that the losses have been excruciating.
OK, no one is saying excruciating is good. Saturday’s 10-4 loss to the Brewers at American Family Field, where reliever Carlos Estévez starred in his own eighth-inning nightmare, was the Rockies’ third in four games this trip. In each, the Rockies went into the eighth inning either tied or with the lead.
But this trip, which the Rockies have a chance to salvage on Sunday afternoon, is an improvement over the last two -- 2-5 with often non-competitive offense against the Mets and Pirates, and 1-5 against the Marlins and Reds with just one loss considered close. Either way, the Rockies are 6-30 on the road.
Here are five takeaways from Saturday, and the road trip in general:
1. Inconsistent and homer-prone relief work
Estévez had the most gut-churning of eighth innings on Saturday. He opened the inning with a walk, hit Manny Piña and cut off third baseman Ryan McMahon to field Jace Peterson’s bunt, then slipped before he could make a throw. Omar Narváez’s bases-loaded sacrifice fly and Luis Urías’ two-run single ended Estévez’s day.
Saturday continued a road trip full of home runs off the bullpen in games when the Rockies had a chance late. Avisaíl García’s game-tying shot in the seventh marred an otherwise strong two innings from Jhoulys Chacín, and Christian Yelich added a two-run shot as soon as lefty Ben Bowden replaced Estévez.
On this trip, the Rockies lost, 2-1, Tuesday in Seattle on Shed Long’s tie-breaking homer in the eighth off Tyler Kinley. Friday’s 5-4, 11-inning loss to the Brewers saw Kinley, Estévez and Daniel Bard yield homers that made a 4-0 lead evaporate.
“We've been in a lot of games this year in which the inconsistency of our bullpen has come back to bite us,” manager Bud Black said. “Maybe some clutch hitting earlier in the year was instrumental in some of the losses, too. So we can’t hang our hat on one thing if we look back at the entire season.”
2. Story goes deep again
The Rockies took a 4-3 lead in the fifth on Trevor Story’s ninth homer of the season, a two-run launch to dead center off Adrian Houser. Story struggled when he first returned from an elbow injury, going 0-for-14 during the Marlins-Reds trip. He went a sizzling 11-for-26 as the Rockies went 5-2 on their most-recent homestand.
This trip he is 3-for-16, with all three hits (two in Wednesday’s 5-2 win at Seattle) being homers.
Is he right or merely on his way?
“Time will tell," Black said. “He was fine today -- the hanging breaking ball for the homer, and I thought he had some other good swings. He fouled some pitches off he had good swings on, but, hopefully, the homer gives him some confidence going into tomorrow.”
3. Not always can you dominate
The first three games of the trip saw lefty Kyle Freeland fan seven Mariners in six innings, Germán Márquez hold the Mariners to two hits in eight innings and Jon Gray strike out 10 Brewers in five innings while under a tight pitch count in his return from a right forearm flexor tendon injury.
On Saturday, Antonio Senzatela was nowhere near as dominant. He pitched around seven hits, three walks and a balk in each of the first two innings to hold the Brewers to three runs (two earned) and exited with a lead after five innings.
“I feel good, because I didn’t have anything today,” Senzatela said. “I feel like I battled.”
4. Rookies Yonathan Daza and Brendan Rodgers gaining traction
Daza, who has solidified the No. 2 spot behind Raimel Tapia (who extended his on-base streak to 21 games), singled twice and walked twice. Rodgers went 2-for-3 with a soft double to right, plus a walk, and is 6-for-14 on the trip.
A lineup often dependent on Story, Charlie Blackmon and C.J. Cron needs the kind of lengthening that Daza can offer in the two-hole, and Rodgers (who has three of his four homers this season on the road, including one at Seattle) can add to it at No. 7.
5. More rallies needed
It’s easier said than done, but the offense has been limited to roughly two innings of production a game. Of course, the difference in home and road atmospheric conditions is real and the Rockies have faced two starters having big years -- the Mariners' Chris Flexen on Tuesday and the Brewers’ Corbin Burnes on Friday.
Saturday could have used bottom-of-the-order production with two on and one out in the eighth, however, Dom Nuñez flied to right and pinch-hitter Joshua Fuentes struck out, after hitting his first career pinch-hit homer on Friday.