ANAHEIM -- Leaving a ballpark after an 11-4 blowout loss is never easy, but for the Colorado Rockies, departing Anaheim on Wednesday came with something much more valuable than any single win: proof of progress.
While the Rockies missed out on a sweep against the Angels, the real story of the road trip was already written. By taking the first two games, Colorado secured back-to-back series victories for the first time this season.
For a developing roster looking to find its footing as the calendar flips to June, the milestone is a crucial building block for trying to maintain consistency.
On Monday, the Rockies showcased a resilient, come-from-behind mentality, fighting through a late deficit to win, 9-8. On Tuesday, they proved they could play with a lead, riding a five-run fourth inning to a commanding 8-2 victory.
Those two performances captured the blueprint of what this team looks like when things click: an aggressive offense capable of striking in bunches, and a clubhouse that doesn't blink under pressure.
However, Wednesday’s finale was a stark reminder of how quickly a game can get away when the starting pitching hits a wall. Right-hander Michael Lorenzen struggled with his command early, enduring a six-run second inning before being pulled in the fourth after yielding a two-run home run to Vaughn Grissom.
Lorenzen finished a tough night allowing eight earned runs on 10 hits over 3 1/3 innings. Despite the outing, manager Warren Schaeffer expressed complete faith in his veteran starter’s ability to bounce back, pointing to Lorenzen's team-first mentality as the reason he remains a leader in the clubhouse.
"He's strong as an ox," Schaeffer said, praising his veteran’s mentality. "He's a leader. He wants to eat the innings for the bullpen so that they don't get destroyed down there. It's a big part of a starter's job, especially when the game's not going right."
Still, Schaeffer refused to let one lopsided scoreboard cloud the progress his team made over the past three days in Southern California.
"Oh my gosh, we won the series. It's like the biggest positive of all time," Schaeffer said, smiling. "Yeah, you win the series, you move on to the Milwaukee Brewers. We won the last series [and] got crushed the last day. We won this series [and] got beat pretty bad today. But we won two series in a row and we're moving forward and we take huge steps from that."
One of the most encouraging signs of the road trip was how well the offense translated away from Coors Field. Colorado’s bats stayed hot down the mountain, providing a few bright spots Wednesday with a two-run homer from Tyler Freeman in the fifth and an RBI single from Troy Johnston in the eighth.
"I thought the boys swung the bat well these three days in L.A. and just carried [us] over," Schaeffer said. "We're working one day at a time, I can't say it enough. One day at a time. It doesn't matter if we're in altitude or here. [I’m] looking forward to getting after the Brewers after the off-day."
For the players, hitting the milestone of consecutive series wins gives the clubhouse a real confidence boost. With the team headed to Milwaukee next, the focus remains squarely on maintaining that upward trajectory.
"Win more baseball games. I think we all want to do that," catcher Hunter Goodman said regarding his goals for the rest of the season. "I think we're headed in the right direction. The last two series have been really good, and hopefully we can keep this momentum going."