Season ends quietly as Rockies fall in Game 3
DENVER -- The bats that disappeared on the road during the week didn't turn up at Coors Field on a chilly Sunday afternoon, either. And a promising Rockies season is over.The Rockies managed few chances and were shut out for the second straight game as the Brewers completed a three-game
DENVER -- The bats that disappeared on the road during the week didn't turn up at Coors Field on a chilly Sunday afternoon, either. And a promising Rockies season is over.
The Rockies managed few chances and were shut out for the second straight game as the Brewers completed a three-game sweep of the National League Division Series, 6-0, before a sellout crowd of 49,658.
:: NLDS schedule and results ::
It was just the third shutout of the Rockies at Coors Field this season, supplying an ending befitting a punchless week. In a 5-2 NL West tiebreaking loss to the Dodgers last Monday, a 2-1 win over the Cubs in 13 innings in the NL Wild Card Game and three games against the Brewers -- who head to the NL Championship Series on an 11-game win streak -- the Rockies scored a total of six runs.
While the Rockies can celebrate 2018 as the first time the team made postseason trips in consecutive years -- they played in the NL Wild Card Game last year -- the quick exit means there is work to do.
"They [the Brewers] pitched really well," Rockies manager Bud Black said. "They've got good arms. I think there was a little bit of pressing going on all week. These were games that were high intensity and a lot on the line. You know, the Dodger game, the Cubs game, these three playoff games. I think there were some guys trying a little bit too hard, which is a natural occurrence."
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But with the season on the line, the Rockies managed four hits -- and made dubious history. In their 26-season history, they had never been blanked in consecutive games when one of them was played at Coors.
Headliner
"You gotta give credit to the Brewers, also," Arenado said. "Good pitching. Other than that, we just didn't have good at-bats. Sometimes you go through stretches where you just can't get anything going. Early in the year, we had that, where our pitchers were pitching really well, and our offense couldn't get going. It was like that, just at the wrong time."
Leadoff man Charlie Blackmon, who managed a couple of well-struck balls, was 0-for-4 on Sunday and 1-for-12 for the series.
Blackmon, who has dealt with the Rockies' at times extreme peaks and valleys (and is signed through 2021), said performance in big at-bats is an area for improvement.
"It's one thing to play a six-month season and be a good player; it's another thing to have to get the hit right now or you lose and you go home," Blackmon said. "It's a little different mentality when you play that one-game playoff or you make it to the Division Series and every game is so important.
"We need to bring that into the regular season, and make those leveraged at-bats really count."
It was supposed to change when the Rockies left the road. They put two on base in the second, on Story's leadoff single and
The Brewers scored twice in an odd sixth against
Sunday's defeat left the crowd and the players disappointed, but veteran first baseman Desmond noted that a setback day can't erase the forward step the team took.
"We grinded as a collective group better, and ultimately we made it one step further," Desmond said. "There are a lot of guys in this locker room who are 2-for-2 in postseason appearances. That is not the ultimate goal. That's to win the World Series. But it's not a bad thing for guys to know that we're good enough to make it to the postseason."
SOUND SMART
Marquez made his start at 23 years and 227 days of age. The only younger Rockies pitcher to make a postseason start was lefty
"That's my approach every time I go out, give the team a chance to win and keeping the game close," Marquez said in Spanish, with first-base coach Tony Diaz translating. "That's what I did tonight. Unfortunately, we came up short.
"You've got to tip your cap to the Brewers' pitching staff. Our offense is really good, and they shut us down. That happens."
WAS THIS GOODBYE?
In the first inning, LeMahieu ranged to his left to grab
LeMahieu, who added the double and a walk to his day, said the idea that his time in purple pinstripes could be over hit him emotionally.
"It's been an unbelievable experience, just couldn't be more thankful for being a Rockie, for my time since I've been called up," LeMahieu said. "It's easy to do with the group we have. Such an unselfish group.
"The fact that we were eight games out in June, and everyone was getting questions about what's going to happen if everyone gets traded -- to end where we did, it was pretty cool how we played the second half."
LeMahieu isn't the only one facing free agency.
Gonzalez was a free agent last year, but he re-signed during Spring Training. Now he faces free agency again.
"This is a place that I know over the years, and I feel really proud of every single opportunity I've had in this organization, and we'll see what happens in the end."
Additionally, righty reliever
HE SAID IT
"This has been a big learning experience. I think I had a solid year. I think the way people approach me and talk to me, it feels like it's been a down year. I guess the bad games I've had, they've been in crucial situations. That part hurts. But I played in 150 games -- that's my goal every year. I drove in 100. I'm very thankful for the year I had. It's hard to sit here and complain about the year I had. I wish I was better in certain situations, and I wish I was better here in October, but that's the part of the game you learn." -- Arenado
Thomas Harding has covered the Rockies since 2000, and for MLB.com since 2002. Follow him on Twitter @harding_at_mlb, listen to podcasts and like his Facebook page.