DENVER -- The Phillies had high hopes for young right-hander Nick Pivetta entering this season, but following an 8.35 ERA over four starts, he was sent to Triple-A Lehigh Valley with the hope that he’ll return to Philadelphia's starting rotation soon. Meanwhile, the man slotted into Pivetta’s place made his first start of the season Sunday and only his second since 2017.

Jerad Eickhoff, who missed most of the 2017 and ‘18 seasons due to injury, held his own in his season debut until a three-run sixth inning put the game out of reach for the Phils in a 4-1 loss to the Rockies at Coors Field.

“He did everything we could’ve asked from him,” manager Gabe Kapler said.

Eickhoff worked his way into and out of trouble, utilizing a good curveball to strike out eight over six innings. But he also walked four, including two that ended up scoring in the sixth. In all, he gave up four runs on seven hits.

“I felt really good,” Eickhoff said. “It’s obviously different getting into the sixth inning for the first time in a while [Aug. 9, 2017 at Atlanta]. I was just missing there in that inning a little bit, which forced me to be behind [in the count] a little bit. I really keyholed myself, and they were able to put some really good swings on some good pitches.”

Trevor Story's single in the third inning put the Rockies up, 1-0. Ian Desmond's single and Tony Wolters' double led to a big sixth that proved too much for the Phillies to overcome against right-hander Jon Gray, who held Philadelphia to one hit over six innings.

Seven of Eickhoff’s strikeouts came on the curveball, which was effective despite the altitude of Denver. Five were swinging and two were looking. He mixed in 16 sliders to go with 42 four-seam fastballs and 33 curveballs.

“I think so,” Eickhoff said when asked if he felt his curveball is back to what it once was. “The speed is a tick slower at times, but that’s just time. In time and innings, it’ll tick back up. But I’m really happy with the shape, especially here, given the altitude.”

Eickhoff began the season on the 10-day injured list with a right lat injury. He made his season debut out of the bullpen last Tuesday, throwing four scoreless innings with six strikeouts and no walks to close out a 14-3 win over the Mets at Citizens Bank Park.

The Phils hope Eickhoff can provide stability at the back of the rotation, particularly after Jake Arrieta, Zach Eflin and Vince Velasquez have opened the season strong and ace Aaron Nola showed improvement in Saturday’s 8-5 victory over the Rockies.

Overall, it was a trying series in Denver for Philadelphia. On Friday night, the Phillies suffered a stunning 4-3, 12-inning loss after taking a lead into the bottom of the 12th, a defeat that Kapler described as “a crushing blow.” And things worsened on the injury front, with Scott Kingery, Jean Segura and Victor Arano all landing on the injured list, joining Odubel Herrera, who strained his right hamstring before the series began.

Despite the adversity, the club rebounded from Friday’s loss with a satisfying victory before falling short again Sunday. Still, Kapler didn’t consider the difficulties a mitigating factor as Philadelphia’s record dropped to 5-7 since a 7-2 start to the season.

“I think we could’ve played better,” he said.

In what could be a four-team National League East race, they’ll need to. With a return to health of key contributors, as well as reliability from the back of their rotation, the new-look Phils aim to meet those higher expectations in 2019.