What we learned during the Rockies' opening homestand of the second half

DENVER — The Colorado Rockies dropped both series in the opening homestand of the second half, losing two of three to both the Cincinnati Reds and the Washington Nationals at Coors Field. Colorado (41-63) needs to go 22-36 over its final 58 games to avoid a fourth straight 100-loss season.

Here’s what we learned from this homestand as the Rockies hit the road for three games in Milwaukee, which sits in first place in the National League Central, and two games at San Diego.

Gabriel Hughes should get an extended look

After getting his first big-league start prior to the break, six innings of three-run ball at Dodger Stadium on July 8, Hughes made his first two career starts at Coors Field this homestand and looked solid. The rookie right-hander, whom the Rockies selected at No. 10 overall in 2022 and underwent Tommy John surgery in ’23, allowed two runs in five-plus innings against the Reds on July 17, followed by five innings of one-run ball on Wednesday against the Nationals.

For a franchise desperate for rotational depth, the Rockies need to keep Hughes in the rotation the rest of the year to see if the rookie can be part of the team’s long-term pitching solution.

“He’s pitching great,” Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer said. “He’s giving us a chance to win, attacking with his heater, throwing strikes, good body language, good poise, getting the breaking ball for punchouts, good changeup. He did it all (Wednesday) and gave us a really good shot to win this game.”

On Wednesday, Hughes battled through several key moments where his outing could’ve gone off the rails. His combination of a low-90s fastball, a mid-80s changeup and high-70s curveball was effective. He had five strikeouts, and his 18 K’s through the first three starts of his career are tied for the second-most in franchise history for a rookie.

“You get to 2-2 and 3-2, and that’s when you get (multiple) foul balls and suddenly you’re at an 8-, 9-pitch at-bat,” Hughes said. “That’s when you really find out what you’ve got and what you have in the tank. There was an 11-pitch at-bat in there. You’ve got to dig deep and get the out, and I was able to do that today.”

Rubber matches remain rough for Colorado

Following Wednesday’s 8-0 defeat that was highlighted by an ugly seventh inning in which the Nationals plated six runs and got help from a trio of errors by Mickey Moniak, Cole Carrigg and Brett Sullivan, Colorado dropped to 3-11 in rubber matches this season.

As those miscues underscored, the Rockies defense has been subpar this season. Entering Wednesday, the club had the fifth-most errors (62) in the NL. The Rockies’ .212 winning percentage in series-deciding games is the lowest in the majors, and in those missed clinchers, the Rockies have a -29 run differential. Wednesday’s seventh inning all but sealed the fate of the series, considering the Rockies are now 10-51 when behind after six innings.

“Sloppy, ridiculous, and the probably worst inning we’ve had all year defensively,” Schaeffer said of the seventh-inning meltdown. “That’s not us.”

Kyle Freeland’s recent trajectory

The Colorado native remains a Rockies workhorse, but the quality outings remain few and far between for a southpaw boasting a career-worst 7.28 ERA. Freeland has an MLB-leading nine losses, a year after pacing baseball with 17 losses.

In his outing against the Nationals on Monday, Freeland extended his streak of nine straight starts with at least five innings pitched. He allowed four runs over six innings while giving up two homers. The Thomas Jefferson alum was also at the center of a bases-clearing incident with the Nationals’ Andres Chaparro, after Freeland chirped at Chaparro for going over the edge of the mound as the designated hitter jogged off the field following a flyout. Freeland doesn’t have good stuff this season, but he’s still got his signature fire.

Can Hunter Goodman set a Rockies record?

Home run machine Hunter Goodman picked up the second half right where he left off prior to the break and his second straight appearance in the Midsummer Classic.

The catcher blasted three homers in last Sunday’s 9-6 loss to the Reds, Goodman’s second time with three bombs this season as he also accomplished the feat on June 27 in Minnesota. With that, Goodman became the fourth Rockies player with multiple three-homer games in a career, joining Larry Walker, Todd Helton and Carlos González, and the fourth-fastest Colorado hitter to reach 30 homers in a season.

Goodman followed Sunday up with a go-ahead homer in the eighth inning on Tuesday in the 8-7 win over Washington, his third go-ahead homer in the eighth inning or later this season. Goodman’s 11 homers in the seventh inning or later lead the majors. The way Goodman is mashing, the Rockies’ single-season home run record — 49, by Walker in 1997 and Helton in 2001 — could be within reach.

“You don’t see very many catchers in the game doing what he’s doing,” outfielder Mickey Moniak said. “You’ve got Cal Raleigh, Hunter Goodman, William Contreras, Will Smith — that’s the top.”

Monitoring the bullpen’s performance

The Rockies’ bullpen was hit-and-miss during the 2-4 homestand.

For Colorado to avoid becoming the fifth franchise in MLB history to lose 100-plus games four seasons in a row, the bullpen will need to pitch better than the 4.87 ERA it possessed entering Wednesday’s finale. That mark ranks second-worst in the NL, better than only the Nationals (5.13).

On Wednesday, right-handers Jimmy Herget and Zach Agnos combined to yield seven runs (five earned) over three innings. And on a trade deadline note, right-hander Antonio Senzatela’s market value has fallen over the last month. He had a 1.36 ERA at the end of May, but has posted a 7.94 ERA across June and July. That includes giving up a two-run homer in one inning of work in Monday’s loss.

Herget, who has an 8.59 ERA in 8 games in July, was blunt in his assessment of his performance on Wednesday.

“I was absolutely terrible,” Herget said. “I’ve had some spots this year where I’ve been really, really good, but this run has been pretty brutal. The season’s a roller-coaster … We have very capable relievers, we’re just in a little rut right now.”

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