The Rockies dodged disgrace Tuesday at the most pleasant ballpark in America when Trevor Story’s soft single landed on the San Diego grass in left field. With one out in the eighth inning, Story snubbed Padres pitcher Jordan Lyles in his run toward a perfect game.
But the shame is still pending for a Rockies lineup sliding further into stupor. In a 4-0 loss, its fifth defeat in seven games, Colorado managed one hit and three total baserunners against the last-place Padres. They struck out 13 times. Just two days ago, in an ugly loss to the Brewers and their 21-year-old rookie pitcher, Freddy Peralta, at Coors Field, the Rockies struck out 15 times.
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The Rockies are quickly solidifying their standing among the worst-hitting teams in the majors. In the past week, they have averaged just 3.6 runs per game — and five of those games were played at hitter-friendly Coors Field.
Lyles, the lofty right-hander unceremoniously dismissed by the Rockies less than a year ago, dominated his former team in baseball’s most unlikely bid for perfection in recent memory. He threw just 71 pitches through seven perfect innings. He needed just nine pitches in the first inning, seven in the sixth and nine more in the seventh.
The curveball was Lyles’ most effective pitch, inducing eight swinging strikes. Through seven innings, the Rockies only pushed two balls past the infield — David Dahl flied out softly to center in the fourth and Gerardo Parra did the same to left field in the seventh.
“No doubt, he was on, for sure,” Rockies manager Bud Black said of Lyles. “We couldn’t handle the breaking ball as the game went on. We just couldn’t get to him.”
When the Rockies designated Lyles for assignment late last July, he had been demoted to a low-leverage long reliever, a former starter who lost his way at altitude. “He’ll be the first to tell you his performance was not where it needed to be,” Black said then.
Lyles soon found a place with the Padres. But even at pitcher-friendly Petco Park, Lyles was winless in 17 games, with a 4.59 career ERA. And only twice before in an eight-year career had Lyles worked six-plus innings without a run, let alone a baserunner.
Nothing in his past performances suggested Lyles might be capable of pitching the first perfect game since Seattle’s Felix Hernandez accomplished that feat against Tampa Bay in 2012.
Not since Madison Bumgarner worked seven perfect innings against them in 2014 had Rockies hitters been so fruitless. And only three pitchers ever got through six perfect innings against Colorado: Bumgarner in 2014, Clayton Kershaw in 2014 and Tom Glavine with the Mets in 2004.
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Lyles outdid them all. He struck out Carlos Gonzalez on five pitches to open the eighth inning. His cut fastball to Story, an excellent pitch on the outside corner, was the only hit he allowed. And after Lyles walked Pat Valaika, San Diego manager Andy Green let him walk to the dugout for a standing ovation.
The Rockies did not make Lyles’ job difficult. They swung at 23 pitches outside the strike zone.
“He was attacking,” Story said. “He was getting ahead early, putting us behind quick. He had good stuff.
The Rockies’ day-game lineup included three batters hitting south of the Mendoza Line (Valaika .115, Tony Wolters .138 and Daniel Castro .148). Their cleanup hitter, Gonzalez, is hitting .219. They collectively went 0-for-10 at the plate with five strikeouts.
With two on and two outs in the eighth, Black used Charlie Blackmon as a pinch hitter. Blackmon had been given a planned day off for rest. He was called into duty with a victory still in reach and walked.
But pinch-hitter Ian Desmond, hitting .171, flied out to center with the bases loaded.
The Rockies remain, incredibly, three games above .500 and just two games out of first place behind the Diamondbacks, before their late game Tuesday night. But Colorado is swinging more like bottom-feeders.
Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images