The Colorado Rockies had a win within their grasp in Atlanta yesterday, but a late-inning defensive head-scratcher let the Braves snatch a 2-1 victory. Talk about a gut punch when your pitching staff performs like absolute studs for seven innings and still takes the L.
Agnos & Co. Came to Play!
Can we just talk about Zach Agnos for a second? Dude got the call right before first pitch to start in place of an ill Ryan Feltner. Agnos hadn’t started since June, and he just threw two innings in relief three days ago. But he stepped up big time, reminiscent of his first career start. He tossed 42 pitches over 2.2 innings, allowed only two hits, walked one, and struck out one. That’s a solid emergency outing!
Then Nick Frasso came in and threw 1.1 hitless innings, with a walk and a strikeout of his own. Brennan Bernardino followed that up with a quick 1-2-3 fifth on just nine pitches. Jimmy Herget pitched 1.2 innings, giving up only one hit and grabbing a strikeout, even though his outing got wild when home plate umpire Ron Kulpa took a backswing to the mask and had to leave as a precaution. After a 13-minute delay, Herget hit Ozzie Albies, putting men on first and second, but Mike Yastrzemski grounded out to end the threat. Manager Warren Schaeffer nailed it after the game, saying the pitchers were “awesome” and “exceptional,” adding, “Every guy left it all out there.” You just love to see that fight from the mound!
Offense Scratches Out a Run, But Not Enough
On the other side, Martín Pérez was dealing for Atlanta, entering the game with a ridiculous 22.1-inning scoreless streak at Truist Park. He almost finished his day adding to it, but the Rockies broke through in the sixth. Pérez lasted 5.2 innings, and that streak finally snapped at 27.2 innings thanks to Will Castro. Hunter Goodman walked, TJ Rumfield singled, and then Connor Norby walked to load the bases. Castro then singled to score Goodman, giving the Rockies their lone run! Rumfield, though, was held up at third because of his speed. Schaeffer admitted, “His changeup was really good, and our right-handed hitters had no response for it today. We couldn’t make an adjustment to that.” He also pointed out the obvious: “It’s just tough to win a 1-0 ballgame.” Brent Suter came in to relieve Pérez and got Mickey Moniak to ground out, ending the rally.
It’s a tough pill to swallow when your guys pitch so well, you scratch across a run, and then that “late-inning weird outfield defense” mentioned in the recap lets the other team steal the game, 2-1. This team fought hard, but sometimes baseball just throws you a curveball you can’t hit, even when your pitchers are absolute beasts.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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