Eli Whitney | July 17, 2026
The Rockies opened the second half the way too many of their first-half nights ended – on the wrong side of a one-sided score. Cincinnati pulled away late with four home runs, two of them from Spencer Steer, to hand Colorado a 7-2 loss Friday at Coors Field. But the result obscured the night’s real story: another poised, promising start from Gabriel Hughes.
Making his second career start and his first at Coors Field, Hughes gave up a run in the first – Elly De La Cruz singled, and Sal Stewart doubled him home before the rookie recorded an out – then settled in impressively. He worked into the sixth inning, finishing with 5.1 innings, two earned runs, six strikeouts, and two walks. Over his first two big league starts, Hughes has now piled up 13 strikeouts, tied with Chase Dollander for the second-most by a Rockie through two career starts.
“For his second big-league start, Gabe pitched really well,” manager Warren Schaeffer said. “The first two hitters scored a run, and then he settled in nicely. I don’t think he had his best stuff tonight, but he battled and put up four zeros after that.
Schaeffer has repeatedly pointed to the rookie’s poise and did so again.
“It’s a really difficult environment when you get to the big leagues, and for him to show that confidence out there in his first two starts, it’s a big deal.”
Hughes credited his comfort at altitude to his time in the high elevation of Triple-A Albuquerque.
“Coming from Albuquerque, which is at a higher elevation than Denver, I have a good idea of how my pitches move at elevation,” he said. “The L.A. outing was kind of the outlier – the only one I’ve pitched at sea level – so I felt comfortable knowing what the shapes were going to look like.”
He pointed to his developing sweeper as a work in progress that’s trending up, having generated a few strikeouts across his first two outings.
The Rockies’ bats, meanwhile, had no answer for Brady Singer. The Red right-hander retired the first 12 he faced before TJ Rumfield’s fifth-inning single and finished with seven innings of two-run ball, no walks.
“The slider-sweeper combo, we were chasing out of the zone quite a bit,” Schaeffer said. “When we made an adjustment, he was one step ahead and beat us with the heater. Singer was good, and we just had no answer.”
Colorado drew zero walks for the ninth time this season.
The game turned in the sixth. With the score tied 1-1, Steer launched a two-run homer off Jimmy Herget, and Eugenio Suárez followed with a solo shot – back-to-back blasts that put the Reds ahead for good. Steer added a second home run in the eighth and finished with three RBI, while De La Cruz capped the scoring with a 434-foot shot in the ninth and a 4-for-5 night.
Colorado’s lone highlights were a Willi Castro solo homer in the seventh – his eighth of the year, extending another quality night with two hits – and a spectacular defensive play from Tyler Freeman, whose throw from right nailed Sal Stewart at third.
“That was amazing. He saved me there.” Hughes said. “You watch it happen in front of you, and you’re like, oh my gosh, this is going to get an out.”
Schaeffer was just as effusive: “Right on the money.”
Castro’s steadiness drew praise from his manager, too.
“Willi’s been solid all year, consistent in what he brings,” Schaeffer said. “Switch-hitter, can play all the positions. You know what you’re going to get with Willi – solid defense and a good at-bat every time out.”
The loss dropped Colorado to 39-60 and 21 games below .500, a season low, but for a night defined by a rookie’s second audition, the Rockies left Coors with at least one arm worth building around.
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