Colorado lost 7-6 to the Dodgers on Tuesday night, a game that turned on a fourth inning in which Ryan Feltner spent without one of his best pitches, and the Rockies spent the next five innings nearly climbing out of it.
Feltner allowed seven runs on eight hits over five innings, his second-highest total of the season. The changeup was excellent — he generated nine whiffs on 15 swings — but everything with spin on it betrayed him.
“Changeup was good. Spin didn’t feel right,” Feltner said.
Asked whether he considered sticking with the breaking ball until it came around, he was blunt about the alternative.
“You just try to find spots to use it appropriately where you won’t get hurt with it and try to get the feel back. I wasn’t really able to do that tonight.”
Warren Schaeffer saw the same thing, and saw the Dodgers see it too.
“Not a lot of feel for the spin today, and I think you saw that in the fourth inning,” the manager said. “They jumped on him early, probably knowing that, seeing that in the early part of the game. I thought he competed well, probably without all of his weapons.”
Los Angeles doubled three times in that fourth inning alone, Tommy Edman, Kyle Tucker, and Teoscar Hernández in succession, and turned a 3-3 game into a 6-3 lead.
Shohei Ohtani had already provided the other damage, a 448-foot two-run homer in the third — his 30th of the season and his third of the series. He has now hit safely in 22 straight games at Coors Field.
What kept the night alive was everything after Feltner. Parker Mushinski, Jimmy Herget, Zach Agnos, and Jordan Romano combined for four scoreless innings, allowing just two hits.
“The pen was really good,” Schaeffer said. “[Parker] Mushinski came in with a runner on in a tough spot, almost wiggled out, but limited the damage. Jimmy [Herget] was really good, and [Zach] Agnos was really good. [Jordan] Romano really good. Zeros all the way to the end.”
That gave the offense a chance it nearly took. Willi Castro homered in the fifth, walked in the eighth ahead of Zac Veen‘s pinch-hit RBI single, and singled home Jake McCarthy in the ninth to pull within one before Tanner Scott retired TJ Rumfield to end it.
“Willi’s consistent,” Schaeffer said. “He gives you strong at-bats pretty much day in and day out. He’s reliable, and that’s what you want out of a ball player. He can play all over the diamond, so it’s easy to get him in the lineup.”
Feltner’s frustration was less about his own line than the margin.
“That’s where my part is more frustrating, because we were within one run in the ninth inning,” he said. “Bullpen did a great job, and our offense always fights.”
Colorado had 10 hits, the same as Los Angeles. Cole Carrigg, TJ Rumfield, Connor Norby, and Jake McCarthy all doubled — Carrigg’s 13 doubles since July 1 are tied for the second-most in the majors, and Norby has reached base in all seven games since joining the club.
Earlier in the day, the Rockies placed Hunter Goodman on the injured list with a left shoulder strain, and recalled Braxton Fulford.
“We can’t wait any longer, especially at that position,” Schaeffer said. “Catcher, you only have two of them. We’re going to give Goody a week here, and he’ll be ready to go.”
The loss dropped Colorado to 50-76 and 16-17 in one-run games. Four of the last five against Los Angeles have been decided by a run or fewer.
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