Rotation challenges persist for Rockies

DENVER -- “It’s been rocky.”

Rockies manager Bud Black was referring to left-hander Austin Gomber’s recent struggles, which resumed on Thursday afternoon after a strong outing to begin August. Gomber went three innings and gave up five runs in a 9-1 loss to the Mets at Coors Field.

• Márquez out for rest of year with elbow issue

But Black could just as easily have used the phrase to describe the travails of his starting rotation in 2024.

Between injuries and underperformance, with some glimpses of hope sprinkled in, Colorado’s starting staff has an MLB-worst 5.50 ERA.

There have been many tough days for Rockies starters in 2024, but Thursday was one of the toughest.

Right-hander Germán Márquez, who made only one start this year after Tommy John surgery in 2023, was shut down from baseball activities due to a stress reaction in his right elbow.

Shortly after that news broke, Gomber stumbled in the first inning, giving up four doubles and a 471-foot homer by Pete Alonso. Alonso went deep again against Gomber in the third.

Gomber gave way to a taxed Rockies bullpen that could do little to stem the tide. In the fifth, Mark Vientos added a two-run homer off reliever Peter Lambert -- who himself had to leave the game due to injury -- and the Mets added two more in the eighth on a Francisco Lindor single and a Jose Iglesias sacrifice fly.

The theme of the day for the Rockies was pitching, and not in a welcome way.

The Rockies were without Márquez and fellow right-hander Antonio Senzatela (who also had Tommy John surgery last year) to open this season. Kyle Freeland missed more than two months due to an elbow injury.

The club has relied heavily on Cal Quantrill, Gomber and Ryan Feltner. But Feltner went to the injured list on Thursday with right shoulder and lat soreness.

If there’s anyone who can speak on the subject of pitching in the altitude of Denver and navigating a rocky terrain filled with injuries and struggles on the mound, it’s Freeland.

The homegrown Rockies southpaw and Denver native has seen all the highs and lows for this club’s pitching staff since making his MLB debut in 2017. He finished fourth in National League Cy Young Award voting the following year before the troubles began -- both for himself and the Rockies following back-to-back postseason appearances.

“Pitching at Coors Field, obviously, we’re the only team that has to deal with altitude like this,” Freeland said. “From a pitching standpoint, it makes it really hard. You’ve got to find your own path of what combination of stuff is going to allow you to have your best success here.”

There has been some success at Coors, to be sure -- even amid the tumult. Prior to his outing Thursday, Gomber owned a 3.64 ERA at Coors Field this season. Freeland has pitched to a 2.51 ERA in five starts at Coors this year. Quantrill’s ERA at Coors Field in his first season with the Rockies is 3.29.

But the challenge of Coors, with its altitude and cavernous outfield, remains. And let’s not forget about the challenge of pitching on the road on any given day.

Freeland says that there are some keys for pushing through the adversity.

“Every guy is different,” he said. “That’s where, us bouncing ideas and thoughts off each other and talking about what we do here at Coors Field, specifically, is going to help one another.

“It’s just the consistency of talking about it. Because we are the only ones that have to deal with this.”

The Rockies have seen what Marquez, Freeland, Senzatela and Gomber can do when they’re at their best. The trouble has been that, whether through injury or rough stretches, they haven’t all clicked at the same time.

Perhaps it’s the hope that they will someday that keeps them going. And, as Freeland said, talking about it helps.

How often?

“Frequently,” Freeland said with a knowing, if somewhat weary, smile. “Frequently.”