Despite bullpen struggles, Suter urges Rox to 'keep going'

BALTIMORE -- Rockies left-hander Brent Suter turns 34 on Tuesday, which means he has endured good times and tough ones. Some fellow relievers didn’t have the catalog of experience to deal with the current run of late losses, so he was a good guy to gather his mates Friday afternoon for a motivational talk.

“And then I go and do that,” Suter said at the end of the night.

The “that” he was referring to was a hanging slider that Gunnar Henderson clobbered for a go-ahead homer to send the Rockies to yet another late loss -- and into some ignominious history, 5-4, at Camden Yards.

The Rockies have not only lost five straight, but they’ve gone into the eighth inning either in the lead or tied in all of them. It’s the first time they’ve had such a five-game streak in their 31 seasons, and they became the first team to bear such a five-game disappointment since the Montreal Expos from May 26-30, 1970.

Much recent pain has befallen Justin Lawrence, who has five blown saves in his last 10 appearances in his first year as a Major League closer. The bullpen is full of lesser-experienced guys who are taking their lumps.

But experienced relievers have had their issues, like Daniel Bard (15.95 ERA in his last 10 outings). Suter, with a big-game past with the Brewers and generally solid work all season, is considered such a beacon that the Rockies plan to retain him after he becomes a free agent at season’s end.

But even beacons blink.

Suter, who issued a one-out walk to Austin Hays before the homer, has absorbed three straight losses. Until this stretch, he had not taken consecutive relief losses in his career, and had done so just once as a starter.

“I took the ball, I guess, but it wasn’t the type of leadership I wanted to exhibit between the lines, I guess,” said Suter, who, despite his poor stretch, has a 3.36 ERA. “But we’re a group that’s been wanting the ball, taking the ball all year. I love this bullpen group, inside and out. I just feel like, as one of the veteran leaders out there, I’ve got to step up my game.”

Manager Bud Black is two games shy of 1,000 since taking over the Rockies in 2017. He had two postseason trips, but now is all-in with the pain of rebuilding the roster, feeding experience to youth and, yes, trying to turn blunt-force losses into toughness that leads to wins.

To have losses that take the cake, a team has to have the sweet treat in the first place.

Friday, Kyle Freeland gave up two first-inning runs but lasted six, with eight scattered hits, and left with a 4-3 lead. Rookie Ezequiel Tovar gave the Rockies the lead in the fifth with an opposite-gap two-run shot. His 15 homers are fifth-most for a rookie in club history.

Yet, the night ended in pain.

“Like I said the other day, they’ll test you,” Black said. “They’ll test the resolve. They want to win. Everybody’s competitive. These are tough. Nobody feels worse tonight than Brent, and the other night Lawrence.

“These are moments where you grasp the understanding of what this means. In a way, it’s good stuff, and it helps you win games in the future.”

Black’s positive demeanor is there for guys like Suter, who felt the responsibility of a contest that pushed the 48-80 Rockies a game closer to the 100-loss mark -- something the franchise has never experienced.

But you keep going.

So after giving fellow relievers encouraging words before the game, Suter stood before the team afterward.

“As a bullpen, we’ve struggled, for sure, and I’ve been right in the middle of that,” Suter said. “It’s heavy. I said something to the guys after the game -- just apologized and let them know I appreciate the love. We all appreciate the love they’re giving us. We’ve all banded together through tough times.”

There is only one way to rebound.

“Keep going,” Suter said. “Keep taking the ball. There’s honor because you went out and gave it your all. I didn’t have good stuff tonight. That wasn’t good enough tonight. That doesn’t change the fact I went out there and tried to do my job.

“I tried to do my best, and ended up with a warning track flyout, walk, home run -- just bad results. So that’s my message to the guys: 'Let’s keep getting better. Let’s keep taking the ball, wanting the ball.'”