Hudson and Lambert limit Brewers, but bats quiet throughout

DENVER -- If there was such a thing as a "combined quality start," the Rockies would have notched one Wednesday night, with starter Dakota Hudson and the freshly recalled Peter Lambert combining for nine innings of three-run ball. But Brewers starter Colin Rea threw seven shutout innings on his own and was backed by a bullpen that sealed the 3-0 blanking on Blake Street.

A quality start requires more distance than Hudson could muster, needing 90 pitches to get through 4 2/3 innings. He allowed three runs, all earned, on seven hits and three walks, and the fifth frame proved to be his undoing. He gave up a pair of one-out singles, then walked the bases loaded. He was able to get Willy Adames looking for the second out, but then he walked Garrett Mitchell on four pitches to send the third run of the game home.

“I wasn't able to get as deep as I'd like,” Hudson said, noting some inefficiency on his part, somewhat caused by a lineup that made him throw a lot of pitches. “It’s a little of both. They had quite a few foul-offs. Peter came in and was able to really do a great job and put our bullpen in a good position to be able to win tomorrow.”

Lambert was sharp in relief, finishing the remaining 4 1/3 innings on a day he was scheduled to start for Triple-A Albuquerque. He allowed just two hits and walked no one while striking out two.

“The bullpen has had a long couple of days, starting with the 14-inning game on Sunday, so I knew that if I got into the game, I needed to give the bullpen length,” Lambert said.

His last appearance was June 2 in L.A., when he threw 2 2/3 scoreless innings against the Dodgers, and he picked up right where he left off. Manager Bud Black emphasized that Lambert didn’t have anything in particular he needed to work on in Triple-A, but simply needed to get innings, pitch, and polish his game. Lambert took advantage of the opportunity.

“There's always something you can work on, especially as a pitcher,” Lambert said of his time with Albuquerque. “You can never be perfect. I got some quality work in down there, built some confidence. I cleaned up a few things on my delivery, and I felt great tonight.”

Black credited Hudson for the way he “hung in there,” and he was especially pleased with the quality finish from Lambert.

“Peter was outstanding,” Black said. “Just the two hits, and the 4 1/3, threw a ton of strikes, very efficient. Pitched with his fastball, changeup was good. Peter was excellent.”

Christian Yelich blasted a 446-foot solo shot to right with two outs in the first frame, the first of several pieces of evidence he displayed to back up his freshly minted All-Star starter status for the Midsummer Classic.

The Rockies’ best offensive threat came with two outs in the eighth, when Charlie Blackmon drew a walk and Brendan Rodgers singled to make him 2-for-4 on the day. Ryan McMahon drove the ball to the warning track, but Yelich was there, running it down with his glove outstretched to end the inning and the Rockies' last best hope.

“I was just hoping I got enough of it to get past him,” McMahon said of his thoughts as the ball left the bat. “I clipped it a little bit, but still got some pretty good wood on it, so I was hoping I got it past him."

The game was typical of too many Rockies losses, when key elements like pitching and defense show up, but the bats go silent. The combinations vary from night to night, but it’s been too rare for the Rockies to have all aspects of their game in play.

“We didn't generate anything,” Black said of the lack of offense on a night when the pitching was good enough to win. “We had [eight] hits, Mac hit a ball on the nose, but Yelich was playing deep and made a good play. That was really our biggest opportunity. We just didn't threaten.”

Colorado never had more than one batter reach base in an inning until the eighth.

“We couldn't bunch [the hits] together,” Black said. “That's been a little bit of our history of the entire season, our run production.”

The Rockies hope to provide some fireworks from the lineup as they seek to salvage a series split Thursday.