Arenado, Story go deep, but Rox arms hit hard

HOUSTON -- It’s not that the Rockies need a reminder of how much work there is to do before they can consider themselves a bona fide contender, but their brief two-game Interleague swing through Houston this week did serve as a gentle refresher course in what they hope to become sooner than later.

The Rockies lost big to the Astros in Wednesday’s series finale, 14-3. The game, while a dud, did spark some symbolism from a larger-picture view, though. On one hand, starting pitcher Peter Lambert, a former high Draft pick who is still in the early development stages as a Major Leaguer, endured misfortune after misfortune during his three-plus innings, against a lineup that is arguably the best in the American League.

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On the other hand, several stalwarts in the Rockies’ lineup reached modest milestones over the course of the game. Trevor Story, playing in his 500th career game, logged the 114th homer of his career. That home run total is higher than that of any other shortstop in history -- including Alex Rodriguez (103), Nomar Garciaparra (101) and Ernie Banks (100) -- in as few as 500 games.

Meanwhile, Nolan Arenado launched his 25th homer of the year with a solo shot off Gerrit Cole in the fourth inning, making this his fifth season with 25 or more home runs. Arenado joined Todd Helton, Vinny Castilla, Carlos Gonzalez, Larry Walker and Dante Bichette as the only Rockies to reach that five-year benchmark.

There’s an obvious conclusion to draw: The Rockies’ pitching is not giving the offense much of a chance to let good performances translate into wins, and the club will have to figure out a way to elevate the pitching to the level of a solid lineup that features four All-Stars at the top. They need to better balance the lopsided nature of their roster. Their past month of play suggests that this could be a long-term aspiration.

Rockies pitchers -- all rookies -- walked nine Houston batters. Four came from Lambert. The 14 runs allowed were the most the Rockies have ever allowed at Minute Maid Park since it opened in 2000.

"Three rookie pitchers trying to maybe do a little bit too much or be a little bit too fine," manager Bud Black said. "I think you saw the results of that -- nine walks. That's tough to do against this lineup; it's tough to do in the big leagues. These fellas are learning. They're learning on the job and they'll soon learn that walks will always come back to haunt you."

The Rockies have lost 23 of their past 31 games dating back to June 30, and, entering Wednesday's contest, their bullpen had a 7.14 ERA since the All-Star break, the highest in baseball.

Starting pitching has also been an issue, though not quite on the same level as the ‘pen. And there was reason for optimism heading into Lambert’s outing Wednesday, considering the 22-year-old had a 3.63 ERA in four road starts this year.

But Lambert struggled from the beginning -- literally. Jose Altuve turned on Lambert’s first pitch of the game, a 92.6-mph fastball, and sent it 380 feet for a leadoff homer. Yuli Gurriel added a three-run shot later in the inning, and Lambert was eventually tagged with nine runs allowed. It matched his shortest outing of the year.

“Going up against a team like that, you've got to get ahead, and [you] can't allow free baserunners," Lambert said. "A bad one like this, you just have to leave it in the past and go day by day. We'll get them next time."

Black said that he spoke briefly with Lambert after he exited the game and they'll have more conversations moving forward. Black understands where his young pitchers are in terms of development, and he also knows patience is one of the key factors in helping push a player to the next level.

"We're seeing a number of young guys -- even Kyle [Freeland] and German [Marquez] and some guys that are in their third year -- they're still learning," Black said. "You look at pitchers on the other side, you look at their experience and look at our guys two or three years from now. It should be a different story.

"Specifically today, some of our young guys had a tough go. But they're learning. And they'll continue to get better."