Kinley's night takes turn on homer in 11th

DENVER -- On a Saturday night that ended with a 5-2 loss in 11 innings to the Angels that will make it just a little harder to escape their current predicament and climb into the playoffs, can the Rockies feel confident in their key relief pitchers?

Of course, all this bullpen talk would be a much happier subject had Trevor Story and Nolan Arenado come through in the bottom of the 10th. With the automatic runner at third base with one out, Story took a called third strike from Ty Buttrey and Arenado grounded out. That made it five times this series Arenado failed to deliver with a runner in scoring position.

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Because the Rockies couldn’t get that key hit, righty reliever Tyler Kinley suffered a cruel fate.

Kinley struck out two with the Angels’ automatic runner at third to put down the 10th. But after the Rockies didn’t score in the bottom of the inning, Kinley had to throw 18 more pitches in the 11th. With two out and two on, Kinley hung a slider that rookie first baseman Jared Walsh powered into the right-field stands. Instead of the Rockies celebrating a win, Walsh celebrated his fourth straight game with a homer, and Colorado (21-24) saw its attempt to pull into the eight-team National League playoff field become that much harder.

But if it’s going to happen, Rockies’ relievers will have to perform. And except for one pitch, they did on Saturday in relief of starter Kyle Freeland -- who held the Angels to two runs and four hits, with four strikeouts, in six innings.

“The guys that we have have the caliber to shut good teams down,” said Freeland, who is tied with the Cubs’ Yu Darvish for the NL lead with eight quality starts.

As the 2017 and ‘18 seasons became fights for postseason berths, Rockies manager Bud Black zeroed in on the correct relievers to use in tight games or while protecting leads. That process has been mercurial this year, with injuries and slumps making dependability a moving target. Maybe from the rubble of Saturday’s loss, Black can pull a set of relievers who can be trusted in similarly tight games.

“They’ve got to be,” Black said. “It’s going to take all of them.”

Here’s what the Rockies can draw upon:

• Righty Yency Almonte kept being a keeper on Saturday. While breaking into the Majors the last two years, he showed an effective slider but was often inconsistent with his other deliveries. However, with two out in the seventh and runners at second and third, he used a changeup -- a pitch he gained belief in this season -- to force a grounder from Anthony Rendon. It was his sixth straight scoreless outing.

• Carlos Estévez had given up 10 runs in his last 3 2/3 innings to wreck the numbers of a season that has been solid overall. Refusing to go away from him, Black turned to him in the eighth. Estévez yelled in frustration after giving up a one-out single through an uncovered area to Justin Upton. But then Estévez vanquished Max Stassi and Jo Adell on strikeouts and truly seemed back to form.

“That was a big situation for Carlos, and he responded, so hopefully this gives him a little momentum and confidence moving forward,” Black said. “We need Carlos. He’s coming off a big year last year and getting off to a good start this year in the first 40-plus games, and having a little bit of rockiness here the last few.

“But you know that's expected. If you're pitching anywhere from around 25 games in 60-game season, they’re not always going to be great. It was a step in the right direction.”

• Daniel Bard, whose return from a hiatus since 2012 has been one of the year’s biggest stories, bounced back with a scoreless ninth after giving up a home run in the ninth on Friday night. Then again, the so-called “yips” that halted the first stages of his career are no longer feared.

It looked as if Kinley was losing his opportunity to pitch in key moments when he struggled over a four-game stretch, but two scoreless innings at San Diego in a tight game on Wednesday seemed to correct his form. He was strong until the Walsh homer. He had fanned two and walked one in the 11th.

The Rockies will have to trust a couple of other veterans who didn't see action on Saturday.

Mychal Givens, obtained from the Orioles at the Trade Deadline, has given up runs in three of his six appearances with the Rockies, including two homers.

And Wade Davis, the closer before a right right rotator cuff strain forced him to the injured list a week into the season, was activated Saturday. It’s not clear what his immediate role will be, but the expectation is he will pitch his way into prominence.

Of course, the Rockies could do more to make these games less tight. On Saturday, the Rockies’ only hits were six singles. It was just the second time in franchise history they have been held to six singles or fewer without an extra-base hit in an extra-inning game at Coors Field. The inability to pull things together at home -- they’ve dropped 11 of their last 16 -- threatens to erase any gain in any area, like the bullpen or even Freeland.

“It’s never easy when you lose a ballgame late in the game or extra innings on something that could have easily fallen your way,” Freeland said.