ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The last thing the sliding Rockies needed Tuesday night was to face Blake Snell, the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner.
And it sure didn’t help that Kyle Freeland, on the verge of establishing himself as an ace in his own right, suffered a giant first-inning hiccup from which the Rockies never recovered.
The result was a disheartening 4-0 loss to Tampa Bay in which Snell pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits and tying a career-high with 13 strikeouts.
The Rockies — losers of four straight after a 2-0 start to open their season — didn’t get their first hit off Snell until Trevor Story punched a single to right field to open the fifth.