On Saturday night, playing the cellar-dwelling Reds and still trying to establish momentum at Coors Field, the Rockies unleashed a few effective strokes to erase deficits and put themselves in position to win, with a one-run lead, heading into the seventh inning.
Then it all fell apart.
Relievers Chris Rusin and Bryan Shaw imploded in the inning as Colorado threw 17 pitches and allowed three runs before even recording an out. That meant a 4-3 lead had flipped into a 6-4 deficit and placed the pressure back on the Rockies’ offense.
The Rockies nearly rose to the task of another comeback, chipping away with one run in the eighth to make it 6-5 before loading the bases with no outs in the ninth.