Gone with the whiff.
The Rockies’ chance for a rare sweep in South Florida was scuttled by a 16-strikeout Sunday at loanDepot Park.
Let the record show that the Marlins won the game, 3-2, in 10 innings on second baseman Luis Arraez’s bases-loaded single in the 10th off right-hander Pierce Johnson.
The Rockies employed a five-man infield against Arraez, but the .379 hitter ripped the ball to right field for his third hit of the game. Johnson’s big mistake was not giving up the single to Arraez, but rather, issuing a one-out walk to No. 9 hitter Nick Fortes to load the bases and set Arraez up for success.
“It was a scenario that we obviously didn’t want to get to, but it happened,” manager Bud Black told reporters in Miami. “He’s a good hitter and it was a breaking ball down and he dug it out for a line-drive hit.”
The Marlins broke a season-high eight-game losing streak, winning for the first time since the All-Star break. Colorado is 5-3 since the break.
Despite all of the K’s, and despite going 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position and leaving nine men on base, Colorado pushed the game to extra innings thanks to Randal Grichuk.
Grichuk, who’s quietly put together a strong season, hit an explosive solo homer in the ninth off A.J. Puk, tying the game, 2-2. Grichuk, who won Saturday’s game with a single in the ninth, launched his homer 438 feet onto the concourse in left field.
Grichuk, who’s in the final year of his contract and is the subject of trade speculation, is hitting .302 with a .842 OPS. He’s hit five home runs in his last 17 games after hitting just one home run in his previous 41 games. The outfielder got a late start to the season after undergoing surgery to repair a sports hernia.
“Randal is a veteran player and his heart beats in the right spot,” Black said. “When you hit homers like he has in the past, even though they are down this year, there are two months left to the season for him to homer. I think there (are) more homers in there, moving forward.”
Marlins left-hander Jesus Luzardo dominated the Rockies for seven innings, striking out a career-high 13, although he needed 115 pitches to get there.
“Good secondary pitches, I think that was the thing,” Black said. “The guy’s got a really good fastball but the secondary pitches came into play today — the changeup and the slider. We just couldn’t get the bat to the ball enough times. Too much chase, too, with balls out of the strike zone and (chasing) the ball down.”
Luzardo gave up only four hits. His one mistake was serving up a two-out, solo homer to rookie center fielder Brenton Doyle in the fifth. But he made up for it by fanning Doyle with two men on base in the seventh for his final strikeout of the afternoon.
Colorado struck out 43 times in the three-game series but still managed to win the first two games. They were chasing their first three-game sweep at Miami since 2006.
Colorado utilized a bullpen game, with lefty Ty Blach serving as the opener. The Regis Jesuit graduate blanked the Marlins for three innings, giving up two hits, striking out two, and walking none. Blach had not pitched since July 1.
“It was good to be able to go out there and just be able to execute some pitches,” Blach told reporters. “The defensive made some good plays and I just tried to get as deep into the game as I could.”
The Marlins scratched out two runs in the sixth off right-hander Connor Seabold, the former starter who is now in the bullpen. Fortes singled to left and took second on Seabold’s wild pitch. Arraez, clearly the best young hitter in the game, doubled home Fortes, advanced to third on Jorge Soler’s single and scored the go-ahead run on Yuli Gurriel’s sacrifice fly to right.
Colorado begins a three-game series against the Nationals in Washington, D.C., on Monday.
Monday’s pitching matchup
Rockies TBA (bullpen game) at Nationals’ LHP Patrick Corbin (6-10, 4.89 ERA)
5:05 p.m. Monday, Nationals Park
TV: AT&T SportsNet
Radio: 850 AM/94.1 FM
Colorado will use another bullpen game Monday, and right-hander Karl Kauffmann could be the opener. He was with the Rockies in Miami and is expected to be activated for the three-game series at Washington. Kauffman has made 14 starts for Triple-A Albuquerque, posting a 6.94 ERA. He made five appearances (three starts) with the Rockies earlier this season and got beat up, going 0-3 with a 10.19 ERA. Corbin has pitched over his last two starts, striking out 12 over 12 1/3 innings while posting a 2.92 ERA. The lefty has faced Colorado 27 times in his career (26 starts), going 11-7 with a 4.62 ERA.
Pitching probables
Tuesday: Rockies LHP Austin Gomber (8-8, 6.18) at Nationals RHP Trevor Williams (5-5, 4.38), 5:05 p.m., ATTRM
Wednesday: Rockies RHP Peter Lambert (2-1, 5.49) at Nationals RHP Jake Irvin (3-5, 4.87), 10:10 a.m., ATTRM
Thursday: Off day
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