Just when the Rockies give you a reason to believe this season, the baseball gods swing it back the other way in a 2023 shaping up to be among the worst summers in club history.

Colorado’s brutal defeat on Wednesday at Nationals Park epitomized that bleak possibility. The Rockies lost to Washington, 5-4, who walked them off as Daniel Bard blew the game and the series with an unwatchable ninth inning.

The Rockies entered the final frame up 4-1 and with plenty to feel good about. They’ll leave D.C. having been collectively gut-punched.

“It’s frustrating for Daniel, frustrating for us, because I thought we played a really good game,” Rockies manager Bud Black told reporters. “I thought we had some really good swings, and Peter (Lambert) pitched great… It’s a tough day for Daniel.”

Colorado was three outs from winning three of its first four series coming out of the all-star break, which included taking 2 of 3 from the Yankees at Coors Field.

Lambert pitched six strong innings Wednesday, two rookies and a young franchise cornerstone homered, and the team was about to return to LoDo with a gust of momentum despite blowing Austin Gomber’s gem in Tuesday night’s rain-delayed game.

But Bard’s implosion changed all those recent, decent vibes, which had been building since catcher Elias Diaz became the first player in franchise history to win the Ted Williams MVP Award at the Midsummer Classic on July 11.

Bard started the ninth with five-pitch walks to Lane Thomas and Jeimer Candelario. It was clear the right-hander who has long struggled with his command didn’t have it. Joey Meneses singled to load the bases. Then Bard plunked Dominic Smith with one out, making it 4-2. Bard yielded an RBI groundout and then walked in another run to tie the game before getting the hook.

Black said he kept Bard in after the initial walks because he “still had confidence (Bard) could get the job done.”

“I felt good about Daniel there,” Black said. “He just had to throw strikes, but didn’t.”

Matt Koch came on to try to record the third out of the ninth and force extras, but CJ Abrams’ chopper snuck through the right side of the infield for the game-winning RBI hit.

All of that erased the positive moments from earlier in the afternoon, when the Rockies used Lambert’s quality start and three longballs to take command of the battle in the National League cellar.

Elehuris Montero’s two-run homer in the second off Nationals right-hander Jake Irvin gave Colorado a 2-0 lead. Then, Ryan McMahon blasted a solo shot, his team-leading 16th, to extend the score to 3-0 in the third.

After McMahon’s throwing error in the bottom of that inning led to an unearned run for the Nationals, Michael Toglia’s solo homer in the sixth off Irvin restored Colorado’s three-run lead at 4-1.

Lambert didn’t overpower the Nationals, with just two strikeouts, but his command was sharp. He walked only one, and he threw a first-pitch strike to 17 of the 22 batters he faced and also got 14 called strikes.

“The gameplan was to throw a lot of strikes and try to get early contact, especially with the late-night, early-morning turnaround,” Lambert told reporters. “I wanted to keep the defense off their feet. I’m very pleased (with the efficiency of 78 total pitches). That’s the first time I’ve thrown that deep into a game in a long time. I felt strong in that sixth inning.”

If Lambert keeps replicating performances like that, he’ll be in the mix for a permanent rotational spot going into 2024, one he’s worked hard to re-gain following Tommy John surgery, rebuilding time in the minors and paying dues in Colorado’s bullpen this summer. Lambert re-joined the Rockies’ rotation last weekend with five scoreless innings in Miami.

On the heels of Lambert’s performance that extended his streak to 14 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run, right-hander Brent Suter then worked a scoreless seventh and eighth before the Nationals rallied against Bard. With the loss, the Rockies fell to 7-4 in games this year when they’ve homered at least three times.

Bard said he couldn’t “find his delivery” in the ninth, and lamented his central role in the team’s wasted chance to build on recent momentum.

“We’re playing way better (the last couple weeks),” Bard told reporters. “The offense is coming around; these young guys are getting better every week seeing major-league pitching; the starting pitching is kind of coming around the last week or so, which is awesome to see.

“The bullpen has been the strong point of this team, and we let them down the last two games. Nobody’s perfect, but I’ve got to be better than that.”

Rockies pitching probables

The Rockies are off on Thursday before beginning a six-game homestand against the Athletics and Padres.

Friday: A’s LHP JP Sears (1-7, 4.19) at Rockies LHP Kyle Freeland (4-10, 4.72), 6:40 p.m., ATTRM

Saturday: A’s RHP Paul Blackburn (1-2, 5.06) at Rockies RHP Chase Anderson (0-4, 5.06), 6:10 p.m., ATTRM

Sunday: A’s RHP Luis Medina (3-7, 5.50) at Rockies LHP Austin Gomber (8-8, 5.83), 1:10 p.m., ATTRM

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