TORONTO — The beginning was the end for the Rockies.
Starter Dakota Hudson went south in the first inning when the Blue Jays took a 5-0 lead. Although the Rockies rallied and Hudson pitched well after the first, the damage was done.
The Blue Jays, powered by Daulton Varsho’s grand slam, prevailed, 5-3, Saturday at Rogers Centre.
After pounding out 20 hits in a 12-4 win on Friday night, the Rockies were limited to seven hits on Saturday and struck out 15 times, including their last five at-bats.
Right fielder Kris Bryant left the game in the middle of the fourth inning with soreness and tightness in his right side and lower back. Bryant hurt his back in the first inning when he collided with the right-field wall while making a twisting catch on Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s line drive.
Bryant stayed in the game and raked a leadoff double in the second inning before striking out in the fourth and departing the game. Manager Bud Black said Bryant was sore but didn’t expect him to miss significant playing time.
Hudson’s first inning was like a bad disaster movie: Long, loud and implausible.
“It was just a bad process coming out of the gate, and I kind of felt like I handed them a lot of opportunities,” said Hudson, who is 0-3 with a 4.15 ERA.
The Blue Jays’ George Springer led off with an infield single off the glove of second baseman Brendan Rodgers, Bo Bichette added a one-out single and Daniel Vogelbach drew a walk to jam the bases. Hudson induced Cavan Biggio to fly out the left for the second out but walked Davis Schneider, forcing in a run.
Up stepped Varsho, who crushed Hudson’s 1-0 fastball over the wall in right-center field for the second grand slam of his career, giving the Blue Jays a 5-0 lead.
“I was going down and away, but the ball cut back over the middle, and Varsho put a good swing on a bad pitch,” Hudson said.
However, Hudson was excellent for the next five innings, allowing two hits, one walk and no runs. He retired the last nine hitters he faced.
“From the (first inning) on, he started getting the ball down,” Black said. “He pitched very, very well. I thought his fastball ticked up over the last couple of starts and that’s a good sign. I thought his best fastball was in the sixth inning and that’s a really good sign. But there’s no doubt that he would love to have the first inning back.”
Colorado center fielder Brenton Doyle, continuing his progress as a hitter, led off the third with a homer off right-hander Yariel Rodriguez, who was making his major league debut. Doyle, who hit .230 last season as a rookie, is batting .315 with a .925 OPS and three homers.
The Rockies cut Toronto’s lead to 5-3 in the sixth, combining a leadoff walk by Elias Diaz, double by Nolan Jones, and two-run, opposite-field single to right by Rodgers.
Black said the club would know more on Sunday about Bryant, who was limited to 122 games in his first two seasons with Colorado because of a series of injuries.
“We’ll see how it responds overnight and we’re hoping KB’s back in there tomorrow,” Black said. “He banged the wall, and he sort of got tight in the rib cage and the back. I don’t think it’s a long-term thing at all.”
The Rockies and Blue Jays play Game 3 of the series on Sunday. The Rockies are looking for their first road series win since Aug. 4-6 at St. Louis last season.
Sunday’s pitching matchup
Rockies LHP Kyle Freeland (0-2, 16.03 ERA) at Blue Jays RHP Jose Berrios (2-0, 1.45)
11:37 a.m. Sunday, Rogers Centre
TV: Rockies.TV (streaming); Comcast/Xfinity (channel 1262); DirecTV (683); Spectrum (130, 445, 305, 435 or 445, depending on region).
Radio: 850 AM/94.1 FM
Freeland, making his first trip to Toronto, looks to continue his road to redemption after a poor start to the season. The lefty did not get a decision in the Rockies’ 7-5 win over Arizona last Monday at Coors Field, but he pitched relatively well, allowing four runs (two earned) on six hits across five innings. That, after giving up 17 total runs over 5 2/3 innings across his first two starts of the season, at Arizona on opening day and against the Cubs at Wrigley Field on April 2.
Berrios last pitched against Colorado as a member of the Twins on May 18, 2017, at Target Field. He tossed 7 2/3 shutout innings, allowing only two hits and striking out 11. The veteran right-hander is coming off a strong start in Toronto’s home opener vs. Seattle. He pitched 6 2/3 shutout innings, allowing one walk and four hits while fanning six in the Blue Jays’ 5-2 victory.
Pitching probables
Monday: Rockies RHP Cal Quantrill (0-2, 7.20) at Phillies RHP Aaron Nola (2-1, 4.50), 4:40 p.m.
Tuesday: Rockies LHP Austin Gomber (0-0, 4.91) at Phillies LHP Ranger Suarez (2-0, 2.65), 4:40 p.m.
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