The Rockies made the wrong kind of history Sunday afternoon.
With their 4-3 loss to the Cubs at Wrigley Field, the Rockies lost for the 99th time, clinching the worst season in franchise history. The 2012 club held the previous dubious distinction, going 64-98.
And there is another historical footnote to add to Colorado’s dismal season. Sunday’s loss was their 10th straight on the road, marking the third time this season they posted a road losing streak of 10 games. That is the first time in baseball’s modern era that a team had three 10-game road losing streaks in the same season.
Colorado finished 22-59 away from Coors Field (.278) for the second-lowest road winning percentage in franchise history behind the 2014 club’s .259 percentage (21-60). The Rockies’ road record is the worst in the majors this season.
With a youth movement in full swing after the Aug. 1 trade deadline, the Rockies knew they would struggle after the trade deadline, but losses such as Sunday’s are still a gut punch.
Following a recent trend, the Rockies built a lead and then lost it.
“It’s been tough the last couple of months,” manager Bud Black told reporters in Chicago. “We’ve lost a lot of really close games, and we’ve lost a lot of games like today’s. We just haven’t scored enough runs and they have nicked us for runs late in the game.
“You can tell that the guys are playing hard, but we are falling just a little bit short.”
Rookie left fielder Nolan Jones hit a solo homer in the sixth to put the Rockies ahead, 3-1. It was Jones’ 18th homer, with 10 coming on the road.
But the Cubs finally got to starter Ty Blach in the bottom of the frame, with the deciding blow coming off the bat of Patrick Wisdom. Selya Suzuki led off with a double to right and Dansby Swanson singled to center. Yan Gomes’ sacrifice fly scored Suzuki before Wisdom crushed Blach’s 83 mph cutter 432 feet to left-center for a two-run homer and a 4-3 Cubs lead.
“Ty battled, but the mistake on the homer came back to bite him,” Black said. “It was a (cutter) that didn’t get to a good spot against Wisdom.”
Blach pitched 5 1/3 innings, allowing four runs on six hits with three walks and five strikeouts. He also hit two batters, which was part of the reason his pitch count was at 89 when he got the hook after giving up the home run.
Colorado took a 2-1 lead in the third on Brendan Rodgers’ two-run home run off of Cubs rookie lefty Jordan Wicks. It was Rodgers’ second homer of the season, with both coming on the six-game road trip.
The Rockies have seven games remaining — four against the Dodgers and three against the Twins — all of them at Coors Field. The Rockies will almost certainly lose 100 games for the first time in their 31-year history.
The Rockies are off on Monday before opening the final homestand of the season on Tuesday with a doubleheader against the Dodgers at Coors Field.
Pitching probables
Tuesday (doubleheader): Game 1, Dodgers RHP Bobby Miller (10-4, 3.97 ERA) at Rockies RHP Chase Anderson (0-6, 5.75), 1:10 p.m.; Game 2: Dodgers TBA at Rockies TBA, 6:40 p.m., ATTRM
Wednesday: Dodgers TBA at Rockies TBA, 6:40 p.m., ATTRM
Thursday: Dodgers TBA at Rockies TBA, 6:40 p.m., ATTRM
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