All of the pieces were in place for Rockies right-hander Jon Gray to pitch a gem. His fastball consistently zipped in at 95 mph and his slider was sharp.
But a lack of execution, by Gray, and his teammates, cost the Rockies in Game 1 of Wednesday’s doubleheader vs. San Diego at Coors Field. The Padres ultimately won, 5-3, powered by a sixth-inning grand slam by Victor Caratini off reliever Robert Stephenson.
The sixth inning was messy. Gray walked two, and an error on a tough play by second baseman Alan Trejo added up to a bases-loaded situation. Rather than stick with Gray, manager Bud Black made the call for Stephenson, who had given up one earned run in his previous nine outings.
The move backfired when Caratini jumped on Stephenson’s 2-0 fastball.
“Stephenson has been great for us, one of our most reliable relievers,” Black explained. “Jon had the pinch hitter (Patrick) Kivlehan down 0-2 and then he walked him, and that was a sign to me that he couldn’t put (them) away.”
Asked if he wanted to finish the inning, Gray answered: “That’s tough to say. I felt really good in the first two innings, up through the fourth inning. After that, I didn’t feel that great. … Maybe the coaches saw that and made the right decision. But you never know.”
Gray made some key mistakes. He plunked Austin Nola to load the bases with two down in the fifth, then watched as Trent Grisham laid a perfect safety squeeze to tie the game, 1-1. Gray also struck out trying to bunt with one out in the top of the frame.
Missed opportunities. The Game 1 loss left the Rockies with a 4-14 record in games decided by two runs or less this season. The big pitch, and the big hit, continue to be AWOL.
In the fifth inning, Garrett Hampson struck out against Emilio Pagán with runners at second and third. Hampson slammed his bat to the ground in frustration. In the seventh, the Rockies loaded the bases against San Diego closer Marck Melancon but Elias Díaz popped out to Nola, who ran out from second base to shallow right field to make the catch and close out the game.
RBI machine. With one run driven in during Game 1, shortstop Trevor Story collected his 396th RBI in a Rockies uniform. Entering Game 2, he needed just four more to become the 13th player in franchise history to reach the 400 RBI plateau.
Since his debut in 2016, Story has the second-most RBIs by any big-league shortstop, trailing only Boston’s Xander Bogaerts (419).
