Hunter Goodman hits 30th homer but Rockies dominated by Dodgers, again

From Aug. 12-20, the Rockies put up a 7-2 record. Maybe there really was light at the end of a very long, dark tunnel.

Nope. Turn out the lights.

The Rockies were dominated by the Dodgers in Los Angeles again on Tuesday night, losing 7-2. L.A. blasted four home runs, two by Teoscar Hernandez.

The Rockies (40-105) have lost 11 of 13 games and 15 of their last 18. They trail the Dodgers by an astronomical 41 games in the National League West.

All-Star catcher Hunter Goodman did provide a feel-good moment for Colorado in the ninth. After striking out in his first three at-bats, Goodman ripped a liner into the left-field seats for his 30th home run. He became the first Rockies hitter with 30 homers in a season since 2019 when the trio of Nolan Arenado (41), Trevor Story (35), and Charlie Blackmon (32) pulled it off.

“Obviously, the loss, you don’t want that to happen, but (30 homers) is a pretty good accomplishment,” Goodman told Rockies.TV. “Since the start of pro ball, that’s been one of my goals every year, and to get to it in the big leagues for the first time is pretty cool.”

Interim manager Warren Schaeffer was thrilled for Goodman but clearly discouraged by Colorado’s latest loss.

“That was big for Hunter, I’m happy for him,” Schaeffer told reporters. “All the things he’s done this year have been incredible. But at the end of the day, our team lost 7-2 tonight, and that’s where we are at.”

For most of the game, Dodgers pitchers humbled Colorado hitters — again. After getting no-hit for eight innings on Monday night, the Rockies were no-hit for five innings by right-hander Emmet Sheehan to begin Tuesday night’s game. It marked the first time in franchise history that the Rockies were no-hit for at least five innings in back-to-back games.

Colorado finally got on the scoreboard in the sixth. Kyle Karros led off with a single, advanced to second on Yanquiel Fernandez’s bloop double to left, and scored on Tyler Freeman’s single up the middle.

Sheehan’s slider baffled the Rockies, and he finished his seven-inning gem with nine strikeouts, one walk, and three hits allowed. Sheehan improved to 6-3 and whittled his ERA to 3.32. All told, the Rockies struck out 12 times.

“I think eight of our nine punches against (Sheehan) were slider-chase, so we had a tough time against that pitch tonight,” Schaeffer said.

Right-hander German Marquez, almost certainly pitching his final handful of games for the Rockies, played the good soldier by giving his team five innings and saving the bullpen. But the Dodgers beat him up for five runs on six hits, including a two-run homer by Mookie Betts in the third and a solo homer by Hernandez in the fourth.

“I thought he held his velo, I thought his curveball was pretty good, overall,” Schaeffer said of Marquez’s performance. “But he just got behind in counts, and that hurt, with the homer, specifically. He put the ball over the plate a little too much.”