'Tough': González, Rox can't dig out of hole

If you were a little late turning on your TV or filing into Coors Field on Tuesday night, you might’ve missed a rerun of the Rockies’ early-inning issues that so often have sunk them against the Giants.

Chi Chi González allowed five runs in the first two innings of a 12-3 loss, digging the team into an early hole that the offense was unable to emerge from. In the Rockies' season series with the Giants, Colorado has now been outscored 44-5 in the first two innings. That run differential (minus-39) matches the Rockies’ season-long run differential against the Giants entering the night.

“It’s tough to dig your way out, especially when you’ve got a pitcher like [Giants starter Logan] Webb, who’s on a nice roll,” manager Bud Black said. “You’d like to battle back and punch ‘em right back, but we weren’t able to do that against him.

“… We’ve gotta do a better job. Early in the game [over] the last few days, it hasn’t happened.”

One night after Kyle Freeland allowed a pair of solo shots in the opening frame, González gave up doubles to his first three batters (all of whom came around to score). In the second inning, González allowed four consecutive one-out hits -- a triple, another double and two singles -- before he was pulled from the game.

González has pitched past the fourth inning just once in his past five starts, posting an 11.65 ERA (22 earned runs in 17 innings) in that span. With 1 1/3 innings thrown, Tuesday marked González's shortest start since Sept. 8, 2020.

“When Chi Chi’s good, the ball is down and he produces a lot of grounders,” Black added. “Today, he just couldn’t get the ball where he needed to, and the Giants took advantage of it. … When they got a good pitch, they smoked it.”

Colorado’s chance to “punch ‘em right back” came when Charlie Blackmon and C.J. Cron rallied with a pair of two-out singles in the first. But Ryan McMahon watched a sinker whiz by for strike three.

Offensively, the Rockies made far more noise than their three runs would suggest. But their 11 hits were mostly scattered in meaningless moments, and a 3-for-13 clip with runners in scoring position kept them from getting too close.

Well, that plus the early crater they found themselves in on the scoreboard.

In fairness, Colorado’s three-game losing skid has come against three of the National League’s top pitchers: Charlie Morton (2.95 ERA over his past 20 starts), Kevin Gausman (a 2021 All-Star) and Webb (1.87 ERA in 11 starts since the All-Star break).

The Rockies finally got to Webb a bit in the seventh, scoring twice on four hits. That included a run-scoring knock from Rio Ruiz -- his second hit of the night -- after he entered the game just 3-for-19 (.158) with the club.

In a bit of a silver-lining, Ashton Goudeau provided a bullpen-saving effort with 3 1/3 innings of two-run ball (a career high) on short rest. He’d thrown 2 1/3 innings against the Braves just two days prior, in a similar mop-up role, but coming back to face the Giants was a little bit sweeter.

Goudeau was designated for assignment by San Francisco back in April. In order to stay sharp, he took a few baseballs with him to throw “into a hay bale for about five or six days” while staying at a friend’s house.

After bouncing from the Dodgers, to the Rockies, to the Reds and back to the Rockies, he's faced the Giants twice. First on Aug. 12, when he threw three scoreless innings, and then again on Tuesday.

“It was fun to kind of get a couple opportunities to throw well against them,” Goudeau said.