DENVER -- Mets right-hander Marcus Stroman schooled the Rockies on Tuesday night. But Rockies starter Tim Melville proved to be a quick study for much of the way.

Stroman dominated the strike zone low and gave up four hits in seven scoreless innings as the Mets won, 6-1, at Coors Field to end the Rockies¡¯ win streak at four games.

? Box score

Melville, getting his first extended Major League chance after brief stints with the Reds, Twins and Padres in 2016 and ¡®17, matched Stroman¡¯s zeros for five innings. Melville benefited from three double plays -- two on the ground and one on a liner.

¡°In five innings, each guy, the pitch count was down for both, they worked efficiently,¡± Rockies manager Bud Black said. ¡°It was well-pitched.¡±

However, the low-in-the-zone pitching that Stroman continued eluded Melville in the sixth, when he gave up three home runs -- Amed Rosario¡¯s two-run shot and solo homers from Brandon Nimmo and Pete Alonso (the 48th of his powerful rookie year). Melville left with two outs and a 4-0 deficit.

? Five keys surrounding Freeland upon return

Melville (2-3) gave up four homers and five runs in just three innings during his last start, a home loss to the Cardinals. Until the sixth, Melville was having a bounce-back outing.

¡°You want to bounce back and do a little bit better than last time,¡± said Melville after his sixth start since being called up from Triple-A Albuquerque on Aug. 21. ¡°I had some things I worked on in between games. That helped me out today and gave me a lot of confidence.¡±

Then the sixth happened.

¡°I just got away from what I was doing -- keeping the ball down,¡± Melville said.

With the Rockies long eliminated from the postseason, Tuesday was a time to wistfully wonder what if.

Stroman was with the Blue Jays on June 1 when he held the Rockies to four runs (three earned) over seven innings. But back then, the Rockies won, 4-2. Those were heady days, when the Rockies fancied themselves contenders and were at least considering trading for a playoff-tested pitcher -- like Stroman. But that wasn¡¯t long before their precipitous drop. The Mets, who had a surprising rise and are still alive for a National League Wild Card spot, grabbed the diminutive righty with nasty sink and a reputation for staying in the strike zone.

Stroman struck out seven and didn¡¯t let a hitter past second base Tuesday. The most successful Rockies hitter was rookie Sam Hilliard, who had two hits.

¡°He threw the ball well. [He] had a pretty good cutter working tonight -- was able to bury that in on the lefties, threw some good two-seamers to get to the other side of the plate and mixed in some changeups,¡± first baseman Daniel Murphy said. ¡°I felt his stuff had a lot of finish at the plate.¡±

Charlie Blackmon¡¯s full-count, two-out homer off Luis Avilan in the ninth saved the Rockies from being shut out at home for the first time this season.