The Mighty Casey would have felt right at home Sunday afternoon at Coors Field.
The Rockies struck out 15 times in a gut-punch 3-2 loss to Tampa Bay and have opened the season with a 2-8 record.
Still, Colorado had a prime opportunity to win the game in the eighth and ninth innings.
In the eighth, Jake Cave led off with a pinch-hit triple and scored on Elias Diaz’s pinch-hit single. Charlie Blackmon and Ezequiel Tovar drew walks from erratic Tampa Bay reliever Phil Maton to load the bases. But Shawn Armstrong got Ryan McMahon to ground out to shortstop Isaac Paredes, who threw home for the force out.
Then Armstrong induced Kris Bryant to ground into a rally-killing, six-to-three double play. Bryant went 0-for-3 with a walk Sunday and is hitting .107 for the season.
In the ninth, Brenton Doyle’s RBI single scored Nolan Jones, but Armstrong struck out Cave and got Diaz to ground out to third.
Rays right-hander Ryan Pepiot, making just the 12th start of his career, thoroughly dominated Colorado for six innings. He allowed no runs on three hits with 11 strikeouts and no walks. He got the Rockies to swing and miss 21 times.
Pepiot owns the Rockies. In three career games (two starts), he’s 2-1 with a 1.06 ERA, 26 strikeouts and two walks.
Right-hander Dakota Hudson gave the Rockies a workmanlike performance for his second game in a row. The Rays reached him for three runs on seven hits. He walked one and struck out three.
Tampa Bay scored twice in the second inning, combining back-to-back doubles by Jose Caballero and Austin Shenton and an RBI single by Jose Siri. The Rays extended their lead to 3-0 in the third on a double off the right-field wall by Brandon Lowe and a two-out single by Isaac Paredes.
The Rockies have not scored first in a franchise-record 16 consecutive games. The last team to play 16 games without scoring the first run was the 1989 Giants, from July 28 to July 17.
Monday’s pitching matchup
Diamondbacks RHP Zac Gallen (2-0, 0.82 ERA) at Rockies LHP Kyle Freeland (0-2, 27.00)
6:40 p.m. Monday, Coors Field
TV: Rockies.TV (streaming); Comcast/Xfinity (channel 1262); DirecTV (683); Spectrum (130, 445, 305, 435 or 445, depending on region).
Radio: 850 AM/94.1 FM
Freeland is off to a terrible start. Although his fastball velocity has increased from an average of 88.8 mph last season to 91.7 mph this season, he’s been missing his spots and paying the price. He lost on opening day to the Diamondbacks at Chase Field, allowing a career-high 10 runs on 10 hits in just 2 1/3 innings. In his second start of the season, against the Cubs in Chicago, he was charged with seven runs on nine hits over 3 1/3 innings. Freeland is 4-9 with a 6.04 ERA in 21 starts against Arizona. He’s 1-4 with a 5.72 ERA in 10 starts vs. the D-backs at Coors Field.
Gallen, a National League Cy Young Award contender, dominated the Yankees in his last start, tossing six scoreless innings in the D-backs’ 7-0 victory. Gallen allowed just three hits, struck out six and walked two. In the D-backs’ 16-1 romp over the Rockies in the season opener, Gallen gave up one run on three hits over five innings. Gallen has thoroughly dominated Colorado, going 7-1 with a 2.41 ERA in 14 career starts, including a 2-0 record with a 2.43 ERA in six starts at Coors.
Pitching probables
Tuesday: Diamondbacks RHP Merrill Kelly (1-0, 1.98) at Rockies RHP Cal Quantrill (0-1, 9.00), 6:40 p.m.
Wednesday: Diamondbacks LHP Tommy Henry (0-1, 7.00)
Thursday: Off day
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