Against Diamondbacks, Rockies fall one run shy of first series win
The Colorado Rockies had a rollercoaster series against the Arizona Diamondbacks during MLB’s Rivalry Weekend. The team had a rejuvenated lineup with a 7-36 record on their shoulders — the worst ever through 43 games in baseball’s Modern Era. The first month-and-a-half of the season saw Colorado flirting with the record, but they barely broke through after a sweep from the Texas Rangers last week.
A couple of hours before the first pitch, the club announced the return of Ezequiel Tovar, Tyler Freeman and Aaron Schunk from the injured list. They also called up their ninth ranked prospect, pitcher Carson Palmquist to make the start.
It was Tovar’s first appearance since going down in mid-April with a bruised hip that didn’t improve through rehab as quickly as they hoped. Schunk hadn’t seen a ton of at bats, but it was a nice reserve addition getting Tyler Freeman’s defense back, who the Rockies acquired in the Nolan Jones trade days before the season.
Game One
Palmquist’s major league debut didn’t go as planned, only pitching through the fourth inning and surrendering five earned runs off six hits. It didn’t help that he got no run support. The Rockies would only tally two hits, with one from Hunter Goodman and one from Tovar.
Colorado also faced Corbin Burnes, one of the league’s more dependable arms who Arizona surprised the league by signing to a six year, $210 million contract last December. Burnes strike out 14 Rockies and got the quality start.
The bullpen gave up three more runs and the Rockies lost game one 8-0, their sixth shut-out of the year.
Game Two
The D-Backs have had a flair for the dramatic in 2025, with wild back-and-forth games like a 13-11 loss to the Chicago Cubs, 11-9 win over the Philadelphia Phillies and 14-11 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on May 9. They had another ridiculous bout in game two of this series, where the Rockies intervened and got the best.
Jordan Beck and Goodman got the Rox started in the top of the first with home runs, putting them up 3-0. But Colorado’s starter Germán Márquez gave up the lead off, a string of RBI base hits in the bottom of the frame.
Márquez continued to struggle, finishing with five earned runs in just three innings, bringing his ERA to a team-worst 8.78.
Colorado tied up the game at six after homers from Tovar and Kyle Farmer in the third, but found themselves trailing 11-6 going into the sixth. In the final three innings, the Rockies light a fume and rallied, outscoring the D-Backs 8-1 and finish the game with a resilient 14-12 victory.
Colorado finished the night with 19 hits, and Beck, Tovar and Goodman at the top of the order went a combined 11-for-17, including the first five-hit game in Tovar’s career. The Rox left the park five times, with two coming from Beck, bringing his total to eight on the year, which is top 20 in the National League. The 24-year-old has risen to the occasion after returning from the minor league’s in late-March, and matured into Colorado’s biggest threat at the plate with an .899 OPS and .568 slug.
Farmer and Goodman had four RBIs a piece, and parts of the offense that didn’t show up in game one ignited for a season-high 14 runs. This win felt important to a fan base that has quite literally seen the worst offensive start to a season in MLB history. Balls were flying out of the park, nearly every guy in the lineup had a hit and they kept their head in the game after being down five.
Game Three
Colorado’s offense had a prime opportunity to capture its first series win of the season in game three, only needing to score a pair of runs. But, the game two hangover resulted in only three hits and the teams seventh shutout in a 1-0 loss.
They spoiled a mighty start from Chase Dollander, who as of late has shown real promise of growing into a major league ace. He was pulled with two outs in the fifth inning due to a high pitch count, while only yielding three hits and one run. Dollander continues to be a virulent strikeout hunter, adding six more to his season-total of 38 which leads the Rockies.
Beck, Farmer and Goodman all had a hit, but got stranded from the team’s 14 strikeouts. Arizona’s Merrill Kelly was dominant in this fifth win of the year, throwing seven shut-out innings. The D-Backs got on the board in the first inning off a Ketel Marte solo shot, and that turned out to be all they would need.
The series brings their record to 8-38, and are likely going to be well-30 games under .500 headed into June. They close out their lethal May schedule against the Phillies, Yankees, Cubs and Mets. All four teams have over 27 wins and are in first or second in their divisions.
They now return to Coors Field for the first time since the series that saw a 21-0 shutout against the Padres, and get ready for a four game set against the Philadelphia Phillies.