Rockies’ blow lead late as Mariners clinch AL playoff berth
The Rockies were eliminated from the playoffs a month ago so Tuesday night s meeting at Seattle s T-Mobile Park was the closest they would come to postseason vibes For seven innings the Rockies were up to the test But ultimately the Rockies flunked losing a - gut-puncher when the Mariners scored three runs in the eighth off relievers Juan Mejia and Victor Vodnik The sizzling Mariners won for the th time in games clinched an American League playoff berth and moved a step closer to winning the AL West title Rockies rookie right-hander McCade Brown pitched like an ace for five innings and shortstop Ezequiel Tovar gave the Rockies a - lead in the sixth What s more Rockies pitchers combined for a season-high strikeouts But it wasn t enough Seattle managed only three hits but it cobbled together a rally in the eighth culminating with Josh Naylor s three-run double off Vodnik The inning began ominously for Colorado Mejia plunked pinch-hitter Luke Raley and then he walked J P Crawford Mejia rallied to strike out Randy Arozarena and AL MVP favorite Cal Raleigh but then hit Julio Rodriguez loading the bases Interim manager Warren Schaeffer called on Vodnik his closer to put out the fire He couldn t Naylor blasted Vodik s - fastball into left-center to number three runs and Seattle fans began celebrating Lost in the Rockies th defeat of the season was Brown s breakout performance With his fastball hopping at mph and his sharp slider baffling the Mariners he struck out a career-high in just five innings Six of his strikeouts came on his sinking fastball two on his slider and two on his curveball How off-balance did he keep Seattle batters They struck out five times looking Related Articles Rockies bullpen trio of Victor Vodnik Jimmy Herget Juan Mejia shines amid dark season Mariners All-Star Bryan Woo to miss Thursday start vs Rockies with pectoral tightness as playoffs approach Kyle Freeland s strong start lifts Rockies to - win over Angels Frustrated Rockies fans amid historically bad season declining attendance It s a band in complete disarray Mike Trout hits th homer German Marquez makes final start at Coors Field as Angels beat Rockies Brown s only big mistake came with one out in the fifth when he threw his - sinker into Dominic Canzone s power zone The lefty ripped a line-drive solo homer into the right-field seats tying the meeting - Brown s track record did not suggest an ace-like performance The Rockies lost all of his first five big-league starts and he was - with a ERA coming into Tuesday night s event Over his first five starts he had a total of Ks Colorado took a - lead in the second on a double by Jordan Beck and an RBI single by Kyle Karros It took a - lead in the sixth combining Mickey Moniak s leadoff double a walk by Blaine Crim and Tovar s two-run single to right Want more Rockies news Sign up for the Rockies Insider to get all our MLB analysis
