Rockies hit a new low, just 18 games into the season

In the shadows of the twin title-contending colossi at Ball Arena exist the Colorado Rockies.

Tuesday night, the purple and black — wearing their predominantly green “City Connect” togs — dropped a seventh-consecutive game, falling 5-3 to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

It dropped the Rockies to 5-13 — the worst mark through 18 games in the club’s 31-season history. They’d been 6-12 through 18 games on six previous occasions.

Tuesday’s defeat means this edition of the Rockies stands alone.

The Rockies’ poor start follows a 4-12 close to the 2022 season, leaving them 9-25 in their last 34 games. That .265 win rate would translate to 43 wins over 162 games.

Absorbing the loss was Jose Ureña, who fell to 0-3. In four starts this season, Ureña’s numbers are calamitous: a 9.82 ERA and a 2.32 WHIP. He also surrendered two home runs. Nevertheless, Ureña’s HR/9 rate actually improved — from 4.5 to 4.3.

If there is any solace for the Rockies, it comes in two places.

First, Kris Bryant followed his first Coors Field home run as a Rockie with his second in as many games. His first-inning blast gave Colorado a 1-0 lead. It’s Bryant’s third home run in the last five games overall.

KBoom 💥 twice is nice#Rockies pic.twitter.com/D2SyNvi1gg

— AT&T SportsNet™ | RM (@ATTSportsNetRM) April 19, 2023

Second is that few saw the defeat. The announced attendance — which reflects tickets distributed — was 19,495. It was the Rockies’ first home game announcing fewer than 20,000 since last May 4 against Washington (19,384).

With the Colorado Avalanche opening postseason play on the other side of LoDo, the Rockies’ prolonged slump, an unattractive foe and high winds whipping through downtown Denver, the attendance was no surprise. But the crowd appeared far lower than the announced figure.

In 130 Rockies home games since pandemic restrictions ended June 28, 2021, Tuesday’s game represented just the second announced crowd of below 20,000.

If the Rockies can’t stop their slide, Tuesday’s friends-and-family gathering could be far from the last small home throng they see at home in a season that has spiraled quickly following a 2-0 start.

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