At season’s halfway point, Rockies are halfway to 100 losses

The 2023 season is at the midpoint, and the Colorado Rockies are on pace for something they’ve never accomplished before: reaching the 100-loss milestone.

After Tuesday’s 5-0 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Rockies tumbled back to the bottom of the National League. They sit on pace for a 62-100 season that would be the worst in club history.

Of course, this isn’t the first time the Rockies sat on a such a pace at midseason. Eleven years ago, they were an identical 31-50 at the halfway point before slightly rallying to finish a franchise-worst 64-98.

In the “Generation R” rebuilding season of 2005 and their inaugural 1993 season, the Rockies hit the 81-game mark at 28-53. In both cases they went 39-42 in the second half to finish 67-95. The Rockies made the postseason two years after the 1993 and 2005 campaigns.

So, if you’re looking for hope in history, there it is.

But this season’s failure is total. With injuries shredding the pitching staff and decimating the everyday lineup, Colorado boasts a 5.65 staff ERA that is the worst in the National League and the team’s worst at midseason in 19 years.

On offense, the advantage of Coors Field hasn’t helped the Rockies. With 72 home runs, they are tied for fourth-fewest in Major League Baseball. It is the fourth-lowest first-half output in team history, and the Rockies’ worst at this point in 15 years.

As for the 50th defeat itself, the Rockies showed little punch. Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw baffled the home side. He no-hitting the Rockies through 5 2/3 innings before Brenton Doyle broke it up with a single in the bottom of the sixth inning.

It was the Rockies’ 10th defeat in their last 12 games. Six of the losses in that span came by at least 5 runs, including Tuesday’s shutout.

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