The Rockies did something that hasn’t happened before in the modern era

DENVER — The gallows humor regarding the Colorado Rockies’ recent run of gagged leads hit the Empower Field at Mile High press box Saturday night.

It was the middle of the sixth inning. Colorado led the American League-leading Baltimore Orioles, 2-1. A tablet on a press-box counter displayed the AT&T SportsNet broadcast of the contest.

And between two people who closely follow the club’s fortunes came this question:

“Well, how are the Rockies gonna blow it this time?”

Five pitches later, Gunnar Henderson and Anthony Santander stood on first and second base with back-to-back singles off Rockies reliever Chris Flexen. And with that, the latest Rockies’ tumble was under way. Three runs eventually came home in the sixth, and another crossed in the seventh, giving the Orioles all the offense they needed for a 5-4 win.

For the sixth consecutive game, the Rockies blew a lead in the sixth inning or later and lost. And that made history.

According to OptaStats, the Rockies became the first team in the modern era to lead six consecutive games in the sixth inning or later and lose them all.

The “modern era,” by the way, is generally considered to go back to 1901 — 92 years before the Rockies began play.

THE ROCKIES KEEP GETTING CHANCES

Yet even after barfing up another lead, the Rockies advanced the winning run to the plate in the top of the eighth. Trailing 5-3, Brendan Rodgers walked into the batter’s box with runners on first and third and no outs.

But he grounded the first pitch — a four-seam fastball — to shortstop to start a double play. Elías Díaz scored from third, but their hopes of a comeback effectively died there.

On the one hand, a lineup featuring young players has hung in contention every night on this daunting East Coast trip. Leading in the sixth inning or later against the American League’s two best teams for five-consecutive games shows that the Rockies still burst with fighting spirit in yet another sad, lost season.

But the grim grind can understandably exact a toll.

What’s more, Saturday’s loss was the Rockies’ 81st. Why is that significant? Because in January, Rockies owner Dick Monfort told an audience at the Breakfast of Champions event in Greeley that he thought his team “can play .500 ball.”

They’ll need to approach .500 to avoid the club’s first 100-loss season. Right now, they have to finish 15-18 to dodge triple digits.

Twenty of their final 33 games are against teams currently in postseason position. Another 10 games are versus clubs within 1.5 games of wild-card spots in their respective leagues.

The Rockies have proven they can hang with terrific teams. But if their gassed, depleted bullpen continues to struggle closing them out, it won’t be a matter of if they lose 100 games … but when they cross that threshold.

***