Quintana leaves with elbow tightness as Rockies drop eighth-straight series

Rockies Report, Game 54:

ROCKIES BOTTOM LINE: Starter Jose Quintana departed after just 1 1/3 innings and 33 pitches Sunday as the Rockies dropped their weekend-series finale in Arizona, falling by a 9-1 count.

“Just elbow tightness,” manager Warren Schaeffer said of Quintana’s injury, adding that it wasn’t an issue that built prior to Sunday’s game.

Quintana told media after the game that he would return to Denver for an MRI examination.

Colorado’s pitching staff is already coping with the absence of two starters: Ryan Feltner and Chase Dollander. The Rockies should get Feltner back soon; he completed a five-inning rehab appearance for AAA Albuquerque on Sunday, allowing six hits, a walk and an earned run over his 67 pitches of work. But Dollander is dealing with an elbow sprain that landed him on the 15-day injured list on May 15.

Quintana has already spent time this season on the injured list; he spent time there in late March and early April due to a right-hamstring strain before returning. Kyle Freeland also dealt with left-shoulder inflammation last month, leaving Tomoyuki Sugano and the struggling Michael Lorenzen as the only two of the Rockies’ top-six rotation options — the initial intended rotation plus Dollander — to avoid injured-list time so far this season.

Blas Castaño relieved Quintana in the second inning and made it through the fifth inning before handing the baton to Seth Halvorsen and Brennan Bernardino for the sixth and seventh. Catcher Brett Sullivan worked an inning for the second time in the last six games and once again delivered a shutout inning.

Chad Stevens’ sacrifice fly in the eighth inning provided the Rockies’ sole run of the day; they averaged 2.25 runs a game at Arizona and have mustered just 2.17 runs per game since last Tuesday, while allowing 5.5 runs an outing in that span.

Colorado has dropped five of its last six and fell to 20-34. The Rockies have also lost eight-consecutive series since sweeping the New York Mets late last month.

ROCKIES STARTER’S REPORT

Quintana struggled from the jump. He was called for a pitch-timer violation before his first pitch, then gave up a leadoff double to Ketel Marte and an RBI triple to Corbin Carroll before recording an out. Carroll scored via a sacrifice fly as Quintana rallied to get three-consecutive outs, but in the second inning, four of the five Diamondbacks who Quintana faced reached base before he left with what was initially announced as “elbow discomfort.”

50 of 'em. pic.twitter.com/s91BlUfhAq

— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) May 24, 2026

It was Quintana’s shortest appearance in a Colorado uniform.

BITS AND PIECES

IT WAS DECIDED FOR THE ROCKIES WHEN: Colorado couldn’t make anything happen with a pair of two-on opportunities in the fifth and sixth innings. Marte and Carroll delivered back-to-back RBI hits in the bottom of the sixth to put the game in the refrigerator.

NUMBER TO NOTE: .050 — Batting average for the bottom three spots in the Rockies’ order the last two days; they went 1-for-20 in the two defeats.

WHAT’S NEXT: It’s off to Dodger Stadium to face the NL West leaders on Memorial Day. Emmmet Sheehan starts for Los Angeles; Colorado’s starter is officially to be determined. First pitch is set for 7:10 p.m. MDT on Monday.

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