Rockies fall as Giants shell Lorenzen

Rockies Report, Game 123:

ROCKIES BOTTOM LINE:

Michael Lorenzen’s season-long struggles continued as he was chased in the midst of a disastrous six-run fourth inning, sending the Rockies to a 7-1 loss at Oracle Park on Saturday.

While it fell apart in the fourth, the game started with promise. Lorenzen allowed a pair of scoreless innings to open the game. Then Colorado took a 1-0 lead in the third inning thanks to three-consecutive one-out hits from Ezequiel Tovar, Jake McCarthy and Cole Carrigg. Tovar and McCarthy blooped their hits into the shallow outfield before Carrigg got his 31st RBI of the season with a sharp ground ball through the hole in the left side of the infield.

On the board! pic.twitter.com/NySVI1nBS7

— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) August 15, 2026

But San Francisco quickly struck back, knotting the game in the bottom of the third on Drew Gilbert’s solo home run.

In the fourth inning, it all came apart on Lorenzen, who dropped his 11th decision of the season. He allowed the first three Giants he faced to reach base before yielding a sacrifice fly to Turner Hill that put the Giants in front. He looked poised to escape the inning with no further damage after throwing out Oslevis Basabe at home for the second out, but then Gilbert struck again with a 2-RBI single, pushing the Giants in front, 4-1.

At that point, Parker Mushinski replaced Lorenzen, but he couldn’t stop the bleeding, immediately giving up a ground-rule double to Rafael Devers and an RBI single to Bryce Eldridge, with a wild pitch in between.

Meanwhile, Logan Webb and the Giants bullpen silenced the Rox, limiting them to five hits without a single walk.

Colorado saw its three-game winning streak end and fell to 49-74.

ROCKIES STARTER’S REPORT

Control issues were part of Lorenzen’s undoing Saturday, as he surrendered three walks and hit a batter in his 3 2/3 innings and 82 pitches of work.

Free passes have been a growing problem for Lorenzen in his last eight starts. He’s had at least three walks in six of those starts, and overall is averaging 2.88 walks per start, and 6.09 walks per nine innings in that span.

The Rockies have an option on Lorenzen for 2027; performances like this won’t help the case for the team to pick it up. His ERA now sits at a whopping 7.08.

BITS AND PIECES

IT WAS DECIDED FOR THE ROCKIES WHEN: Mushinski allowed back-to-back hits after entering the game. The Rockies mustered just one baserunner after San Francisco’s outburst.

NUMBER TO NOTE: 500 — Career hits for shortstop Ezequiel Tovar after he dropped a fly ball into shallow right-center field.

WHAT’S NEXT: Gabriel Hughes searches for his first major-league win in the Sunday-afternoon finale. Blade Tidwell will start for the Giants. First pitch is set for 2:05 p.m. MDT.

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