Rockies fall to 0-5 in homestand, drop eighth-straight at Coors Field

DENVER — Rockies Report, Game 129:

ROCKIES BOTTOM LINE: The Rockies’ August home woes continued Saturday night, as the big inning — the bane of rookie starter Gabriel Hughes’ existence — felled Colorado in a 4-3 loss to the Cleveland Guardians in front of 39,327 at Coors Field.

The Rockies are now winless through the first five games of this six-game homestand, although this game took on a different arc compared to the 9-1 walloping the Rox absorbed Friday night, as they were largely able to silence the Guardians, limiting them to seven hits and three walks.

The problem was, half of those 10 baserunners reached in the third inning — including the first three in succession to lead off the frame. All came home when Guardians right fielder Jo Adell reached for a low sweeper and golfed it 450 feet into the left-field stands, putting Cleveland in front to stay.

Meanwhile, the Rockies could not capitalize on the recent struggles of Cleveland starter Trevor Bibee, mustering five hits and a walk over six innings against him. The Guardians snapped a five-game losing streak in Bibee’s starts.

Two solo home runs allowed the Rox to stay close — Mickey Moniak’s 21st of the season, a fifth-inning shot — and Connor Norby’s first homer since joining the Rockies, a ninth-inning blast that pulled the Rockies within 4-3. But Cleveland closer Cade Smith needed just eight pitches to retire the next three Rockies he faced.

MICKEY 🫰 pic.twitter.com/XXVNiPIBuu

— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) August 23, 2026

Third baseman Kyle Karros left the game in the fifth inning due to what manager Warren Schaeffer described as “symptoms similar to his concussion.” Karros landed on the injured list after colliding with Ezequiel Tovar during the game at Arizona on Aug. 11.

Colorado fell to 50-79 and has now dropped eight-consecutive games at Coors Field. The team is 7-12 and hasn’t won since Hunter Goodman landed on the injured list.

ROCKIES STARTER’S REPORT

Hughes took just 32 pitches to get through the first three innings. But he needed four more than that during a difficult fourth inning.

Hughes’ troubles began with the dreaded leadoff walk, which he issued to Chase DeLauter in five pitches. Six pitches later, Jose Ramirez wiggled a 3-2 pitch through the gap in the right side of the infield for a single. Then Adell hit his homer on the next pitch.

Two more Cleveland batters reached base before Hughes could get out of the inning. But Hughes had a clean fifth inning, one of three 1-2-3 innings he had in his five innings of work.

“I thought he battled. I thought he came out of the chute very efficient,” Schaeffer said. “Went back out for the fifth, 1-2-3 in the fifth, good rebound inning.

“… Overall, it was just one inning, one bad inning. Steps forward for Gabe. Attacked right out of the zone.”

This was the fifth-consecutive start in which Hughes has allowed at least three runs in a single inning.

BITS AND PIECES

IT WAS DECIDED FOR THE ROCKIES WHEN: Catcher Brett Sullivan fanned for the 27th out.

NUMBER TO NOTE: 1.065 — The OPS of opposing batters when Hughes has at least one runner on base, compared with .662 with the bases empty.

WHAT’S NEXT: Recent Guardians trade acquisition Foster Griffin — a member of the 2026 NL All-Star team — will get the Sunday-afternoon start for Cleveland. Tomoyuki Sugano will start for the Rox, as he looks to bounce back from a rough night last Monday against the Dodgers. First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 p.m. MDT. The club will unveil a statue outside Coors Field to honor Hall of Famer Larry Walker in a ceremony scheduled to commence at 9:30 a.m. MDT.

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