Rockies done in by disastrous inning as they drop seventh straight

Rockies Report, Game 131:

ROCKIES BOTTOM LINE: The Rockies were indeed in the bottom of their fifth on Monday night.

A nightmare five-run fifth inning that saw the first four Nationals batters reach base and was exacerbated by two Rockies errors wiped out a 2-0 lead and sent Colorado spiraling toward its seventh-consecutive loss, this one by a 13-3 count Monday night at Nationals Park.

Washington’s fateful turn at the plate began with a pair of soft singles from Jacob Young and Jorbit Vivas, putting them on second and first base, respectively. Then Nasem Nuñez bunted to the left side of the infield, and Willi Castro attempted to throw him out at first base, but his toss one-hopped to TJ Rumfield at first, past him and down foul territory outside the right-field line.

Three Ryan Feltner pitches later, CJ Abrams lashed a ground-ball double down the right field line, scoring Nuñez from third base to put Washington in front for the first time. Abrams stole third and scored on an Abimelec Ortiz RBI groundout, but the parade wasn’t done, as Daylen Lile delivered a two-out double, stole third base, and scored when Brett Sullivan’s attempt to throw him out at third went astray.

“We gotta take care of the baseball better than that,” manager Warren Schaeffer said. “That was an inning that got out of control. This is the big leagues; we need to play better than that.”

Blake Adams, a 13th-round pick of the Rox in 2022, made his major-league debut in the seventh inning after being called up earlier in the day. But his first step was a disastrous one; he allowed five earned runs on five hits and two walks over an inning of work. It got so out of hand that Schaeffer called on designated hitter Troy Johnston to mop up matters in the eighth.

Solo home runs from Castro and Ezequiel Tovar off Washington’s No. 1 starter, Cade Cavalli, nudged the Rockies in front 2-0 midway through the fifth.

Tovi makes it 2-0 good guys 😎 pic.twitter.com/ELoM5ftpiR

— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) August 25, 2026

But after that came the deluge.

Tovar was lifted for Ryan Ritter in the sixth inning after awkwardly landing on his wrist and hand while trying to field what proved to be the Nationals’ first hit of the evening in the fifth inning,

The Rockies dropped to 50-81. They currently sit with the worst record in MLB as a result of their recent skid.

ROCKIES STARTER’S REPORT

Feltner threw four no-hit innings to open the game, but saw that evaporate on Jacob Young’s soft leadoff single to open the fifth inning, which proved to be the onset of the avalanche that buried Colorado.

“I thought he threw the ball really well — up until that point,” Schaeffer said. “… Two soft hits, then the E5 on the bunt — kind of spiraled out of control after that.”

Schaeffer sent Feltner back out for the sixth inning, and he gave up a walk and a single while recording two outs. His pitch count reached 103 for the night, and Juan Mejia was not able to contain the damage, immediately walking the first two Nationals batters he faced — one of which was with the bases loaded — before allowing a 2-RBI double to Lile, leaving Feltner with fiveearned runs allowed and seven overall.

BITS AND PIECES

IT WAS DECIDED FOR THE ROCKIES WHEN: Lile delivered a two-out, bases-loaded single in the sixth inning, padding the Nationals’ lead to 8-2/

NUMBER TO NOTE: 8.91 — Feltner’s earned-run in his seven starts since the All-Star Break. In that span, his ERA has spiked from 4.55 to 6.08.

WHAT’S NEXT: Trade-deadline acquisition Mason Adams will make his Rox debut Tuesday night with Kyle Freeland landing on the injured list. Andrew Alvarez is scheduled to start for the Nationals. First pitch from Navy Yard is set for 4:45 p.m. MDT.

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