Rockies struggle again with runners in scoring position as they fall to Braves

Rockies Report, Game 135:

ROCKIES BOTTOM LINE: As was the case in Washington on Thursday afternoon, the Rockies had plenty of chances. And while they did a better job of cashing in on them than they did in the series-ending loss at Nationals Park one day earlier, they didn’t do enough, and with Atlanta flashing plenty of glovework, the Rox fell 6-4 to the Braves in Friday night’s series opener at Truist Park.
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Colorado went 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position. A day earlier the Rox went 1-for-9. As a result, early chances — including in the second inning, when their first two batters reached base — failed to materialize into runs. Meanwhile, Atlanta built a 4-0 lead.

Colorado’s bats came alive in the fifth inning against Atlanta starter Grant Holmes. Zac Veen and Ezequiel Tovar led off with singles, with Jake McCarthy bringing Veen home via a sacrifice fly. Cole Carrigg and Hunter Goodman followed with ground-ball singles, with Goodman’s scoring Tovar. TJ Rumfield drove in Carrigg with a groundout before Willi Castro flew out to end the half-inning.

Creeping back 👀 pic.twitter.com/0qJSIc8ROG

— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) August 29, 2026

Willi Castro brought home another run via a seventh-inning sacrifice fly.

“We had chances all night. I thought we swung the bats well,” Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer said. “I thought we got after it offensively. We came back, kept the foot on the gas, never let up, took good walks, gave us a chance to win.

The Rox had a chance for a ninth-inning rally after Hunter Goodman singled just past the middle of the infield to lead off the frame against Atlanta closer Raisel Iglesias, who entered Friday night with a 4.91 ERA since July 1. But while Goodman’s 65-MPH single found the right spot, TJ Rumfield’s 101-MPH screamer of a ground ball was snared by a lunging Matt Olson at first base, starting a 3-6-3 double play.

So it goes sometimes.

Colorado fell to 52-83, while the streaky Braves won their fifth consecutive game following a five-game losing skid.

ROCKIES STARTER’S REPORT

Tomoyuki Sugano’s recent struggles continued after a pair of rough home starts, as the night came apart on him in the second inning.

It began as rough moments often can — with a leadoff walk, this one to Ronald Acuña Jr. And indeed, it came back to haunt him on the sixth pitch of the battle that immediately followed with Michael Harris II, whose line drive that reached just shy of the left-field warning track scored Acuña to put the Rox behind. Sugano rallied for a pair of outs, but then allowed a double to Sean Murphy and a single to Drake Baldwin, plunking Ha-Seong Kim in between.

In the fifth inning, Sugano’s persistent bugaboo bit him — but with Ronald Acuña Jr. on base via a leadoff double, Michael Harris’ shot over the right-field wall was good for a two-run homer, putting the Rox behind 6-3. Those runs proved to be the difference.

“I just think overall, he got behind in the count again,” Schaeffer said. “Not a lot executed tonight. Fell behind, and then had to come back in and got hit pretty hard there. It’s been a tough couple of times (through the rotation) for Tomo.”

Schaeffer said that Sugano didn’t have anything physically wrong, but reiterated that getting behind in counts cost him.

BITS AND PIECES

IT WAS DECIDED FOR THE ROCKIES WHEN: Olson plucked Rumfield’s grounder to start a ninth-inning double play.

NUMBER TO NOTE: 8 — Rockies players in the lineup who had a hit. Only Connor Norby — who came into the night on a sizzling streak — went hitless.

WHAT’S NEXT: Ryan Feltner gets the call for the Rox. Martin Pérez will go for Atlanta. First pitch is scheduled for 2:10 p.m. MDT.

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