Bettis solid again, but Colorado gives up three in ninth in loss to Milwaukee.
Now firmly in step with the procedure of a season, Rockies right-hander Chad Bettis on Saturday faced a footloose lineup of freewheeling Brewers batters at Coors Field.
Milwaukee’s is the heftiest home run hitting lineup in the National League, and Denver, it seemed, was an ideal place to bust out. But Bettis is a tricky veteran pitcher who can fill a strike zone with clutter. And he offered very little to chew on through seven innings.
Bettis, though, cannot pitch in perpetuity, and the Brewers finally teed off in the witching hour. Big Jesus Aguilar hit a big home run off Colorado closer Greg Holland in the ninth inning as Milwaukee scored three runs for a 6-3 victory over the Rockies in front of 47,216 fans in Lodo.
Holland’s fourth loss this season in 47 appearances led to his first premature exit. With two outs, the pinch-hitting Aguilar blasted a full-count slider to the pine trees beyond center field. Neil Walker then hit an RBI single to right. And Colorado manager Bud Black was forced to replace his closer for the first time this season.
“Power-hitting team, you can’t give out free passes and you can’t make mistakes up in the zone,” Holland said. “Especially late.”
The Rockies (68-55) missed a chance at relief. Arizona (67-56) and St. Louis (63-60) lost, while Milwaukee (64-60) moved 4½ games back of Colorado.
“I threw him a few quality pitches at the bottom of the zone that he didn’t offer at,” Holland said of his matchup with Aguilar. Holland fell behind 2-1, but evened the count with a fouled-off slider, before a ball filled the count. “First base was open and I know it’s a tie game,” Holland said, “but you can’t throw a hanging slider after he’s already seen five. It was just bad execution on my part.”
Bettis’ break started from the bottom. Milwaukee’s Brandon Woodruff, a 24-year-old rookie, made just his third start, and he lasted just 4M innings on the mound. But in two trips to the plate, he singled twice off Bettis to center field.
Woodruff’s first career hit keyed a three-run inning, when he led off then scored on Eric Thames triple past Charlie Blackmon in center field. Ryan Braun’s sacrifice fly to center scored Thames. And Travis Shaw followed with a solo homer, redirecting a flat curveball from Bettis to the bullpens in right-center.
“The third inning got a little out of hand,” Bettis said. “I was leaking a little bit on my front side. I feel strong and good, which is nice. But I need to be a little bit better, in the third for sure.”
Gerardo Parra trimmed Milwaukee’s lead in the fourth after he led off with a sharp line drive to center field, then scored on Jonathan Lucroy’s single to the same spot.
In the seventh, Trevor Story doubled with a hard hit down the left-field line and Charlie Blackmon singled him home with a single through the left side. DJ Lemahieu then knocked in Blackmon with his third single of the night to tie the game 3-3.
Holland’s 35 saves this season remain the most in the NL. But in the fifth month of his first season after Tommy John surgery, and pitching on a second consecutive night, the 31-year-old pitched a third failed outing in his past five.
“Too many dumb mistakes here recently,” Holland said. “My percentage of executing quality pitches hasn’t been what I expect with myself.”