After a gorgeous home opener at Coors Field on Friday that saw the Colorado Rockies win via a walk-off grand slam, the weather decided to turn sour on Saturday. With the wind howling and both players and fans bundled up as much as they could be, the Rockie gave up five runs late in the game for the second straight night to blow an early lead and waste a stellar starting pitching performance by Ryan Felter, losing 8-6.

In contrast to his rotation associates, Felter is a power pitcher through and through. The ceiling is high for the right-hander as a blazing fastball and power secondary pitches can wreak havoc on opposing batters. The key to his success is an ability to find the zone consistently with clear command and on Saturday he put his potential on clear display.

Facing a struggling Rays lineup and blustering winds, Felter cruised easily through six innings, the first Rockies starter to reach that mark this season. After allowing a run in the first inning when Brandon Lowe drew a walk and scored on an Isaac Paredes single, Feltner dominated the Rays for the rest of his outing, allowing just one run on two hits with two walks. His 10 strikeouts were the first time a Rockies pitcher had reached that mark since Kyle Freeland did so back in 2021. When the Rays did make contact against Feltner, it was weak contact resulting in eight groundouts. On the night he tossed 92 pitches, 59 of which were for strikes. He is the third pitcher in Rockies history to pitch six innings and allow two or fewer hits with 10+ strikeouts at Coors Field, joining Ubaldo Jimenez and German Marquez.

“I had a really could game plan with [Diaz], we were on the same page all night and I had a lot of things working,” Feltner said after the game. “I just felt good with all my pitches and just attacking the zone. Strikeouts are kind of like home runs for hitters, you’re not really trying to get them but if you’re doing the right thing they’ll come along.”

Ryan Feltner is the third pitcher in franchise history to pitch six innings and allow two or fewer hits with 10+ strikeouts in a start at Coors Field. pic.twitter.com/KwuEMQ29fn

— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) April 7, 2024

“Feltner threw the ball great.” manager Bud Black said in his postgame press conference. “You know a lot of strikeouts with the fastball, which should give him a lot of confidence moving forward. The slider came into play too, a couple of changeups to their lefties, but I thought he threw outstanding. The ball-strike ratio the first couple of innings was not very good but all of a sudden he turned it around and threw a ton of strikes. Arguably one of his best outings of his career.”

Feltner’s dominance on the mound enabled the Rockies offense to continue its hot streak in the past two games. Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the second, Ryan McMahon lofted a ball into the wind that pushed it out to left field for his second home run in as many days after belting the game-winning grand slam on Friday.

Ryan McMahon is having a weekend 🙌 pic.twitter.com/BOLxMY8U1a

— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) April 7, 2024

It would be the first of a couple of home runs for the Rockies that proved instrumental for the team’s victory. Leading 2-1 in the fourth inning, Michael Toglia, making the start in right field as Kris Bryant rested a stiff back, hit his second career home run from the right side of the plate to score Ezequiel Tovar and give the team a 4-1 lead.

Michael Toglia – Colorado Rockies (2)
pic.twitter.com/lXzeEaSvlq

— MLB HR Videos (@MLBHRVideos) April 7, 2024

Two innings, later Brenton Doyle, the subject of the Rockies t-shirt giveaway, launched a two-run home run to right field to give the Rockies a 6-1 lead extension. Doyle ended up going 2-for-3 on the night.

DOYLE RULES 🤘 pic.twitter.com/ETddQXSDR7

— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) April 7, 2024

After getting just two hits against Feltner the Rays began to chip away against the Rockies bullpen. In the seventh inning against Jake Bird, Richie Palacios drew a lead-off walk, followed by a Harold Ramirez single to put men on first and second. With one out, catcher Ben Rorvedt laced a double off the out-of-town scoreboard to plate a pair of runs. Thanks to some stellar defense by Tovar, the Rockies limited further damage but it only set the stage for a disastrous eighth inning.

Tyler Kinley entered the game out of the bullpen for the Rockies and quickly retired Lowe and Randy Arozarena to begin the inning. Paredes then opened the floodgates by clubbing a home run to left field, his third of the year. Palacios then singled and scored on a Ramirez double to right field. The Rockies then opted for left-handed reliever Jalen Beeks to face Amed Rosario, a career .298 hitter against lefties. Rosario quickly laced an RBI single to tie the game 6-6 after which Beeks issued walks to Rortvedt and Jose Siri to load the bases.

The Rockies again turned to the bullpen, this time to Justin Lawerence who surrendered the five runs on Friday in the ninth inning. Yandy Diaz slapped a ball to first base, but it hit a divot in the dirt to sail over Toglia who had moved to first base defensively, allowing the Rays to score two and take the lead on the final score as the Rockies went down 1-2-3 in the ninth inning to lose the game.

It was a promising night offensively for the Rockies. All but one starter in the lineup at a hit as the team tallied 11 on the night. Elias Diaz, Tovar, and Doyle all had two hits with the latter two having doubles. They struck out eight times as a club, led by Nolan Jones who went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts but also drew three walks.

Tyler Alexander started the game for the Rays, allowing four runs on eight hits with four strikeouts and two walks in 4 1/3 innings. Chris Devinksi then allowed two runs on three hits in 2 1/3 innings before giving way to a bullpen that combined for 2 1/3 perfect innings with a pair of strikeouts, capped off by Colin Poche’s first save of the year.

Offensively, the Rays tallied nine hits with Paredes and Ramirez leading the way with two hits apiece. They stuck out 12 times while drawing five walks. Six of their runs scored came with two outs on the night.

When asked about the wind in tonight’s game Black responded that “both teams played in the same conditions. Probably a better question for the player but I thought both sides competed hard. There were great at-bats, Feltner pitched great, the last two guys for them threw strikes, threw well and put up a couple of zeroes there at the end. They were not typical baseball conditions but it was a hard-fought game.”

He acknowledged the concerns about the bullpen but reiterated his confidence that they will regroup and rebound from the bad outings, leaving most of his praise for his starting pitcher Felter.

“I think my message to him is that he’s got a really good arm, he should be proud of his fastball and use it. Now, he’s got a four-seamer he can ride up at the top of the zone but he’s also got a fastball that has a good sink to it to get the groundball. The use of his fastball is something that should come into play, but he’s also got the ability to spin the ball.”

Concerning the struggles with the bullpen the past two games, Feltner had a simple message for the team. “We’re going to be alright.”

Up Next

Dakota Hudson (0-1, 0.00 ERA) makes his Coors Field debut for the Rockies after a solid first outing against the Chicago Cubs where he tossed 5 1/3 innings, allowing three runs all of which were unearned. He’ll square off against Ryan Pepiot (0-1, 9.53 ERA) who is making his 12th big league start. In his last outing, he allowed six runs on four hits with four walks in 5 2/3 innings against the Texas Rangers.