Baseball is a sport where anything can happen and you can never quite expect it to happen. Good or bad, you might be able to witness history and such was the case on Tuesday. Unfortunately for the Colorado Rockies, they were victims of history they wanted no part of due to a ninth-inning collapse and ultimate loss in extra innings to the Miami Marlins 7-6.

Colorado has now trailed in their 29th consecutive game to begin the season, breaking a tie with the 1910 St. Louis Browns for the modern-era record as the Marlins earned the walk-off victory in the bottom of the 10th. The game featured a five-run first inning by the Rockies and was book-ended by a five-run ninth inning for the Marlins that pushed things into the 10th. It was the first time in the modern era that five runs were scored in the first inning and five in the ninth inning without anything else in between.

Runs have been difficult to come by for the Rockies this season and when they do it’s usually confined to one inning. Things looked promising in the first inning as they sent nine batters to the plate

Ezequiel Tovar led things off with a double to left field off the first pitch. Brenton Doyle then laid down a sacrifice bunt, moving Tovar to third and allowing him to score on a Ryan McMahon single to left field on a 1-2 pitch. It was just the sixth time this season that the Rockies have crossed the plate first in a game and they kept the foot on the gas pedal.

After a ground out by Elias Diaz for the second out, Charlie Blackmon laced a single to right field to score McMahon to give the Rockies a 2-0 lead. Brendan Rodgers kept things going with a single to center field, setting the stage for Elehuris Montero to belt his second home run of the season, a three-run blast on a line drive to center field to give the Rockies a 5-0 lead. According to Statcast, Montero’s home run would have been a home run at just 23 ballparks.

MONTY MASH 😤 pic.twitter.com/AUG3VTNyx9

— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) April 30, 2024

The first inning also saw the highly-anticipated debut of their No. 4 prospect Jordan Beck who joined the roster after Nolan Jones was placed on the injured list. The 2022 draft pick went 2-for-4 on the day with a pair of singles, the first coming in the first inning on the first pitch he saw. He would add another single in the sixth inning.

Just getting started 👏 https://t.co/prNDPyV8e3 pic.twitter.com/btPeOnAMQv

— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) April 30, 2024

The Rockies would tally just two more hits through the ninth and a McMahon double in the 10th for his third hit night, giving them nine for the game as they struck out 13 times against just two walks as the Marlins pitching staff settled in after the first inning. Sanchez ended up going four innings, allowing just one more hit after the six in the first inning. The Marlins bullpen combined to allow just one run on two hits with 10 strikeouts the rest of the game.

Ryan Feltner started on the mound and cruised through eight innings as the five-run lead appeared to be enough to get the victory. He entered the ninth with just 79 pitches thrown and in a prime position to toss a complete game shutout. Whether it was nerves or the fact the Marlins were starting another trip through the lineup, Feltner began to show the first signs on faltering. Having allowed just three hits to that point, Vidal Brujan laced a single to right field to lead off the inning. Feltner then hit Chrisitan Bethancourt and surrendered an RBI double to Luis Arraez to lose the shutout and effectively end his evening.

The Rockies turned to Justin Lawrence out of the bullpen to get three outs and secure the victory but Lawrence’s command was missing as he walked Bryan De La Cruz to load the bases. Dane Myers, who had replaced Jazz Chisholm Jr. after a seventh-inning ejection, then singled to score two more runs and make it a 5-3 game with runners on first and second. Josh Bell added another single to load the bases before Lawrence hit Jesus Sanchez with a pitch to drive in a run and keep the bases loaded with no outs. Emmanuel Rivera then hit a sacrifice fly to right field to tie the game at five and chase Lawrence from the game.

With one out and the bases loaded, Jalen Beeks managed to stop the bleeding, striking out Nick Gordon for the second out and getting Bethancourt to hit a long fly ball for an out in left field. The Rockies took a brief lead in the 10th thanks to McMahon’s RBI double, but the Marlins would answer back with an RBI double from De La Cruz who would then score the winning run on an RBI single from Myers.

For the Rockies, it was just the third time in franchise history that they have blown a five-run ninth-inning lead.

Up Next

Dakota Hudson toes the rubbers looking to find his footing after a rough past couple of starts. In his last start against the San Diego Padres, Hudson pitched just 3 1/3 innings, allowing six runs on six hits. Walks have been a specific problem for him as he has issued nine in his last 7 1/3 innings of work over his last two starts. The Marlins have not yet announced their starter.