One night after blowing a five-run lead in the ninth and losing in extra innings to become the first team in the modern era to begin the year trailing in 29 consecutive games, the Colorado Rockies offense once again fell flat as they dropped their fourth straight game by a score of 4-1.

The Miami Marlins enjoyed a phenomenal start from Roddery Muñoz who made just his second big league start. Despite an 8.40 ERA in four starts in Triple-A, the 24-year-old right-hander dazzled through his six innings of work. He wracked up seven strikeouts against just two walks, allowing just one run on three hits. He induced 12 swings and misses by the Rockies on his 82 pitches thrown. The Rockies’ lone run came in the sixth inning when Brenton Doyle walked, followed by a double from Ryan McMahon and an RBI ground out by Elias Diaz.

Roddery Muñoz, Painted Back Door Two Seamers. 🖌️🎨

19" and 20" of run. pic.twitter.com/u2XKujs0I1

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 1, 2024

The bullpen kept things rolling for the Fish, giving up just one hit and one walk over the final three innings to shut the door and secure the Marlins’ first series victory of the season and the first time they have won consecutive games. The Rockies threatened in the eighth inning with a pair of runners on with two outs but Tanner Scott managed to get Diaz to fly out to close the threat.

The Rockies went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base as a team. Since tallying five runs on six hits with two extra-base hits in the first inning in game one of the series, they have totaled just two runs on seven hits with two extra-base knocks. The bottom half of the lineup when a combined 1-for-18. Runs continue to come at a premium for the Rockies as they hold the worst record in the National League.

The loss comes despite a decent outing from Rockies starter Dakota Hudson. Walks have been an issue for Hudson over his past couple of starts but he settled in nicely against the Marlins offense. In his 5 2/3 innings of work, he allowed just two walks with two strikeouts while giving up two runs on five hits. Trouble didn’t arise for Hudson until the fifth inning when he hit Emmanuel Rivera to lead off the inning. After getting Vidal Brujan and Christian Bethancourt, Hudson gave up an RBI single to Luis Arraez and give the Marlins a 1-0 lead. Bryan De La Cruz would then line a double to left field to score Arraez for a 2-0 lead heading to the sixth.

Dakota Hudson, Nasty Breaking Balls. 😨 pic.twitter.com/KAvIzksXGX

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 1, 2024

After several more innings of quick baseball and lack of offense, it would be the Marlins in the eighth inning that would build upon their lead against the Rockies bullpen. Nick Mears entered the game looking to build on a decent start to the season. He surrendered a lead-off single to Josh Bell before getting Jesus Sanchez and Nick Gordon to fly out. With two outs, Mears issued back-to-back walks to Rivera and Brujan to load the bases for pinch-hitter Dane Myers.

After playing the hero on Tuesday off the bench, Myers laced a single to the outfield to score two runs and give the Marlins a 4-1 lead. Victor Vodnik then entered the game to get the final out in the eighth. The bullpen has faltered as of late with what manager Bud Black described as “erratic pitching.” The bullpen issued three walks on the night, with the two from Mears coming back to haunt.

Seven hits with a double by the Marlins made the difference as they went 2-for-7 with runners in scoring position.  They drew five walks and struck out just twice with Rivera leading the way with two hits.

Up Next

Peter Lambert gets another turn in the rotation as he tries to find his footing as a starter after beginning the year as a long reliever. He’ll face off against Edward Cabrera, an electric arm that can struggle with walks but is also more prone to strikeouts. In his last outing, he allowed five runs on four hits in 4 1/3 innings with four strikeouts and two walks.