Rockies cement franchise record with 32 consecutive scoreless innings in 5-3 defeat to Dodgers

Forget about Colorado’s goal of turning a corner in 2025. The new reality for the Rockies? Avoid 104 losses.

The Rockies were shut out for the first five innings of a 5-3 defeat to the defending World Series champion Dodgers on Monday in Los Angeles, cementing a club record with 32 straight innings without scoring. An RBI double by Kyle Farmer — Colorado’s best hitter by far in a dismal season to date — finally snapped the skid in the sixth inning.

But besides that and a late homer by Hunter Goodman, it was bad business as usual for a team looking like it could easily top not only its 101-loss season from last year, but also the franchise-worst 103-loss season from 2023.

The Rockies cannot hit: The Blake Street Bummers have scored just 43 runs so far, the fewest in the majors. They looked largely inept facing Dodgers right-hander Dustin May on Monday. And their 169 strikeouts are the most in the National League, while slumping first baseman Michael Toglia — who is supposed to be a pillar of the lineup — leads the majors with 29 K’s.

The Rockies cannot field: After a misplay on one grounder and then an error on another by rookie second baseman Adael Amador in the sixth inning on Monday, they have 16 errors on the season, the most in the National League.

And their pitching has been suspect, too. Though the club’s starters have pitched better than their 3-13 record indicates, the bullpen’s been an abject disaster, with a 5.92 ERA coming into Monday that’s the fourth-worst in baseball. The club’s overall 5.02 ERA coming into Monday is second-worst in MLB, ahead of only the Nationals’ 5.15. Washington arrives in LoDo for a three-game series on Friday.

If not for the veteran Farmer, who boasts one of the best averages in baseball at .362, the Rockies would’ve been no-hit in the road trip opener at Petco Park last Friday. He had the Rockies’ only knocks in the game, an 8-0 Padres victory, and had five of the nine hits in the series as the rest of his teammates batted a combined 4 for 78 (.051).

Colorado’s offensive drought during the first three-plus games of the road trip topped the club’s previous low for consecutive scoreless innings, 30, which was set late in the 2010 season.

After Farmer’s double snapped the scoreless skid midday through Monday’s game, Goodman added another bright spot with a two-run homer in the seventh off Dodgers right-hander Anthony Banda. That cut the deficit to two, but it was all the juice the Rockies’ offense had. It’s only the fifth time this season that Colorado’s scored three or more runs.

Two of the Dodgers’ MVPs led the way for Los Angeles, as Mookie Betts blasted a two-run homer off Antonio Senzatela in the first inning, then Shohei Ohtani victimized Senza in the third with a solo shot to center. All-star catcher Will Smith tacked on a pair of RBIs via a single off Luis Peralta in the fifth and a sacrifice fly off Tyler Kinley in the sixth, two swings that ended up being the difference.

The series at Dodger Stadium resumes with games Tuesday and Wednesday before the Rockies return to Denver.

Tuesday’s pitching matchup

Rockies RHP Ryan Feltner (0-0, 2.81) at Dodgers RHP Landon Knack (1-0, 10.38)

8:10 p.m. Tuesday, Dodger Stadium

TV: Rockies.TV (streaming); Comcast/Xfinity (channel 1262); DirecTV (683); Spectrum (130, 445, 305, 435 or 445, depending on region).

Radio: 850 AM, 94.1 FM

Trending: While Colorado’s offensive struggles so far have been well-documented, the club’s defense hasn’t been much better. What was supposed to be one of the best defenses in baseball — at least by internal expectations — has floundered through 15 games. The Rockies are averaging an error a game, with their 15 errors the second-most in baseball, trailing Boston’s 19. The 15 errors are tied for the fourth-most in any 15-game stretch in franchise history.

Pitching probables

Wednesday: Rockies RHP Germán Márquez (0-2, 4.60) at Dodgers RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto (2-1, 1.23), 8:10 p.m.

Thursday: Off

Friday: Nationals LHP MacKenzie Gore (1-2, 3.52) at Rockies RHP Chase Dollander (1-1, 5.06), 6:40 p.m.