Rockies’ nightmare start, worst ever among National League teams in modern era, keeps spiraling

The club with the worst start in modern National League history keeps sinking deeper.

Colorado lost its eighth straight game on Tuesday at Coors Field, an 8-2 defeat to the Braves that was never in doubt. German Marquez, who’s yet to regain his All-Star form, was hit hard for seven runs in five-plus innings. And the NL’s most anemic offense struggled again, notching only six hits.

That formula dropped the Rockies to 4-25 in a season that has already spiraled out of control. Firing hitting coach Hensley Meulens and replacing him with Rocktober boss Clint Hurdle has done nothing to reverse the course of a club that is currently tracking toward the most abysmal record in baseball history.

The Rockies, owners of an MLB-worst minus-78 run differential, are already 15.5 games back of the first-place Dodgers in the NL West and it’s not even May. Coming off consecutive 100-loss seasons, Colorado is on an early pace to surpass the futility of the 2024 White Sox, who set a modern-era record with 121 losses.

Amid the ugliness to begin 2025, Coors Field’s been the opposite of a haven. While the Rockies are just 1-14 on the road, Tuesday’s defeat dropped them to 3-11 in LoDo, tied for the worst home start in franchise history with the ’98 team.

On Tuesday, Michael Harris II gave Atlanta the lead in the second inning when he hit a two-run double. Michael Toglia’s solo homer in the bottom of the inning cut the score to 2-1, but the Rockies wouldn’t get any closer from there.

Marquez gave up three more runs in the fourth, off Harris’ RBI groundout and Nick Allen’s two-run single.

Then, Atlanta tacked on another run in the fifth to go up 6-1 in a frame highlighted by a couple of defensive miscues. Matt Olson doubled to left-center on a ball that could’ve been caught by center fielder Brenton Doyle, but Doyle pulled off his route at the last minute to avoid a collision with left fielder Jordan Beck. Doyle, a back-to-back Gold Glove Award winner who was calling for the ball, wasn’t happy with his teammate.

Ozzie Albies then singled to right and Mickey Moniak booted the ball, allowing Olson to score. It marked Colorado’s 15th error at home this season, sloppy play for what the team believed would be one of the best defenses in baseball. A throwing error in the ninth by Alan Trejo extended the home error tally to 16.

The Braves tacked on a run in the sixth off Jimmy Herget, and after Colorado got one back via Toglia’s RBI fielder’s choice in the bottom of the inning, Atlanta scored again off Seth Halvorsen in the eighth.

The game finished in 2 hours and 20 minutes, a snappy game that likely served as a reprieve for Rockies fans who have had nothing to look forward to at the ballpark this season.

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