ARLINGTON, Texas — The Colorado Rockies left Texas as the first team in baseball’s modern era to lose 36 of their first 43 games and hoping an off day in Arizona can help them reset.
“That’s the plan,” interim manager Warren Schaeffer said Wednesday night following an 8-3 loss to the Texas Rangers that was Colorado’s 11th in the last 12 games. “We’re looking forward to (the day off), and we’re looking forward to getting after the Diamondbacks in Arizona.”
The Rockies became the first team to start 7-36 in the modern era (since 1900). They were swept for the seventh time and are 0-3 under Schaeffer, who replaced Bud Black on Sunday.
Third baseman Ryan McMahon, a 2024 All-Star who played on Colorado playoff teams in 2017-18, has a simple message for his teammates.
“Just keep going,” McMahon said in the quiet clubhouse. “You’ve got to keep your head down. You’ve got to keep putting the work in. We’ve got a lot of areas we can improve in, and that’s the only way we’re going to improve.”
The Rockies are 2-20 on the road, matching four other teams as the worst record after 22 games in the modern era. Wednesday’s starting pitcher, Antonio Senzatela, has dropped 10 consecutive road starts since the beginning of 2022.
Colorado has struggled out of the gate in many games. It has been outscored 44-15 in first innings. In their last two losses at Texas, Rockies pitching allowed three runs to the first three hitters Tuesday, and four through the first four Wednesday.
“We’ve got to find a way to start the game better,” said Schaeffer, previously the team’s third base coach before replacing Black on Sunday.
Schaeffer is winless in three games and says he has no quarrel with effort or morale.
“The boys are getting after it,” he said. “In the clubhouse before the game. All the preparatory work. In the dugout. Pitchers that aren’t pitching are getting after it during the game. Hey, maybe a little too much. But we need to find that even keel where we can get the job done.”
For a team seeking a silver lining, consider that one of the other teams that opened 2-20 on the road went to the World Series – the 2005 Houston Astros.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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