NEW YORK – As if the news wasn’t bad enough on the field for the Colorado Rockies, they received another blow after their latest loss was over.
Thursday’s scheduled starter Tyler Chatwood was headed to the disabled list.
Manager Walt Weiss announced the disheartening development right after the Rockies managed just four hits against Matt Harvey and the New York Mets in a 5-0 loss Wednesday night.
“Tyler’s been real good for us,” Weiss said. “When it rains it pours.”
And it’s going bad, real bad: The Rockies dropped to 1-8 on their 10-game trip, and if they lose the finale against the Mets they will match their worst road skid since 2007, when they lost nine of 10 from June 22 to July 1.
Chatwood’s start was pushed from Tuesday until Thursday because of a hamstring strain. He experienced elbow trouble after he tested his leg in a bullpen session Tuesday.
“That’s a guy you would love to run out there when we are struggling like we are,” Weiss said.
Chatwood is 7-4 with a 3.15 earned-run average in 15 starts. He missed time in June because of a sore triceps.
Weiss did not know who would start Thursday afternoon. The Rockies Triple-A club plays in Colorado Springs so it was most likely too late to call up a starter for a 10 a.m. start. Jorge De La Rosa was scheduled to start Friday.
It didn’t matter that their best pitcher, Jhoulys Chacin, started Wednesday. Harvey was too good.
“He was dirty,” Colorado’s Todd Helton said of Harvey. “He was as good as I’ve seen in a long time.”
Harvey (9-3) tossed his first career complete game in his 33rd start. He pitched nine innings of one-hit ball May 7, but New York lost in 10.
Not this time. Rookie third baseman Wilmer Flores helped make sure of that.
Filling in for the injured David Wright, Flores cleared the bases in the eighth against Manny Corpas with a three-run double for his first big league RBIs. Omar Quintanilla and John Buck each had RBI singles early off Chacin (10-6), who lost for just the third time in his last 11 starts. Flores got his first hit and scored on Quintanilla’s single in the second inning.
Harvey came out for the ninth to loud cheers, and they grew with each out.
He retired pinch-hitter Corey Dickerson on a groundout to shortstop Quintanilla. Then Dexter Fowler grounded out to short. The fans stood and chanted “Let’s Go Harvey!” when Charlie Blackmon stepped in. The cheers turned to groans when Blackmon lined a pitch off Harvey’s knee that bounced into shallow right field. Harvey tried to wave off the Mets’ trainer, but they checked their prized pitcher anyway.
“I felt fine, I wanted to finish the game,” Harvey said.
Harvey then got All-Star Troy Tulowitzki to pop out to second base on his 106th pitch for the final out.
The 24-year-old right-hander struck out six without walking a batter.
“It’s awesome,” Harvey said of his first shutout. “As a starting pitcher that’s what you shoot for every time.”
The offensively challanged Rockies played without All-Star left fielder Carlos Gonzalez for the second consecutive night. He was placed on the 15-day DL earlier in the day with a sprained right middle finger.
Wilin Rosario grounded a single past a lunging Quintanilla with two outs in the second inning for the Rockies’ first baserunner. Michael Cuddyer became the next Rockies player to reach with a two-out single to center field in the fourth.
Harvey then set down 11 in a row before Nolan Arenado reached on an infield single. Replays, however, showed the throw from Quintanilla just beat Arenado. No worries. Harvey got D.J. LeMahieu to ground into a 6-4-3 double play with his 91st pitch.
With closer Bobby Parnell on the disabled list and a low pitch count, manager Terry Collins’ decision to allow Harvey to come out for the ninth was an easy one. The Mets’ bullpen remained quiet.
Chacin was nearly as good, doing it with guile instead of power. Barely reaching 90 on the stadium scoreboard, while Harvey routinely touched the mid-90s, Chacin struck out five and walked one in seven innings.
He had little trouble with the top of the Mets’ order, but the bottom caused the trouble.
Flores and Buck had two hits apiece.
“I got behind in the second (inning) and had to throw fastballs for strikes,” Chacin said. “That’s why 6-7-8 were able to get those runs off of me.”
Ike Davis hit an opposite-field double down the left-field line with one out and scored an out later on the right-handed swinging Buck’s single to right field for a 2-0 lead.
Batting sixth, Flores hit a ground-rule double in the eighth off Corpas in center field to put New York up 5-0.
Rockies rumpus
Mets OF Lucas Duda (muscle strain in rib cage) was recalled from his rehab assignment and optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas. Duda has been on the DL since June 22. Duda went 7-for-45 (.156) with one HR and six RBIs in his rehab. ... The Rockies recalled LHP Jeff Francis from Triple-A Colorado Springs after they placed OF Carlos Gonzalez on the DL. ... When RHP Matt Harvey got his fourth strikeout, the Mets flashed on the videoboard “ZackKKKK,” for the Mets other young pitching prospect, Zack Wheeler.
