DENVER
Corey Dickerson’s leadoff triple off the right-field wall in the ninth inning ended badly for the Colorado Rockies, emblematic of the team’s rough stretch.
The throw from center fielder Carlos Gomez got past third baseman Aramis Ramirez and Dickerson, after briefly hesitating, ran for home – only to stumble and fall, allowing Ramirez to chase down the ball and easily throw him out at the plate. The sequence helped the Milwaukee Brewers hang on to beat the Rockies 6-5 on Sunday and complete a series sweep.
“He’s a hard-working player, and a crazy thing just happened, kind of unfortunate, but that’s baseball for you,” Rockies teammate Charlie Culberson said.
It was the second time in as many games that a freakish play figured prominently in a loss for the Rockies, who have lost six in a row overall. In Saturday’s 9-4 loss, the Brewers scored three of their runs on a bases-loaded wild pitch by Christian Friedrich and a subsequent throwing error by catcher Mike McKenry.
“We just have to keep fighting, keep fighting for wins,” Rockies’ manager Walt Weiss said.
Colorado went down swinging.
They were trailing 6-4 when Dickerson tripled off closer Francisco Rodriguez to start the ninth. Hustling all the way, Dickerson slid into third well ahead of Gomez’s throw. He jumped to his feet when he saw the ball rolling slowly toward the Brewers dugout but staggered midway down the line and fell. By the time he scrambled to his feet and headed home, catcher Jonathan Lucroy had the ball and applied the tag.
“It’s just a tough break,” Weiss said. “He was going to score on that play. His legs gave out, and he stumbled there between third and home. He went real hard from home to third, saw he had an opportunity to score, and he stumbled, that’s all.”
Wilin Rosario, who had four hits, followed the Dickerson play by homering to get the Rockies within a run. But Rodriguez came back to fan pinch-hitter Ryan Wheeler and induce a game-ending groundout by Culberson for his 25th save.
Ramirez homered and drove in two runs for the Brewers to support a solid start from Kyle Lohse (9-2), who allowed three runs on seven hits in five innings.
Rosario finished with three runs batted in for Colorado, which fell to 6-14 in June.
After winning 16 of their first 23 home games, the Rockies have lost 10-of-13 at Coors Field, where they have been swept twice in June.
Rockies rookie right-hander Tyler Matzek (1-2) was roughed up in the second before setting down 11 straight. He ran into trouble in the fifth with the game tied at 3.
“That was the majority of the problem, leaving it up and not getting through the ball,” he said. “It led to me falling behind guys, and, when you do that, guys start hitting balls. They’re a good hitting team. I just tried to pound the zone and just kept leaving it up.”
With runners on first and second, Lucroy singled to right, scoring Rickie Weeks from second. Lucroy was caught in a rundown between first and second and Ryan Braun was able to score from third to make it 5-3.
The Rockies made it a one-run game in the eighth on Drew Stubbs’ RBI triple to right, but Lyle Overbay led off the ninth with a pinch-hit home run to restore the two-run cushion.
Gomez extended his hitting streak to 18 games with a leadoff single in the second, and Ramirez followed with a two-run homer, his 10th, to make it 2-0. Consecutive singles put runners on first and third for Milwaukee, and a double-play grounder by Lohse scored Khris Davis to make it 3-0.
The Rockies rallied to tie it with a run in the second and two in the third on Rosario’s double to right-center.
