Cardinals Outlast Rockies 3–2 as Skid Stretches to Eight
The good news for the Colorado Rockies? The pitching was sharp. The bad news? The offense still couldn’t deliver enough to halt the slide. In St. Louis on Monday night, Colorado dropped its eighth straight game — their fifth losing streak of eight or more this season — falling 3–2 to the Cardinals in a tightly contested opener.
Dollander Returns with Heat
Making his first start since July 6, Chase Dollander took the mound with a fresh beard and something to prove. The rookie flamethrower didn’t allow a home run for just the third time all season, striking out five and surrendering only one earned run over five innings.
In a rare display of velocity for a Rockies starter, Dollander fired 16 pitches at 99 mph or higher — a feat not accomplished by any Colorado pitcher since 2021.
The outing wasn’t flawless. He allowed five hits, walked three, and needed 92 pitches to get through five frames. But after weeks of punishing starts from the rotation, Dollander’s performance was a much-needed stabilizer and a possible building block for the rest of his season.
Mikolas Muzzles the Bats
Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas turned in arguably his best outing of the year, baffling Colorado hitters for six innings. He held the Rockies hitless until Tyler Freeman finally broke through with a two-out single in the sixth.
Mikolas, who had yet to record an out in the seventh all season, saw that streak broken — and broken up — as Colorado strung together a small rally. A Jordan Beck bunt single, a Mickey Moniak base hit, and a Warming Bernabel groundout produced the first run. Moments later, Moniak crossed the plate on a Brenton Doyle RBI single to give the Rockies a brief 2–1 lead.
Late-Inning Heartbreak
After two scoreless relief innings from Nick Anderson and Jimmy Herget, the Rockies entered the eighth with a narrow edge. Juan Mejia started the inning with a strikeout, but a walk and a single set the stage for pinch-hitter Brendan Donovan, fresh off the injured list. Donovan delivered, slicing a double into right field past a charging Freeman, driving in two runs and flipping the score back in St. Louis’ favor.
Rookie Kyle Karros ended the inning with a highlight-reel snag at third base, turning it into an inning-ending double play, but the damage was done.
Final Chance Fizzles
Bernabel singled in the ninth to put the tying run aboard, but the Rockies’ bats fell silent once again, sealing the loss.
Up Next:
Colorado will send Kyle Freeland to the mound Tuesday to face Cardinals lefty Matthew Liberatore in a bid to finally halt the skid. First pitch is scheduled for 5:45 p.m. MDT.
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