The Colorado Rockies posted a long-awaited zero on Wednesday.
With a 6-0 win over the St. Louis Cardinals, the Rockies posted their first shutout in 220 games, ending the longest shutout streak in MLB’s modern era (since 1900). Their last shutout was an 8-0 victory over the San Diego Padres on May 15, 2024.
Per MLB.com, the only longer shutout droughts on record were the 1893-96 Washington Senators (383) and the 1897-99 St. Louis Browns/Perfectos (298), back when baseball was a very different sport.
The pitchers responsible for the history were starting pitcher Tanner Gordon and relievers Jimmy Herget and Tyler Kinley, who combined to allow five hits total.
From MLB.com:
“I did not know that,” Rockies interim manager Warren Schaeffer said. “That’s a long time — 220 games. I’m glad we shut them out today behind Gordon.”
Obviously, playing half their games at the infamously hitter-friendly Coors Field didn’t help the Rockies with their streak.
Gordon was called up from Triple-A Albuquerque the same day, after the Rockies placed starting pitcher German Marquez on the 15-day injured list due to right biceps tendinitis. His start, the 12th of his career, was only the fourth time all season that a Rockies starter threw six or more shutout innings.
Even though the historic streak is over, it reflects what has been a grotesquely bad season for the Rockies. Their record improved to 26-76, which is still by far the worst record in MLB. The next-worst team is the Chicago White Sox at 36-66.
The Rockies are roughly on track to match the losses record the White Sox set last year at 41-121, with their current pace working out to an end-of-season 41.3-120.7. The Rox were in much worse territory earlier this season but have been merely bad since the start of June, with a 17-27 record. Their minus-247 run differential still puts them on pace for a minus-392 mark this season, which would surpass the 1932 Boston team (minus-345) for the worst of the modern era.
Still, progress is progress when you’re a team that had single-digit wins at the end of May. By taking two out of three games against the Cardinals this week and two of three against the Minnesota Twins last weekend, the Rockies posted their first back-to-back series wins of the year.
