The Colorado Rockies kicked off a new homestand with the first of four against the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday night. Despite a valiant effort through the first seven innings, the Phillies rallied in the last two innings against the bullpen to win 9–3. The loss marks Colorado’s 15th defeat in their last 18 games, underscoring a challenging stretch for the team. The Phillies are now 18-4 over their last 22 games against the Rockies.

Kyle Freeland started on the mound for the Rockies and navigated well against a potent Phillies lineup. Battling a blister and lack of run support, Freeland scattered seven hits, giving up just one run while striking out six in 5 1/3 innings of work. The lone run against Freeland came in the top of the fifth when Trea Turner tripled and scored on a single to left field by Bryce Harper.

The Rockies kicked off the scoring in the bottom of the first with the second home run of the season for Ezequiel Tovar, who also delivered an RBI single in the third to give them a 2-0 lead. Their third and final run came in the sixth after Michael Toglia doubled with two outs and scored on a ground-rule double by Brenton Doyle.

Philadelphia’s offense threatened Freeland, but he held them at bay before being replaced by Jake Bird. The Phillies’ lineup consistently applied pressure, scratching across a run in the seventh to make it a 3-2 ball game in favor of the Rockies.

Seth Halvorsen entered the game in the eighth, facing a meaty part of the Phillies lineup, but struggled as he left offspeed pitches up the zone. The Phillies scored four runs on five hits, including a go-ahead two-run homer by Alec Bohm to make it a 4-3 Phillies lead. Turner added a two-run double to make it 6-3. Scott Alexander replaced Halvorsen to close out the inning and start the ninth against Kyle Schwarber who promptly hit is 300th career home run to give the Phillies a 7-3 lead. A two-run home run from Edmundo Sosa was the final nail in the coffin to hand the Rockies the 9-3 loss.

This defeat adds to a series of tough losses for Colorado as the positives make an appearance but they can’t close the deal.. The Rockies will need to regroup and find ways to turn their season around as they continue their series against the Phillies.