The Colorado Rockies fell short in their bid to complete a sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday afternoon, dropping the series finale 9–5 at Coors Field. Despite a furious sixth-inning power surge from their offense, the Rockies couldn’t overcome early pitching woes and a career day from Pirates infielder Spencer Horwitz.

Horwitz stole the spotlight with a monster performance, going 3-for-5 with a pair of home runs and a career-high six RBIs. His two-run blast in the second inning and three-run shot in the sixth provided the bulk of the damage, and he added an insurance RBI groundout in the eighth to cap his day.

The trouble for Colorado began immediately. Starter Bradley Blalock labored through a rocky first inning, allowing three runs. Horwitz led off the game with a double and eventually came into score when a ball deflected off shortstop Ezequiel Tovar. Two batters later, Tommy Pham blasted a monstrous 446-foot two-run homer to make it a 3-0 Pirates lead. Horwitz would then blast his first home run of the day the following inning, giving Pittsburgh a 5-0 lead.

Blalock battled through it all, ending up going 5 2/3 innings, giving up seven earned runs on six hits and four walks. His command never fully settled in, and while he kept the game from completely spiraling, the damage was done. The rookie right-hander has shown promise in recent outings, but Sunday marked a clear regression in execution.

Mitch Keller earned the win for Pittsburgh, though not without turbulence of his own. After cruising through the first five innings, Keller unraveled in the sixth as the Rockies’ bats finally woke up. In a span of just seven pitches, Colorado launched three consecutive home runs: Mickey Moniak (No. 17), Hunter Goodman (No. 21), and Jordan Beck (No. 14) each took Keller deep to trim the deficit to 8–5. It was the first time the Rockies hit back-to-back-to-back home runs since 2018.

It was an electric sequence for a team that has shown occasional flashes of offensive firepower following the All-Star Break. Beck, who finished 2-for-4, was later ejected in the seventh inning after arguing a called third strike. Yanquiel Fernández also chipped in with a pair of hits.

As valiant as the bullpen’s effort was, they allowed two more runs, just putting the game out of reach as the Rockies couldn’t quite capitalize on some late scoring opportunities. With the loss, the Rockies now have a record of 30-81.

They will reset and welcome the Toronto Blue Jays to Coors Field on Monday for a three-game set. Eric Lauer takes the hill for the Blue Jays while Tanner Gordon is penciled in for the Rockies.