Tovar's Late Homer Lifts Rockies Over Orioles 6-5

Ezequiel Tovar launched a solo home run in the eighth inning, propelling the Colorado Rockies to a 6-5 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Friday night. This win marks Colorado's fifth in their last seven games, improving their record to 5-2 since the All-Star break.

Despite the recent success, the Rockies' overall season record stands at 27-76, leaving them needing 15 more wins to avoid tying the modern-era record of 121 losses set by last year's Chicago White Sox. The game began with a challenging start for Colorado, as Baltimore jumped ahead with four runs in the first two innings, courtesy of solo home runs from Jordan Westburg, Tyler O'Neill, Coby Mayo, and Alex Jackson.

The Rockies responded in the third inning when Mickey Moniak hit a solo shot, followed by Thairo Estrada's two-run homer in the fourth, narrowing the gap. Colorado took the lead in the fifth inning with Hunter Goodman’s RBI double, which was followed by Jordan Beck’s single that brought Goodman home.

However, the Orioles fought back, with Jackson Holliday tying the game in the seventh with an RBI single off Rockies reliever Jake Bird (4-1). Tovar's decisive homer came off Andrew Kittredge (1-2), allowing Colorado to regain the lead.

Seth Halvorsen closed out the game with a flawless ninth inning, securing his 10th save in 13 opportunities. In a pre-game player exchange, both teams traded players to New York; the Rockies sent infielder Ryan McMahon to the Yankees while the Orioles dealt reliever Gregory Soto to the Mets.

O'Neill opened the eighth with a double for Baltimore, but Tyler Kinley struck out two of the next three batters to maintain Colorado's slim lead. Notably, Baltimore remains the only team in Major League Baseball without a walk-off victory this season.

Looking ahead, Trevor Rogers (3-1, 1.74 ERA) is set to start for the Orioles on Saturday night against Colorado's Antonio Senzatela (4-13, 6.41).