Rangers rally thwarted by Rockies walk-off victory

The most difficult job in the major leagues is being Colorado Rockies pitcher. Coors Field first-timer Nick Martinez got a taste of life a mile above sea level Monday night.

The Texas Rangers right-hander allowed seven runs in the first two innings, when his pitches weren’t down enough in the strike zone and when a fly ball carried deep enough to be a double rather than the third out of the first inning.

Even though the Rangers rallied to forge a tie in the ninth inning and even though Tanner Scheppers was on the mound when Colorado struck for an 8-7 walk-off victory in the opener of a three-game series, Martinez’s early woes cost the Rangers dearly.

“The story is the seven runs early,” manager Jeff Banister said. “Anytime you lose a ballgame it’s tough. These guys continued to grind it out and do what they do. In this ballpark, it’s never over until the last out is made.”

The Rangers never recorded the last out, as Ben Paulsen singled with one out off Scheppers to score Drew Stubbs and atone for a mental gaffe that helped fuel the Rangers’ charge from a 7-0 deficit.

Troy Tulowitzki started the Rockies’ ninth with a soft single to center, and Carlos Gonzalez followed with a blooper in front of center fielder Leonys Martin as he played no-doubles defense.

Paulsen followed two batters later with a liner to left-center to rescue the Rockies after Adrian Beltre had doubled in Martin with two outs in the ninth for a 7-7 tie.

The Rangers’ rally in the ninth was cut short after replay overturned a safe call at first base to erase a Delino DeShields infield hit. They would have had runners at first and second with no outs instead of Martin at second with one out.

“That’s one that we’ve seen stand a number of times,” Banister said. “That was a big one in the last inning. I feel like that might have been a difference-maker.”

So were, as Banister pointed out, six walks and a hit batsman by Rangers pitchers. The freebies allowed the Rockies to turn over their lineup and have the middle of their order batting with the game on the line.

The middle hitters got to Martinez early. Nolan Arenado, batting fifth, collected a two-out, two-run double in the first on a drive to center that carried farther than DeShields had anticipated. Paulsen followed with a single to right to make it 3-0.

Tulowitzki, the Rockies’ No. 3 hitter, capped a four-run second inning with a two-run homer.

“It’s tough because I think I made a couple good pitches in the first couple innings that got hit,” said Martinez, who admitted that the pitches to Arenado and Tulowitzki, both All-Stars, weren’t good pitches. “I think I just ran into some bad luck and some bad pitches in the first two innings.”

The Rangers started to chip away in the third, as Tomas Telis and Prince Fielder collected RBI singles. The Rangers scored three times in the fifth, the first on a Rougned Odor single as Telis slid home just ahead of Gonzalez’s throw from right field.

Fielder was next, and his grounder to Paulsen at first base scored Martinez. Odor, though, also scored as he raced some while Paulsen walked toward the Rockies’ dugout believing the Fielder out was the third out instead of the second.

Beltre, who had three hits, doubled home Fielder from first in the seventh. Martin walked to open the ninth, went to second on the overturned hit, and was still there two batters later when Beltre sent a liner to the wall in left field.

Martin scored, but the Rockies answered moments later. What they had done hours earlier in the first two innings was the difference, though.

This story was originally published July 21, 2015 at 12:21 AM with the headline "Rangers rally thwarted by Rockies walk-off victory."