None of that stopped this one from turning into a slugfest at Coors Field, where the ball carries and bullpens get tested fast.
Adael Amador got the Rockies on the board early, and Jackson Holliday's game-tying home run in the 7th looked like it might set up another dramatic Baltimore finish after Colton Cowser's robbery had won the series opener. Instead, TJ Rumfield — Colorado's rookie-of-the-year candidate — answered right back with a two-run shot that put the game away for good.
Baltimore had ridden a 4-game winning streak into Denver and reached .500 for the first time since April, a signal this club still believes in the wild-card math. Colorado, on the other hand, had dropped 5 straight and lost 10 in a row at home before finally breaking through — proof that even the majors' worst record can still turn a bad week around against the right opponent.
Bradish's final line — 5 innings, 2 earned runs, a homer allowed — wasn't a disaster, but it wasn't the shutdown outing Baltimore needed either, and it left the bullpen to protect a game that got away late. For a Rockies team with nothing but pride and a fun rookie class left to play for down the stretch, beating a team fighting for its playoff life is exactly the kind of spoiler win that makes September watchable in Denver.