Rockies Beat Nationals 3-1, Avoid Sweep
Mason Adams and Hunter Goodman salvaged the finale in Washington, but at 51-81 and 29 games back, Colorado's elimination number is down to two.
Adams and Goodman salvage the finale
Nationals3-13Nationals3-1The Rockies avoided a sweep in Washington, beating the Nationals 3-1 on August 25 a day after getting run out of the building 13-3. Hunter Goodman went 1-for-4 with a home run and an RBI in the win, and Mason Adams held Washington to one earned run on three hits over 4.0 innings, walking three and striking out five.
The Rockies' own account noted it was a new Adams making his mark in D.C., a nod to the pitcher's line in his outing. Ezequiel Tovar (wrist) was out of the lineup for that game, one of a handful of absences the club is working around down the stretch.
Last in the West, and closing on elimination
| NL West | W | L | Pct | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Dodgers | 80 | 52 | .606 | — |
 Padres | 71 | 62 | .534 | 9.5 |
 Diamondbacks | 70 | 63 | .526 | 10.5 |
 Giants | 54 | 78 | .409 | 26.0 |
 Rockies | 51 | 81 | .386 | 29.0 |
At 51-81, Colorado sits 29.0 games behind the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West and trails even the last-place San Francisco Giants, who are 26.0 back at 54-78. The Rockies' elimination number is down to two, the lowest of any club in the division standings.
The roster is thinning as the season plays out. Kyle Freeland went on the 15-day injured list Monday, August 24, with cervical radiculopathy, and Kyle Karros followed him to the 7-day IL Sunday, August 23, with a concussion — two more bodies out as Colorado plays out a lost year.
Upcoming
Tanner Gordon (0-4, 5.75 ERA) starts for Colorado; in his last outing, against Cleveland on August 21, he allowed five earned runs on nine hits over 5.1 innings with two strikeouts and two walks in a loss. Washington counters with Matt Waldron (1-2, 7.54 ERA), whose last start came April 29 against the Cubs, a no-decision in which he gave up three earned runs on six hits over five innings with one strikeout.
Washington is favored, and the market reads the total as middling — not a projected shootout despite two starters each carrying an ERA north of 5.5, and not a pitchers' duel either given how little either has done to earn confidence. Neither Gordon nor Waldron has looked sharp in his most recent turn, so the total leans on both offenses doing at least as much as they did the night before, as the Rockies are in Washington tonight.