For a franchise looking for answers to its shaky rotation, Tanner Gordon is putting on a memorable late-August audition.
The rookie was blasted for 10 runs by the Arizona Diamondbacks on August 10, but in the three outings since, the right-hander has been impressive. Gordon continued that trend in the series opener on Tuesday in Houston, spinning six innings of one-run ball to propel Colorado to a 6-1 victory at Daikin Park.
"(Gordon's) a really, really good pitcher when he commands the baseball," interim manager Warren Schaeffer told reporters. "And that's what he's been doing, and attacking hitters, staying out of the middle with all of his pitches."
All-star catcher Hunter Goodman highlighted the offense with his 26th homer of the season, and Mickey Moniak had three RBIs as the Rockies closed to within four wins of clearing themselves of the modern loss record set by the 2024 Chicago White Sox. The victory snapped a four-game losing streak for Colorado (38-94).
The Astros took the early lead in the second inning off Jesús Sánchez's leadoff solo homer. But that was all the damage Gordon allowed, while the Colorado offense immediately swung the momentum back in the next frame.
In the third, Tyler Freeman's RBI groundout tied the game. Then Moniak singled home another run and Goodman's two-run jack the next at-bat, a 362-foot shot off Hunter Brown to the Crawford Boxes in left-center, made it 4-1.
Moniak tacked on a two-RBI double in the fifth to extend the lead to 6-1. Gordon then worked around traffic in the fifth, and polished off his outing with a one-two-three sixth.
"I was just trying to put the ball in play in that situation," Moniak told Rockies TV. "They had the infield in, runners on second and third, and (Tyler) Freeman just got the sacrifice bunt down. He got his job done, and I was trying to get my job done ... I was able to get a fastball I can handle."
Gordon's made more starts for Triple-A Albuquerque this season than for the Rockies, but he's shown flashes of consistency since being recalled on July 23. That included six shutout innings against St. Louis at Coors Field that day, and another quality start against the Los Angeles Dodgers last week (six innings, one run) prior to Tuesday's performance.
"The first few innings, I was kind of nibbling, trying to be a little too perfect," Gordon told reporters. "Against a team like the Astros, you can't do that, so I went back to attack mode and trusted the guys behind me. (Jordan) Beck made some great plays in left, and Spiderman (Brenton Doyle) made some really good plays out in center field. The defense was really good."
Gordon, who was acquired by the Rockies from the Braves at the trade deadline in 2023 along with reliever Victor Vodnik in a deal that sent reliever Pierce Johnson to Atlanta, said his recent success has been a matter of mindset.
"I'm trying to keep it really simple out there," Gordon said. "Just going out and executing pitches and being in attack mode from pitch No. 1 to the very end."
While Gordon became the first Rockies pitcher this season to win three consecutive starts, Schaeffer delivered some relevant news on the rotation ahead of the game.
Struggling right-hander Antonio Senzatela, who has a 7.15 ERA and has given up a major-league high 171 hits this season, has been moved to the bullpen. And right-hander German Marquez, who has been on the injured list since July 23 with right bicep tendinitis, is returning later this week. Marquez has yet to be activated, but is slated to start Friday's homestand opener against the Cubs.
©2025 MediaNews Group, Inc. Visit at denverpost.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.