Rockies Survive Lile's Blast, Hold On for 3-1 Win

Colorado survived a fourth-inning gut-punch from Daylen Lile — a 401-foot shot to right that briefly flipped the game's momentum — and walked away with a 3-1 win over Washington on August 25. The Rockies did their damage in a single chaotic inning, then leaned on their bullpen to close it out.

The fourth inning was the entire ballgame. Hunter Goodman got Colorado on the board first, launching a 432-foot home run to left center to make it 1-0. The Rockies weren't done: Connor Norby doubled to center to score Willi Castro, pushing the lead to 2-0, though Norby was thrown out trying to stretch to third — a baserunning gamble that looked unnecessary given what came next. Washington answered immediately when Daylen Lile hit a 401-foot home run to right, cutting the deficit to 2-1 and swinging Washington's win probability from 46% to 59% — a 13-point jump that made this feel like a different game for a moment.

But Colorado got that run back in the fifth, and it came in ugly fashion for Washington. A wild pitch by Andrew Alvarez allowed Beck to score while McCarthy moved to third, with Carrigg striking out swinging on the same play. That's a brutal way to surrender a run — and it proved to be the decisive margin. Alvarez finished with 4.2 innings pitched, giving up 5 hits, 3 earned runs, and 2 walks against 6 strikeouts. His counterpart, Mason Adams, was shakier in terms of command — 3 walks and 3 hits over 4.0 innings — but limited the damage to 1 earned run and punched out 5. Neither starter was dominant, but Adams got the better of the exchange.

The story of the night, from a pitching standpoint, appears to be Brad Lord's relief work for Washington: 2.1 innings, 0 hits, 0 earned runs, 1 walk, and 2 strikeouts. That's a strong outing that kept Washington within striking distance, but the offense never gave him anything to work with after Lile's homer. For Colorado, Mark Manfredi closed things out with a clean inning — 1 hit, 0 runs, 2 strikeouts. Jordan Beck went 2-for-4 with a run scored and looks like he was one of the quieter difference-makers on the night, getting on base and eventually crossing the plate for what turned out to be the winning run. Final: Colorado 3, Washington 1.