Colorado Drops 13 on Washington, Four Rockies Go Deep
Colorado dismantled Washington 13-1 on August 26, sending four different players over the fence and turning a one-run deficit into a rout by the fifth inning. Connor Norby led the demolition with 5 RBI, 3 runs scored, and a grand slam that blew the game open in the seventh.
Washington actually drew first blood — Andres Chaparro launched a 382-foot shot to left in the second inning to put the Nationals up 1-0, and for a moment it looked like the home side had something going. It didn't last. The fifth inning was where this game turned permanently: Troy Johnston homered to right center (403 feet), scoring Norby, and that two-run swing sent Washington's win probability crashing from 63% to 41%. Before the inning was over, Carrigg followed with a 395-foot shot to left center, scoring McCarthy, and just like that Colorado led 4-1. The Nationals never answered.
The seventh inning finished the argument. Norby's 402-foot blast to center scored Goodman, Rumfield, and Castro — a grand slam that pushed the lead to 8-1 and made the final score a formality. Colorado kept piling on in the eighth: Goodman went 435 feet to left center with Carrigg aboard to make it 10-1, then Norby singled home Ritter, and Tovar followed with a two-run single to center that capped the scoring at 13-1. Four home runs, two clutch singles, and a lineup that looked locked in from the fifth inning on — the story of the night was Colorado's offense refusing to stop once it found its footing.
Tanner Gordon quietly did his part on the mound, going 7.0 innings and allowing just 1 earned run on 6 hits with zero walks and 5 strikeouts — a performance that looks even cleaner given the offensive support he received. Zach Agnos handled the final two innings, giving up 1 hit with no runs and 2 strikeouts to close it out. On the Washington side, Will Dion absorbed the worst of it: 2.2 innings, 4 hits, 4 earned runs, 2 walks. The Nationals managed just the one Chaparro homer against an otherwise airtight Colorado pitching staff. Chaparro's 3-for-4 night with the home run was the lone bright spot in what appears to have been a thoroughly forgettable evening for Washington.