Rockies win on pitch-clock violation in MLB first
DENVER — Ryan McMahon drew a bases-loaded walk on a full-count, pitch-clock violation by Kyle Finnegan as the Colorado Rockies scored two runs in the ninth inning for an 8-7 victory over the Washington Nationals on Saturday night.
It was the first game decided by a pitch-clock violation in major league history. Nationals closer Finnegan leads the league with nine pitch-clock violations this season.
“I’m just trying to focus on the pitch and then location,” Finnegan said. “I thought I picked up the clock. I guess by the time I picked up and looked at the catcher and delivered the pitch, I was just a hair too late. Those situations, it just can’t happen. We deserved to win, and I wasn’t able to do my job.”
Colorado had four straight singles to open the ninth off Finnegan (2-4) to bring up McMahon, who fell behind 0-2. Hunter Goodman and Jake Cave singled to open the inning, and Brenton Doyle singled to tie it after fouling off two bunt attempts. Ezequiel Tovar hit a line single to right to load the bases. Finnegan had converted 21 of his previous 23 save chances.
“You hate to see a game decided that way, but I’m happy it worked out in our favor,” McMahon said. “I’m never looking [at the clock]. I’m letting the umpire do his job. I didn’t know what was going on until the umpire said something.”
The pitch clock was adopted in 2023, but the time between pitches with runners on base was shortened from 20 seconds to 18 this season.
“Kyle has had some trouble lately with the clock,” Washington manager Dave Martinez said. “It hadn’t really cost him to that point, but it’s something that we’ve kind of felt like might come back to haunt him at some point. He could have stepped off, but it’s a tough situation.
“That’s something that he has to be mindful of. He’s just slow. So it burned him today. Typically it hasn’t burned him.”
Luis Garcia hit two-run homer to give Washington a 7-5 lead in the eighth inning, and CJ Abrams had three hits including his 12th home run. The Nationals had won 10 of 13.
Abrams finished a triple short of the cycle while extending his hitting streak to 13 games. He had two RBIs and scored twice.
Brendan Rodgers, Goodman and McMahon homered for the Rockies, who tied it on Goodman’s homer in the seventh off Jacob Barnes. Goodman has five homers in the past eight games. McMahon had three hits, and his bases-empty homer in the eighth inning brought the Rockies within a run at 7-6.
“The Rockies and the Nationals are part of history,” Colorado manager Bud Black said. “How about that?”
Tovar had two hits, two walks and two runs. He scored on catcher Jacob Stallings‘ single in the first inning and on Rodgers’ three-run homer for a 4-2 lead in the third. Rodgers played his first game since June 7, when he suffered a hamstring injury. He hit cleanup for the eighth time this season.
Abrams and Lane Thomas singled in runs for a 5-4 lead in the seventh inning, but the Nationals ran themselves out of more when Abrams and Thomas were thrown out attempting to steal second. Thomas had two hits.
The Nationals are third in the majors with 104 stolen bases but have been thrown out a major league-high 38 times. Stallings threw out three of four Nationals runners attempting to steal, all at second.
“Getting thrown out is not going to stop us from being aggressive on the base paths,” Abrams said. “We’re going to keep doing what we are doing.”
Nationals starter Mitchell Parker gave up four runs and six hits while striking out eight, including the final five he faced. He had not given up more than three earned runs in any of his previous 12 starts.
Colorado starter Cal Quantrill gave up three runs and seven hits in six innings for his ninth quality start. He left with a 4-3 lead.
Washington left fielder Jesse Winker was ejected by plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt after taking a called third strike for the second out in the fifth inning. Winker briefly argued with Wendelstedt at the plate and was ejected after going into the dugout, his sixth career ejection.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Rockies: RHP Jake Bird (groin tightness) was removed from the game after facing three batters in the seventh inning. … RF Sean Bouchard (back soreness) was replaced after three innings. … RHP German Marquez (Tommy John surgery) gave up one hit in four scoreless innings in a rehab start for Class A Spokane on Saturday. He struck out three, walked two and threw 50 pitches.
UP NEXT
Colorado LHP Kyle Freeland (0-3, 13.21 ERA) is expected to be activated from the injured list to make his fifth start Sunday, and first since April 14, after missing nine weeks a left elbow strain. He will oppose Nationals RHP Jake Irvin (5-6, 3.24).
WASHINGTON — Washington Nationals top prospect James Wood made his major league debut Monday night in a 9-7 loss to the New York Mets.
“It’s unreal,” said Wood, a native of nearby Olney, Maryland, before the game. “Just being able to play for the team I grew up around and watching, it’s a blessing.”
The Nationals selected the contract of the 21-year-old outfielder to call him up from Triple-A Rochester. Wood was acquired in the August 2022 trade that sent Juan Soto to San Diego. He played left field and batted sixth in his first major league contest.
“Unique,” Wood said when asked for one word to describe his debut. “It’s just like the first time doing something, something you’ve never done before, playing in front of a crowd like that and obviously in the major leagues.”
After receiving a standing ovation from the crowd of 26,719 in the bottom of the second, Wood fell behind 1-2, worked the count full and then lined an opposite-field single into left-center against Mets starter David Peterson. It was his only hit of the night in four at-bats.
“I was just kind of looking for a fastball,” Wood said. “His fastball runs, it’s got a run and sink on it. I was trying to push it up and away, especially after I swung through the one down. And then I was just able to get one.”
He is the third-ranked prospect in the Major League Baseball pipeline. The 6-foot-7, 234-pounder was hitting .353 with 10 home runs, 37 RBIs and an OPS of 1.058 in the minors.
“He’s done really well at Triple-A,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said. “I talked to him a little bit today about his routine, stick with his routine and really just be where your feet are and have fun.”
Wood estimated he’d have “more than 50” friends and family members in attendance for his debut.
“It’s cool just being back home and having my family here and trying to soak it all in,” he said. “At the end of the day it’s still baseball, so just trying to look at it that way.”
The Nationals acquired him in August 2022 in the deal for Soto that also brought shortstop CJ Abrams and left-handed starter MacKenzie Gore to Washington.
Abrams and Gore have been mainstays on a rebuilding club that has remained competitive a year after finishing last in the NL East at 71-91. Washington (39-44) entered Monday four games out of an NL wild-card spot.
In a corresponding roster move, the team designated outfielder Eddie Rosario for assignment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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