RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 2 sourcesDENVER, COLORADO - JULY 31: Tomoyuki Sugano #11 of the Colorado Rockies celebrates after pitching in the sixth inning against the Kansas City Royals at Coors Field on July 31, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Colorado Rockies closed July by matching their entire 2025 win total.
Following an hour-long rain delay, Tomoyuki Sugano delivered 6.2 excellent innings, the Rockies converted five hits and two Kansas City errors into three runs against All-Star right-hander Michael Wacha, and Jordan Romano retired the Royals in order in the ninth to secure a 3-1 victory Friday night at Coors Field.
Colorado improved to 43-67, while Kansas City fell to 46-65. Last year’s Rockies did not reach win No. 43 until September 21.
Sugano earned the victory to improve to 11-4. Wacha fell to 5-8 despite striking out seven across six innings, and Romano recorded his ninth save.
Sugano controls the game
Tomoyuki Sugano did not overpower the Kansas City Royals. He simply controlled nearly every part of the game.
Sugano completed 6.2 innings on only 83 pitches, allowing one run on five hits. He did not issue a walk, struck out two and induced nine groundouts.
That line only begins to describe how firmly he controlled the night.
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Sugano used all seven pitches in his arsenal and refused to give Kansas City a stable look. His 24 splitters led the mix, followed by 17 four-seam fastballs and 13 cutters. He also threw eight sinkers, eight sliders, eight sweepers and five curveballs.
The splitter was his primary finishing weapon. It generated five whiffs on nine swings, accounting for five of Sugano’s eight swinging strikes. His sweeper provided a different type of value, producing three called strikes on only eight pitches.
Sugano’s four-seam fastball averaged 92.7 mph and topped out at 93.4 mph. Neither the velocity nor movement of his arsenal differed dramatically from his season norms.
Sugano opened with two harmless popups before striking out Jac Caglianone. He set up the finish with two splitters below the zone, then changed the hitter’s eye level with consecutive 93.3 mph four-seam fastballs. Caglianone chased the second above the zone.
Kansas City made its hardest early contact in the second.
Salvador Perez opened the inning with a sharp grounder that deflected off Ezequiel Tovar, but Kyle Karros immediately started a 5-6-3 double play. Isaac Collins then lined a ball that deflected off a diving Brenton Doyle and rolled all the way to the wall for a triple.
Sugano stranded him there.
John Rave grounded out to Tovar, and Sugano went on to retire the Royals in order in the third, fourth and fifth innings.
Carter Jensen saw four splitters in a six-pitch plate appearance to end the third, including the final one buried below the zone for a swinging strikeout. Kansas City then managed only one ball out of the infield in the fourth and three groundouts in the fifth.
Sugano’s lone marked mistake came with two outs in the sixth.
He fell behind Jensen 2-0 and left an 85.9 mph splitter in a hittable location. Jensen crushed it 424 feet to right at 102.5 mph.
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It was the 21st home run Sugano has allowed this season, but the 18th with the bases empty.
Lane Thomas followed the homer with a single, but Caglianone lined out to Doyle in center. Sugano returned for the seventh, allowed a soft leadoff single to Perez and retired the next two hitters before Warren Schaeffer went to the bullpen.
Sugano’s final numbers were excellent. Sugano was excellent.
Rockies find just enough against Wacha
Michael Wacha brought an All-Star résumé and a devastating changeup to Coors Field.
Colorado still reached him before he could settle into the game.
Mickey Moniak doubled with one out in the first, staying back on an 80.3 mph changeup and lining it into right field at 92.8 mph. Hunter Goodman struck out, but TJ Rumfield worked through a six-pitch at-bat and served another changeup into right for a two-out RBI single.
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Kyle Karros followed by jumping on a first-pitch cutter for a hard ground-ball single to center. The Rockies led 1-0 after one inning.
Wacha responded quickly.
He retired Colorado in order in the second, then struck out the side in the third. Jake McCarthy, Moniak and Goodman all went down on changeups.
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Wacha threw six pitch types, but his changeup controlled much of the night. He used it 31 times, more than any other offering, and generated 13 whiffs on 24 swings. Six of his seven strikeouts ended on the pitch.
His four-seam fastball averaged 92.9 mph, while the changeup sat at 81.4 mph. That separation allowed Wacha to disrupt timing without relying on overpowering velocity.
He paired it with cutters, four-seamers, sinkers and breaking balls, then repeatedly returned to it when he needed a finishing pitch.
Goodman saw five different pitch types before Wacha doubled up on the changeup for strike three. Wacha retired six straight hitters after the first inning, five by strikeout.
Karros interrupted that stretch in the fourth.
After Rumfield flew out, Karros lined an 81.2 mph changeup into left field at 103.1 mph. It was his second hit of the night and his second well-struck ball against Wacha.
Tyler Freeman grounded out to move Karros to second, and the inning began to unravel from there.
Troy Johnston hit a slow grounder between first and second. Michael Massey fielded it and threw toward Wacha covering first, but Wacha did not reach the bag in time. The throw went into the dugout, allowing Karros to score and Johnston to advance to second.
Brenton Doyle then ripped another 81.2 mph changeup past the diving Rojas and down the left-field line. The ball left Doyle’s bat at 96.8 mph, and Johnston scored to give Colorado a 3-0 lead.
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Tovar nearly added another run, but his drive to right was caught near the warning track.
Colorado did not create constant traffic against Wacha. They instea...
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