The Rockies dreamed a dream that was dashed by ‘Les Mis’ in 11-2 loss to the Brewers

Jul 26, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Colorado Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer makes a pitching change in the sixth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images | Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

The Colorado Rockies played a game of two acts today — both dominated by the Milwaukee Brewers. They were barricaded early by Jacob ‘Les Mis’ Misiorowski, but were eventually brought down by a barrage of offense in the late innings.

They mustered five hits — including two solo homers — but also struck out 15 times. Kyle Freeland was saddled with his 100th loss in his 250th start after pitching 5.1 innings and allowing five runs on six hits with one walk and two strikeouts.

“Master of the House”

Misiorowski looked down upon the Rockies for almost his entire outing, as expected. He came out firing, striking out the first seven Rockies he saw. That not only set a Brewers franchise record for most consecutive strikeouts to start a game, but also set a Rockies record for most consecutive strikeouts to start a game.

Troy Johnston put the ball in play in the third inning, but ‘Les Mis’ kept racking up the strikeouts — setting another record of becoming the first pitcher since at least 1920 to strike out 12 of his first 13 hitters in the game. He threw 66 fastballs of his 83 pitches, and every single one was over 100 mph.

“That’s like a one-of-one fastball,” manager Warren Schaeffer said postgame, “103 with all that extension. It’s hard to react to that and he just throws it all the time. To me, it’s a one-of-one pitch. It’s elite. There’s nothing really much else to say.”

It was not a great way to kick things off. But then birthday boy Kyle Karros hit a liner to right to break the streak, setting the table for his alliterative teammate in the next at-bat.

“On My Own”

Despite the struggles of the rest of the team, Cole Carrigg broke through the barricade (perfect game) in progress by sending a 101.9-mph fastball 361 feet over the opposite field wall to make the score 3-1.

View Link

The Rockies would not be singing “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables” after all!

According to Sarah Langs , that was the fastest pitch a Rockies player has homered off of under pitch tracking (2008). Hilariously, the ball only had an exit velocity of 98.2 mph.

Not to be outdone, Willi Castro said “Drink With Me” and added his own solo shot in the seventh to bring the Rockies within six. (More on how they got there later.)

View Link

“Bring Him Home”

The Rockies got a few more baserunners in the sixth with back-to-back singles by Mickey Moniak and Hunter Goodman. Unfortunately, though, they were unable to bring either one home and the score remained 3-1.

TJ Rumfield singled in the ninth to record the Rockies’ fifth hit, but he was also stranded.

“Do You See the Brewers Swing?”

The Brewers offense got started early, scoring three runs in the first. Jackson Chourio got things going with a leadoff double, and then was brought home on a soft bunt ground ball back to Freeland, which Freeland fielded poorly, making an error that allowed Chourio to score. Andrew Vaughn flied out to right, but then William Contreras doubled to bring Brice Turang to third. A wild pitch allowed Turang to score, and Jake Bauers grounded out to first to score Contreras. Gary Sánchez grounded out to third to end the inning, but the Brewers had a 3-0 lead after just one inning.

But they cooled off in the middle innings, as Freeland only allowed two hits after that tough first inning.

“After the first inning, he settled in,” Schaeffer said. “That’s a really good hitting team and he battled through that lineup and was efficient. He took the ball with 72 pitches into the sixth inning and he gave us all he had. He gave us a chance to win, for sure, especially against Mis. He kept the score low and gave us a shot.”

“I obviously didn’t set the tone the way I wanted to,” Freeland said after the game. “Giving up three in the first is not a good way to start the day, and putting your offense behind the ball and them having to fight back immediately. Not giving them any sort of momentum was not good. But innings 2-5 were good. I was able to settle in and then the sixth inning just unraveled on us completely.”

Like Javert, the Brewers came back with a vengeance in the later sixth inning. Vaughn homered right out of the gate to make the score 4-1. Then, Contreras struck out swinging but Bauers walked after a failed challenge by Freeland. Freeland was then lifted in favor of Jimmy Herget, and Bauers stole second. Sánchez then walked, and Luis Lara doubled to score Bauers. Cooper Pratt said “Drink With Me” and doubled to score two more Brewers. Joey Ortiz also doubled, but then Chourio grounded out on a swinging bunt to score Pratt. Turang walked, but then Vaughn struck out to end the inning.

For those keeping score at home, the inning started with a score of 3-1 and ended with a score of 8-1.

Things didn’t get better in the seventh with Victor Vodnik on the hill, as four-straight hits — a single by Bauers, doubles by Sánchez and Lara, and a single by Pratt — scored two more runs. Luckily, Ortiz grounded into a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning, but the damage was done.

The Brewers recorded 14 hits in the game, and nine were doubles. That tied another franchise record, as well.

“One Day More”

The Rockies have an off day tomorrow as they head west to San Diego for a quick two-game set against the Padres. It’ll be a battle of the Michaels, as Michael Lorenzen will face Padres’ right-hander Michael King.

First pitch is at 7:40 pm MT.

See you then!

Join the conversation!

Fewer ads

Create  community posts

Comment on articles, community posts

Rec comments, community posts

New, improved notifications system!

Please keep in mind our  Purple Row Community Guidelines  when you’re commenting. Thanks!

Indexed and credited by AIPROPX. Originating outlet: Yahoo Sports. Open at source →