Rockies 3, Astros 2: Streak No More

TL;DR

The Colorado Rockies snapped a six-game road losing streak by defeating the Houston Astros 3-2. Chase Dollander excelled in relief, striking out nine batters in 5.1 scoreless innings.

Key points

Rockies ended a six-game road losing streak
Chase Dollander struck out nine batters in relief
Rockies scored three runs on nine hits
Next game is against the Los Angeles Dodgers

Colorado RockiesHouston AstrosChase DollanderJuan Mejia

Apr 16, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Colorado Rockies pitcher Chase Dollander (32) delivers a pitch during the second inning against the Houston Astros at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images The Colorado Rockies entered their series finale in Houston against the Astros needing a win in the worst way. Losers of six straight on the road, the Rockies could have ended their road trip with seven consecutive losses with a daunting match-up against the Los Angeles Dodgers quickly approaching. The Rockies got the memo. Despite a shaky start from opener Juan Mejia, the Rockies pitching was largely excellent. They held the strong Astros offense to just two runs on their way to a victory that no doubt resonated in the clubhouse.

Cold Open

With the Rockies scuttling to get the most out of their pitching staff due to injuries and heavy bullpen use during this road trip, righty Juan Mejia was begged as the opener. Mejia threw just over half of his 30 pitches for strikes and recorded two strikeouts, but three singles and a hit by pitch helped the Astros jump head to an early lead. Mejia was pulled after recording just two outs.

Cut to the Chase

Chase Dollander turned in one of the best performances of his young career operating in bulk relief of Juan Mejia. Dollander consistently dialed up high velocity on his fastball—regularly hitting 100 MPH—and induced a 44% whiff rate on the pitch. He also made strong use of his slider and changeup (with 40% and 43% whiff rates, respectively) as he struck out a career high nine batters in 5.1 scoreless innings. Dollander held the Astros hitless until his final inning of work. In the sixth inning a leadoff walk to and a double deflected off the glove of third baseman had runners on second and third with no outs. Dollander proceeded to bear down with a gutsy finish. After getting noted Rockies killer to ground out without advancing the runners, Dollander struck out the next two batters to end the inning with no damage done.