DETROIT — Smack in the middle of the dog days of summer, Groundhog Day has arrived for the Rockies.
They lost on the road again Sunday afternoon, falling 4-0 to the Detroit Tigers as right-hander Anibal Sanchez dominated them, allowing two hits and striking out 12 over seven innings at Comerica Park.
The numbers paint an ugly picture. The Rockies lost for the seventh time in their past eight games. They have lost 18 of their past 20 road games. At 44-67, they have the worst record in the National League. They are on pace to lose 99 games.
And there’s not much to say that hasn’t been said already.
“There are no magic words,” manager Walt Weiss said. “We come back home, regroup and try to win a series starting Tuesday (against the Chicago Cubs).”
At 17-39 away from Coors Field, the Rockies’ winning percentage on the road is .303. That’s on pace to be the worst in franchise history. In 2003, the Rockies went 25-56 (.309) on the road.
It’s not that the Rockies are losing on the road, it’s how they are losing. On their just-completed jaunt through Chicago’s Wrigley Field and Detroit, the Rockies were outscored 34-18, hit only .205 and averaged 10.7 strikeouts per nine innings.
All told, the Rockies whiffed 14 times Sunday and managed just four hits. Asked if a poor approach at the plate has led to all of the strikeouts, Weiss said: “Not necessarily. We have just struggled with two strikes on this trip.”
Sunday, the Rockies had left-hander Jorge De La Rosa, their best pitcher, on the mound. But it didn’t matter. Not with Sanchez pitching for Detroit.
He used every pitch in his arsenal — four-seam fastball, cutter, curveball and changeup — to get big swings and big misses. It ended up being the fourth time in his career that Sanchez struck out 12 or more hitters.
“He can throw any pitch any time he wants, and he locates really well,” said outfielder Brandon Barnes, who had one of two singles off Sanchez, the other coming from Drew Stubbs. “He can throw 94, 95 (mph), and he has good secondary stuff. Plus, he did a good job of mixing it up. He got ahead of everybody really quick.”
Just a few swings of the bat were all the Tigers needed to wreck De La Rosa’s day and complete their three-game sweep of the Rockies.
With two outs in the third inning, Rajai Davis doubled to left field off De La Rosa, who then plunked Ian Kinsler. Next, Miguel Cabrera drove in Davis with a single. Victor Martinez then drove everybody home with a three-run homer to left. It was Martinez’s second home run in as many days. He tallied seven RBIs in the series.
“They are tough on everybody,” said De La Rosa, who saw his five-game winning streak snapped as he fell to 11-7. “For me, it’s the best lineup in the league. With Martinez, it was a really good pitch. It was a (cutter) down and in, but I think he was looking for it.”
Patrick Saunders: psaunders@denverpost.com or twitter.com/psaundersdp