​DENVER, CO – SEPTEMBER 6: Cole Carrigg #16 of the Colorado Rockies walks back to retrieve his hat after an error allowed a run to score in the fifth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Coors Field on September 6, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images) | Getty Images The Rockies scored early and late, but ran into a buzzsaw of Cooper Hjerpe making his MLB debut in the middle. Kyle Leahy was chased after 2.2 innings, but it didn’t matter. And as they do, they attempted to battle back late. Jake McCarthy broke through in the eighth with a solo homer, and he drove in two runs in the ninth, but ultimately Rockies pitching (and defense) gave up too many runs to overcome. 17 of the 18 combined runs scored on two outs.Tanner Gordon dealt with trafficAfter a rain-shortened outing on Monday, Tanner Gordon was a bit up-and-down in his start. He dealt with some early traffic but had a 1-2-3 third and clean fourth.In the first inning, he gave up a leadoff single to Bryan Torres but then got Iván Herrera to ground out to second. But then Alec Burleson hit a ball to right field that Troy Johnston laid out to catch. View LinkInitially, it was called a catch. But the Cardinals successfully challenged, and that put runners on first and third with one out. Luckily, though, Gordon sat down Jordan Walker and Leo Bernal to end the inning.Things didn’t get better in the second, however. Gordon recorded two quick outs of Joshua Báez and Nolan Gorman, but then Thomas Saggese doubled and Nathan Church singled to score him (eventually reaching second himself). But then Gordon struck out Torres to end the inning with minimal damage.Things really fell apart in the fifth, though, in part due to questionable defense (more on that later). Gordon once again got two quick outs, but then Herrera singled, Burleson doubled, Walker walked and Bernal singled to score two runs. And with that, Gordon’s night was over with two men still on base.“I thought TG was good,” manager Warren Schaeffer said after the game. “The main issue of the day was the inability to put hitters away. (There were) a ton of two-strike counts. The Cardinals scored nine runs with two outs. That six-run inning was two outs with nobody on, two strikes on the hitter, and then six runs later… So you have to learn from that and be able to put hitters away when you get two strikes. Give it to TG, he got a head ahead in a great way, but you’ve got to give credit to that team.”5th inning defensive adventuresThis series has not been a defensive showcase for either team. Unfortunately, it was on the Rockies’ end today. In the first inning, there was the non-catch by Johnston and he struck again in the fifth.As noted above, after two quick outs, Herrera singled and then Burleson doubled. Jordan Walker then walked, and Leo Bernal singled to Johnston. He laid out again, but the ball went under his glove, allowing Herrera and Burleson to score.View LinkTwo batters (and two