​Monday night’s series opener for the Colorado Rockies against the Washington Nationals could have been a game where the Rockies picked up ground on the San Francisco Giants for fourth place in the National League West Division.Again, though, it didn’t happen as the Nationals earned a 7-3 win over the Rockies at Coors Field.Here are three takeaways from Monday night’s game.Too many runners left on base for RockiesIn order to take advantage of a game like this one against the Nationals, Colorado needed to make sure runners in scoring position crossed home plate.For the night, the Rockies were 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left six total runners on base. Colorado only had six total hits against Nationals pitching.That combination doesn’t bode well for a win and, well, it didn’t at Coors Field.Freeland’s record not goodColorado starting pitcher Kyle Freeland saw his overall record this season fall to 2-9. He worked six innings against Washington, giving up seven hits, four earned runs, walked two, struck out four, and surrendered two home runs.His ERA now stands at a really high 7.28 mark. For a major-league starting pitcher, Freeland has to be better than that. This leads into a question. How much longer will Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer continue to lean on Freeland as a starter?That might be something to watch for over the next week or so, especially with the MLB Trade Deadline looming on Aug. 3.Besides Freeland, Rockies reliever Antonio Senzatela gave up two earned runs and fellow reliever Victor Vodnik also gave up an earned run. To be honest, the entire Rockies’ pitching staff needs to get its act together.McCarthy, Castro headlined offenseLeadoff hitter Jake McCarthy had the best night of any Colorado hitter against the Nationals’ pitching staff. He went 2-for-4 with a run scored, which are pretty decent numbers from that leadoff position.Willi Castro smashed a bases-loaded double, which got the Rockies even with the Nationals at 3-3 through three innings.The Rockies’ team offense, though, didn’t add another run on the board. Washington put up a single run in the sixth, two more in the seventh, and one in the ninth to tuck away a road victory.These teams will go at it again on Tuesday night at Coors Field. The series ends with a Wednesday afternoon matchup.Rockies RapRockies Roundtable has its own weekly podcast!Rockies Rap, which covers the latest data, analytics, and information around the Rockies, is available now on Spotify. New episodes drop on Thursdays. Like and subscribe to Rockies Rap. Check it out right here on Spotify.