Blue Jays demolish MLB records with eye-popping Coors Field performance

Kyle Freeland, Wednesday's starter for Colorado, allowed seven hits in his 4.2 innings of work. That was the fewest amount of hits given up by a Rockies starter against Toronto, as Rockies starter Tanner Gordon allowed 11 in 2.2 frames on Monday, while Anthony Molina surrendered nine in 5.0 innings on Tuesday.

"We need to pitch with confidence as starting pitchers. We need to command the baseball better in general," said Rockies interim manager Warren Schaeffer as his team slipped to 30-84 on the season. "We have to put hitters away when we have that opportunity."

That was something Colorado couldn't do against the Blue Jays on Wednesday, as their first six runs of a 20-1 blowout win came with two outs in the frame.

Wednesday's offensive explosion helped Toronto outscore the Rockies, 45-6, in the series. That run differential was the second-most in MLB's modern era and the most runs scored by an MLB team in a three-game series since the 2019 Chicago Cubs scored 47 runs against the Pittsburgh Pirates from Sept. 13-15, 2019.

In all, the 45 runs, 63 hits and 13 home runs allowed in the series were each the most allowed by Colorado pitchers in a three-game set in franchise history.

How bad did it get for Colorado at the end of the series? Down 12-1 entering the ninth inning on Wednesday, the Rockies put catcher Austin Nola on the mound for his first-ever pitching appearance. He was nothing like his younger brother, Philadelphia Phillies ace Aaron Nola, as he promptly gave up four consecutive doubles, including RBI shots from Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., as part of eight hits and eight runs posted by the Blue Jays against him.

"It hurts when you get beat that bad for three games," Nola said. "We can compete with anybody. I know we can. We're all Major League players, so it definitely hurts. We're going to have to flush this one and get back out there on Friday in Arizona and have a new competitive attitude."

All quotations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.