Jesus Sanchez hits mammoth home run, but bullpen costs Marlins in loss to Rockies

DENVER

Pablo Lopez turned in another great outing and Jesus Sanchez entered the record books for Miami, but neither changed the Marlins’ fortunes Monday.

The Rockies won the opener of the three-game series 7-1 to drop Miami to 1-5 on its road trip.

Lopez tossed six scoreless innings and left with a 1-0 lead before the bullpen gave up four runs in the seventh and three more in the eight. Lopez hasn’t won since May 7 despite holding an opponent scoreless for the fifth time this season. He struck out five and walked four.

Lopez was staked to a 1-0 lead in the second inning when Sanchez jumped on Ryan Feltner’s 84-mph slider and sent it an estimated 496 feet to the concourse above the third deck in right field.

“When you hit a ball that far, it’s a pretty good feeling,” manager Don Mattingly said.

Sanchez stood back and watched the flight of the ball before starting his home run trot. He flexed as he jogged toward third and pointed to the Marlins dugout as he rounded the bag.

It didn’t match the longest one Sanchez has ever hit.

“Even though it was in the minors, it was 508 I hit at the Triple A level last year,” he said through an interpreter. “It was something incredible.”

It was the longest home run hit in the majors this season, topping Mike Trout’s 472-foot shot at Arlington, Texas, on April 14. It tied Mike Piazza for the second-longest in Coors Field history.

Giancarlo Stanton set the record for Coors when he hit a 504-foot homer on Aug. 6, 2016, when he was with the Marlins.

“I was sitting at the perfect angle to see it,” Lopez said of Sanchez’s blast. “Where I sit in the dugout I just saw the ball fly and the ball kept getting smaller and smaller but without going down; it just kept going up. It was impressive.”

Lopez gave up three hits and worked out of a jam in the sixth inning. Connor Joe tripled with one out and C.J. Cron crushed a pitch into the seats down the left-field line that was called foul.

The call stood after a review and Sanchez made a running catch in center on Cron’s popup to keep Joe at third.

“It was so high, that’s what scared me a little bit, that could have gotten the call overturned,” Lopez said. “I do think it was a foul ball initially and I think they got the call right, but it was so high that I understand the confusion.”

Lopez got Randal Grichuk to ground out on his 99th and final pitch of the day.

Cole Sulser (0-2) started the seventh but didn’t record an out. A walk and two singles loaded the bases with no outs and pinch-hitter Yonathan Daza hit a bases-clearing double. Charlie Blackmon’s RBI single ended Sulser’s day.

Tanner Scott gave up a two-run triple and a sacrifice fly in the eighth.

▪ Starter TBD: Mattingly wasn’t prepared to reveal who will start Tuesday’s game because it was contingent on his making it to Denver.

“We know [who] but we got to make sure they can get here,” Mattingly said before Monday’s game. “I think he’s flying in today.”

▪ Getting healthier … almost: The Marlins were getting closer to whole before Joey Wendle left the game in the fourth inning with right hamstring tightness.

Wendle led off the fourth with a single and moved to second on a grounder but left after sliding into the bag. He was replaced by Willians Astudillo.

“This is always the shaky part of the year where the guys are really like getting a little bit banged-up early,” second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. said. “But we’re just going to come back strong as soon as everybody gets back and everybody’s feeling healthy again.”