Victor Vodnik lands on injured list; Rockies fall in D.C.

The Colorado Rockies lost closer Victor Vodnik … then lost the second game of their three-game series to the Washington Nationals.

Vodnik, a flame-throwing right-hander who had accumulated five saves this month, was placed on the 15-day injured list with inflammation in his right biceps muscle in the hours before the Rockies’ 6-1 defeat to Washington at Nationals Park on Wednesday.

On the field, the Nationals rocked Colorado starter Tanner Gordon, tagging him for 5 earned runs in 4 innings of work. Most of the carnage came in the bottom of the third, when the Nationals opened with three singles in the first four at-bats before Gordon served up a center-cut, 91-MPH fastball that Luis García Jr. blasted over the right-center field fence for a 3-run homer.

Gordon dropped to 0-5. The Rockies are 1-6 in his seven starts over the past month-and-a-half.

saint lui baby pic.twitter.com/OU7XBxeWQ0

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) August 21, 2024

VICTOR VODNIK HAD BROUGHT STABILITY TO THE BULLPEN

The Rockies acquired Victor Vodnik from the Atlanta Braves as part of a flurry of deals in advance of the 2023 trade deadline. Almost all of those swaps brought in pitching at the high-A level or higher. The Rockies sent Vodnik to AA Hartford after trading for him, but he made it to the big club by September last year.

Capable of hitting 100 miles per hour with his fastball, Vodnik spent the first four months of this season establishing himself as one of the most-reliable components of a balky bullpen before moving into the closer’s role this month.

Tyler Kinley, who had a save Aug. 1, is most likely to assume the closer role in lieu of Victor Vodnik.

The Rockies go for the series Thursday in a getaway-day game. Right-hander Cal Quantrill will start for Colorado, with the Nationals sending struggling southpaw Patrick Corbin to the hill, giving Colorado a good chance for its second-straight series win before going to Yankee Stadium for a three-game weekend set.