After a surprisingly strong start, the Colorado Rockies' pitching staff has come crashing back down to earth—and it's been a rough week in the Mile High City.

Heading into the 2026 season, not many had the Rockies on their radar. It's been since 2018 since they last saw postseason action, and the offseason didn't exactly set the baseball world on fire. But then something clicked. By last week, Colorado sat at 13-16—nothing flashy, but a solid foundation built largely on the strength of their arms.

Chase Dollander has been the standout, leading the team with three wins, a sharp 3.38 ERA, and 42 strikeouts. Tomoyuki Sugano has also turned heads. But the past seven days? That's been a different story.

The Rockies ran into a scheduling nightmare: a three-game set against a red-hot Cincinnati Reds squad, followed by a three-game series with the Atlanta Braves—the team with MLB's best record. Ouch.

It should come as no surprise, then, that Colorado could only manage one win against the Reds before being swept clean by the Braves. The pitching staff, which had been overachieving to keep the Rockies competitive, finally showed its cracks. After jumping out to a 6-0 lead in the series opener against Atlanta, the Rockies were outscored 28-8 over the next 24 innings. That's a brutal stretch by any measure.

Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller certainly took notice, dropping the Rockies from No. 17 all the way down to No. 26 in his latest power rankings. "Overachieving pitching was a major factor in Colorado's better-than-anticipated 13-16 start," Miller wrote. "But those arms came back to earth in a big way this week."

Now, the good news? The schedule offers a chance to hit the reset button. Up next is a series against the struggling New York Mets, followed by a weekend matchup with the Philadelphia Phillies. If the Rockies can take care of business and get their pitching back on track, there's still hope for a rebound in next week's rankings.

For a team that's been fighting to stay relevant in a tough NL West, this week is a critical test of resilience. The arms may have cooled, but the season is far from over.