Once he was pulled from the game, though, his Cincinnati Reds teammates did what they have been doing most of the season.
They lost, 4-3, their 16th loss in 17 games, plunging their record to 3-18. And after losing Friday, it assured that the Reds would lose their sixth straight series after splitting four games in the series opener in Atlanta.
The game began with a pair of free agent pitching refugees from the Pittsburgh Pirates facing each other, Overton against Chad Kuhl.
Overton, who advertised himself on Twitter and the Reds responded by signing him, was an emergency starter, called up from Triple-A Louisville to fill in for injured Nick Lodolo. To make room for Overton, the Reds designated struggling outfielder Aristides Aquino (.049 battiong average) for assignment.
And he pitched the best game of any Reds’ pitcher this season — 5 1/3 innings, one run (let in by the bullpen), three hits, two walks and three strikeouts. He held a team hitting .289 in Coors to three singles.
Overton was removed in the sixth with one out and a runner on base, the Reds in charge, 2-0.
Art Warren replaced him and before the last out of the inning was discovered the Rockies had a 4-2 lead.
Tyler Naquin turned on the game’s first pitch and deposited it into the left-field seats and the Reds had a 1-0 lead before any baseball touched the catcher’s mitt or hit the ground.
Naquin was moved into the leadoff spot at game time when Jonathan India was scratched after feeling a hitch in his hamstring in Friday night’s game.
After Naquin’s home run, Colorado starter Kuhl retired 12 straight. Then the first three Reds in the fifth singled to fill the bases, but only one run came home.
Brandon Drury, Nick Senzel and Mike Moustakas all singled. The only run scored while Aramis Garcia was hitting into a double play — the fifth double play the Rockies turned on the Reds in the first two games. Colorado leads the majors with 29 double plays.
Meanwhile, the Rockies put a runner on base in each of the first four innings against Overton.
In the first three innings, all three were wiped off the bases on a caught stealing, a double play and a pickoff at first base.
Overton painted a 1-2-3 fifth. He gave up a leadoff single to Alan Trejo and retired Don Nunez on a fly ball to center.
And Reds manager David Bell made a straight path to the mound to take the baseball and give it to Art Warren.
It was an unfortunate decision for Overton and the Reds.
Warren walked Connor Joe on four pitches and Charlie Blackmon blasted one off the right-field wall for two runs and a 2-2 tie.
Warren coaxed a second out pop-up from C.J. Kron, but Ryan McMahon tripled to right field for two runs and a 4-2 lead.
The Reds crept within a run in the eighth when Garcia lofted his first home run after leading the team during spring training with five.
That home run not only drew the Reds to within one run, but it also signaled the end of Kuhl’s night.
Kuhl signed a one-year $3 million deal this spring and lifted his record to 3-0 with a 1.90 earned run average.
He held the Reds to three runs and five hits over 7 1/3 innings, with no walks and four strikeouts.
Rockies closer Daniel Bard recorded his sixth save by making quick work of the heart of the Reds order — Kyle Farmer, Tommy Pham and Joey Votto. That trio, batting second, third and fourth, was 0 for 9.
Cincinnati’s 3-18 start to the season matches the 3-18 start of the 2018 team when manager Bryan Price was fired when the team was 3-15.
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