1 Rockies stage rally but drop opener to D-backs By Ben Weinrib and Steve Gilbert / MLB.com | @SteveGilbertMLB | June 24th 2016 DENVER -- Nick Ahmed hit a go-ahead single in the ninth and the D-backs held off the Rockies, 7-6, at Coors Field on Thursday for their sixth win in seven games. Arizona mounted a two-out rally in the ninth against Rockies closer Carlos Estevez, who was saddled with his fourth loss of the season. Jake Lamb singled to right field and Chris Herrmann singled on a ball that deflected off Estevez's glove before Ahmed got his first hit in his last 15 plate appearances. "I don't get to hit right there if the other two guys don't get on base," Ahmed said. "I was just looking to get a good pitch to hit, and he threw me a fastball right there, and I hit it back up the middle. The guy throws really hard, and you can't exactly look [for an offspeed pitch] on a guy who throws upper 90s, touches 100. I was just looking for a fastball." This was the first time Estevez has faltered since he took over as the team's closer following Jake McGee's knee injury. He had made five straight scoreless appearances, only allowing two hits over that stretch. "I like our chances in that situation," Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. "Carlos is throwing the heck out of the ball, and they got the barrel to a couple really good fastballs. They did a good job right there." The Rockies tied the score in the eighth inning after five scoreless innings. Ryan Raburn and Mark Reynolds led off the inning with singles, Nick Hundley drove in a run on a groundout to second, and Charlie Blackmon and DJ LeMahieu each hit RBI singles. But D-backs closer Brad Ziegler, who earned the win, got out of the jam after blowing his first save of the season. MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Good effort for Greinke: This season, at the Majors' most hitter-friendly park, Zack Greinke has allowed five earned MEDIA CLIPS – June 24, 2016
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Rockies stage rally but drop opener to D-backs By Ben Weinrib and Steve Gilbert / MLB.com | @SteveGilbertMLB | June 24th 2016 DENVER -- Nick Ahmed hit a go-ahead single in the ninth and the D-backs held off the Rockies, 7-6, at Coors Field on
Thursday for their sixth win in seven games.
Arizona mounted a two-out rally in the ninth against Rockies closer Carlos Estevez, who was saddled with his fourth loss
of the season. Jake Lamb singled to right field and Chris Herrmann singled on a ball that deflected off Estevez's glove
before Ahmed got his first hit in his last 15 plate appearances.
"I don't get to hit right there if the other two guys don't get on base," Ahmed said. "I was just looking to get a good pitch to
hit, and he threw me a fastball right there, and I hit it back up the middle. The guy throws really hard, and you can't exactly
look [for an offspeed pitch] on a guy who throws upper 90s, touches 100. I was just looking for a fastball."
This was the first time Estevez has faltered since he took over as the team's closer following Jake McGee's knee injury.
He had made five straight scoreless appearances, only allowing two hits over that stretch.
"I like our chances in that situation," Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. "Carlos is throwing the heck out of the ball, and
they got the barrel to a couple really good fastballs. They did a good job right there."
The Rockies tied the score in the eighth inning after five scoreless innings. Ryan Raburn and Mark Reynolds led off the
inning with singles, Nick Hundley drove in a run on a groundout to second, and Charlie Blackmon and DJ
LeMahieu each hit RBI singles. But D-backs closer Brad Ziegler, who earned the win, got out of the jam after blowing his
first save of the season.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Good effort for Greinke: This season, at the Majors' most hitter-friendly park, Zack Greinke has allowed five earned
Anderson opposes fellow rookie Bradley By Ben Weinrib / MLB.com | June 23rd 2016
Rookie pitchers Tyler Anderson and Archie Bradley, both first-round Draft picks in 2011, will face off on Friday night at
Coors Field after finding success earlier in the season in hitter-friendly Minor League parks.
Colorado's Anderson, who produced a 2.35 ERA across three Minor League levels, has been excellent, holding
opponents to three earned runs over 12 innings. Despite his youth, manager Walt Weiss hasn't limited Anderson's
workload, and has been impressed by how well he's held his command and velocity through two starts.
"It's not a hard number or anything like that," Weiss said. "We do keep in mind that he's been away for a while. He's had a
pretty unique [right oblique] injury. We don't lose sight of these things. Again, in a situation like that, you've got to trust
your eyes, trust your gut, but we don't lose sight of what he's been through."
Bradley, who recorded a 1.99 ERA in seven starts at Triple-A Reno, has been solid since joining the D-backs' rotation
after two spot starts. He has a 3.69 ERA over his last five starts, including a stellar outing his last time through the
rotation, allowing no earned runs on three hits through six innings.
Three things you should know about this game
• Bradley made a spot start on May 9 in Colorado, allowing four runs on seven hits over six innings. Rockies shortstop
Trevor Story hit a pair of RBI doubles off him.
• Prior to allowing a run against the Yankees on June 22, Rockies reliever Boone Logan had not allowed an earned run in
his previous 15 2/3 innings, a string of 23 appearances dating back to April 14. That was the longest current scoreless
streak in Major League Baseball.
• D-backs catcher Chris Herrmann, who is hitting .318 in his last eight games, will likely start on Friday as manager Chip
Hale tries to give Welington Castillo a couple of days off during this series.
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Anderson opposes fellow rookie Bradley By Patrick Saunders / The Denver Post | June 24th 2016
Carlos Gonzalez’ bad night ended with a bad swing and a sore right wrist.
The Rockies’ left fielder went 1-for-5 and struck out with the bases loaded in the eighth inning of Colorado’s 7-6 loss to
Arizona Thursday at Coors field.
“I sprained it a little bit, and it’s sore,” said Gonzalez, who was pulled for a double switch in the ninth. “We will see how it
feels tomorrow, but I don’t think it’s anything major.”
Gonzalez went 1-for-5, and failed to deliver with runners in scoring position in the first, fifth and the eighth. For the season,
he’s batting .270 with runners in scoring position and is now 0-for-5 with four strikeouts with the bases loaded.
“I just had a bad day,” he said. “I had so many opportunities in front of me and I just didn’t get the job done. It was just a
bad day overall, offensively.”
Gonzalez chased a changeup from Diamondbacks reliever Brad Ziegler for strike three in the eighth, and that’s when he
slightly injured his wrist.
“I had the bases loaded and the one pitch I should have swung at was the first one, and I took it,” Gonzalez said. “His
angle, it’s a little tough. Then he came back three straight times with changeups. … When you’re against a guy like
(Ziegler), who doesn’t overpower you, you just try to put the ball in play.
“I didn’t. I just took a bad swing on a bad pitch and I hurt myself a bit. It’s just part of the game.”
Dr. Tom Noonan, the Rockies’ medical director, checked out Gonzalez after the game and didn’t find a major injury to the
wrist.
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Diamondbacks’ ninth-inning rally beats Rockies at Coors Field Arizona’s winning run in ninth erases Colorado rally in eighth By Patrick Saunders / The Denver Post | June 23rd 2016
Ask around the clubhouse, and many players continue to proclaim that the Rockies’ best baseball is ahead of them.
In truth, the Rockies are just treading water.
They wasted a furious eighth-inning rally Thursday night at
Coors Field, losing a 7-6 heartbreaker to the Arizona Diamondbacks, who scored the winning run against closer Carlos
Estevez in the ninth. While Arizona won for the ninth time in 12 games, the Rockies are 5-5 over their last 10.
Estevez electrified what was left of a crowd of 36,558 by striking out Yasmany Tomas and Paul Goldschmidt to begin the
ninth. He got Goldschmidt with a 101 mph fastball. But three consecutive two-out singles put the Diamondbacks on top,
with Nick Ahmed driving home Jake Lamb for the go-ahead run.
“We came back. We were down by a lot. We tied the game. I just wanted to get that inning clean,” Estevez said. “I got
two outs and then (they got) grounders. They went through holes, so … that’s baseball.”
Manager Walt Weiss certainly has not lost any faith in Estevez.
“I liked our chances there with the way Carlos has been throwing the ball,” Weiss said. “They got the barrel to a couple of
really good pitches; some good fastballs.”
Thursday marked the second consecutive game the Rockies lost in their opponent’s last at-bat. The Yankees beat
Colorado 9-8 Wednesday afternoon in New York on a walk-off homer by Starlin Castro on the second pitch he saw from
Jason Motte.
Colorado’s almost-winning rally began innocently enough with back-to-back singles by Ryan Raburn and Mark Reynolds
off reliever Daniel Hudson. Nick Hundley’s groundout to second scored Rayburn, and then pitch-hitter Daniel Descalso
and Charlie Blackmon laced singles, cutting Arizona’s lead to 6-5 and chasing Hudson.
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DJ LeMahieu, Colorado’s do-everything second baseman, tied the game with a perfect bunt single on a safety squeeze to
score Descalso. The Rockies had a chance to win the game right there, but Brad Ziegler struck out Carlos Gonzalez and
Trevor Story with the bases loaded.
Gonzalez tweaked his wrist chasing the changeup Ziegler threw to strike him out.
“I sprained it a little bit, and it’s sore,” said Gonzalez, who was pulled for a double switch in the ninth. “We will see how it
feels tomorrow, but I don’t think it’s anything major.”
Gonzalez went 1-for-5 and failed to deliver with men in scoring position in the fifth and the eighth.
“I just had a bad day,” he said. “I had so many opportunities in front of me and I just didn’t get the job done. It was just a
bad day overall all.”
The Rockies entered the game needing either a strong performance from starter Eddie Butler, or a major offensive
explosion against Arizona ace Zack Greinke.
They got neither.
Lately, Greinke has been smothering teams like the Greinke who went 19-3 with a 1.66 ERA for the Los Angeles Dodgers
last season. He entered the evening with a 7-0 record and a 1.90 ERA over his previous seven starts.
Not that the Rockies noticed. They hung three runs on Greinke in the first two innings on an RBI double by Nolan Arenado
and a run-scoring single by Story in the first, and a leadoff homer by Reynolds in the second.
But from that point on, Greinke adjusted and allowed no runs and only three hits over the next 4⅔ innings.
“He really used his slider well tonight, and his fastball command is elite, maybe the best in the game,” Weiss said. “Those
are the two weapons he used to get through it.”
Butler, meanwhile, has to count as one of the biggest disappointments of the first half of the season. Though he flashes
potent stuff, he continues to get lit up, particularly at Coors Field, where his ERA is 9.71.
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“In innings three and four, I kind of got under (my sinker) and it wasn’t as tight as I wanted,” Butler said. “The ball got up in
the zone, so that’s a recipe for disaster.”
Before the game, Weiss said Butler must pitch down in the zone in order to be successful. Once again, Butler failed to
execute the game plan, and as a result, he was charged with six runs on 11 hits in five innings.
The right-hander dispatched Arizona quickly in the first two innings, yielding only a swinging-bunt single to Goldschmidt.
But all of that good came undone in a hurry in the third when the Diamondbacks raked Butler for four runs on six hits. He
left the meatballs over the plate and the Diamondbacks ate ’em up, with left-handers Lamb and Socrates Brito belting two-
run homers. Lamb’s home run snapped a streak of seven consecutive strikeouts.
“Eddie’s a two-seam guy, and when two-seam guys get the ball elevated, they run into some trouble,” Weiss said, though
he added that it was critical that Butler was able to get through five innings to save bullpen arms.
Arizona extended its lead to 6-3 in the fourth on RBI singles by Tomas and Goldschmidt. Goldschmidt went 3-for-5 and
has reached base in 45 consecutive games against Colorado. Only Mike Piazza — from July 1, 1995, to Sept. 13, 1999
— has a longer streak against the Rockies.
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Rockies pitcher Jon Gray on track for next start but needs better fastball Jose Reyes could rejoin New York Mets Saturday By Patrick Saunders / The Denver Post | June 23rd 2016
Jon Gray’s dynamic fastball sets up everything else. When it’s not working right, he becomes an average pitcher.
So it’s critical that the Rockies right-hander regains the strength in his shoulder. He’s confident his arm will recover —
quickly — and that he will be back in form for his next scheduled start, which comes Monday against Toronto and former
Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki.
“I passed all the strength tests. My shoulder’s just a little bit fatigued, but I think I will be back out there,” Gray said
Thursday, a day after he was pulled after pitching just four innings in Colorado’s 9-8 loss to the Yankees in New York.
Gray, 4-3 with a 4.80 ERA in 12 starts, throws his fastball almost 58 percent of the time and it averages 95.2 mph,
according to Fangraphs. During his four innings against the Yankees, his fastball velocity ranged from 91 to 97 mph, yet
his command was lacking and he walked six batters.
“There’s no pain. The only thing I really felt was a lack of strength, and that kind of messed up my timing,” Gray said.
Said manager Walt Weiss: “He didn’t look quite right. His fastball command really wasn’t there from the beginning. … He
didn’t look like himself.”
Gray is scheduled to throw his normal side session Friday. But he plans to cut back the number of pitches he throws, from
40 to 25.
“I think maybe I was throwing a little bit too much the last week, so we are going to give it a bit of a rest,” Gray said. “I will
throw the side tomorrow, but it’s maybe going to be less pitches … and it will mostly be fastballs.”
Weiss in confident Gray will bounce back.
“He’ll most likely make his next start,” Weiss said. “He doesn’t have any pain or anything like that. He will go his typical
four days between starts and we’ll see what that looks like. But I think there is a pretty good chance he makes his next
start.”
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Reyes update. Jose Reyes may rejoin the New York Mets as soon as Saturday. Thursday, the Rockies requested
waivers to grant the veteran shortstop his unconditional release, making him a free agent after 48 hours. The
announcement was mostly procedural, because Reyes was designated for assignment last week.
According to a report from Newsday, the Mets have interest in signing Reyes, 33, possibly as soon as this weekend. He
will be available to any team for the prorated portion of the major-league minimum salary, which comes out to
about $277,000 for the rest of the season.
Reyes is still owed about $41 million through 2017 and the Rockies are still on the hook for that.
Reyes served a 51-game suspension from Major League Baseball for his domestic violence arrest Oct. 31 The criminal
charges against him were dropped after his wife, Katherine, refused to cooperate with investigators.
Diamondbacks RHP Archie Bradley (3-3, 4.83 ERA) at Rockies LHP Tyler Anderson (0-1, 2.25), 6:40 p.m. Friday, ROOT;
850 AM
Injuries to Tyler Chatwood, Chris Rusin and most recently Jon Gray have left the Rockies’ rotation reeling. Thank
goodness for Anderson, who has been impressive in his first two major-league starts. He doesn’t have a victory yet, but
he pitched well enough to have two. In his last start, the rookie held the Miami Marlins to four hits and struck out four in
5⅔ innings before being pulled after 102 pitches. He was charged with two runs, but both came after he left the
mound. Bradley has been a disappointment, but he was excellent in his last start, allowing the Philadelphia Phillies just
one earned run over six innings. Bradley beat the Rockies at Coors Field on May 9, pitching six innings and allowing four
runs on seven hits in the Diamondbacks’ 10-5 victory.
Saturday: Diamondbacks RHP Shelby Miller (2-6, 6.36 ERA) at Rockies LHP Jorge De La Rosa (4-4, 7.17), 2:10 p.m.,
ROOT
Sunday: Diamondbacks LHP Patrick Corbin (4-6, 4.63) at Rockies RHP Chad Bettis (6-5, 5.44), 2:10 p.m., ROOT
Monday: Blue Jays RHP Marco Estrada (5-3, 2.70) at Rockies RHP Jon Gray (4-3, 4.80), 6:40 p.m., ROOT
Rockies Request Release Waivers On Jose Reyes By Steve Adams / MLB Trade Rumors | June 23rd 2016 The Rockies announced today that they have requested release waivers on Jose Reyes, whom the team had previously
designated for assignment last week. Reyes will have 48 hours to clear waivers, after which he’ll become a free agent and
have the ability to sign with any club for the pro-rated portion of the league minimum. Technically, a team could claim
Reyes off release waivers, though considering the $38.14MM remaining on his contract through the end of the 2017
season, he’s a virtual lock to clear and seek new employment on the open market.
There was some talk of the Rockies potentially trying to trade Reyes, but any efforts toward that end unsurprisingly came
up empty. Colorado has had ample time to attempt to trade Reyes since he was arrested last Halloween and faced
charges of domestic abuse from his wife (said charges were dropped in April), but the team has yet to find a taker. It
seems likely that some team will ultimately take a shot at signing Reyes to what would be a minimal commitment,
however, if only due to his track record as a well-above-average player on the field. Recent reports have indicated that
the Mets are “warming up” to the idea of a reunion with Reyes, who is said to very much hope to return to Queens.
Whether Reyes proves to be any kind of on-field upgrade remains to be seen. Though he does have a long track record of
production, as noted above, he was one of the game’s worst offensive players last season following his trade to Colorado.
Despite the fact that Coors Field is notorious for inflating offense, Reyes posted just a .259/.291/.368 line in 208 plate
appearances as a member of the Rockies. Overall, his combined .274/.310/.378 slash was considerably below average
for a player that split his season between two of the game’s most favorable parks for offense.
Ahmed's RBI single in ninth lifts D'backs past Rockies 7-6 By Associated Press / ESPN.com | June 23rd 2016 DENVER -- Although one notable streak came to an end, the Arizona Diamondbacks still managed to pull out a win.
Nick Ahmed had a two-out RBI single in the ninth inning and the Diamondbacks recovered after blowing a late lead to
beat the Colorado Rockies7-6 on Thursday night.
Down 6-3, the Rockies rallied to tie it on D.J. LeMahieu's RBI bunt single in the eighth. Daniel Hudson was charged with
three runs, but Brad Ziegler (2-2) allowed LeMahieu's single, ending his streak of 43 consecutive successful save
attempts dating back to May 29, 2015, a club record and the seventh longest ever.
"It was fun while it lasted, for sure," Zeigler said. "It would feel a lot worse if we got beat."
Arizona starter Zack Greinke was in line for his eighth win in eight starts but took a no decision.
The Diamondbacks regained the lead in the top of the ninth off reliever Carlos Estevez (1-4). With two outs, Jake
Lamb and Chris Herrmann each singled, and then Ahmed lined a single up the middle to score the decisive run.
"I just wanted to get that inning clean," Estevez said. "I got two outs and then just grounders. They went through holes."
Rockies manager Walt Weiss said he liked the Rockies' chances with hard-throwing Estevez on the mound but "they got
the barrel to a couple of really good pitches, some good fastballs."
Ahmed said Paul Goldschmidt, who worked a 12-pitch at-bat against Estevez before striking out, paved the way for the
winning hit.
"Goldy saw a bunch of pitches from him that inning, so I got a good look just to scout him right there," Ahmed said. "I
knew he was trying to get ahead with his heater and threw hard so I was just getting ready for a fastball."
Socrates Brito and Lamb each homered and Goldschmidt had an RBI single among his three base hits for the
Diamondbacks, who have won nine of 12.
Nolan Arenado had a run-scoring double and Mark Reynolds homered for the Rockies, who took a 3-0 lead against
Greinke but could not hold it.
Greinke singled to start a four-run third inning. Brito followed with his second homer of the season, working the count full
before driving Butler's offering over the fence in straightaway center. Lamb connected for his 15th homer of the season
after Goldschmidt singled to put the Diamondbacks in front 4-3.
Eddie Butler to seek out advice from Rusin, Bergman, etc By Drew Creasman / BSN Denver | June 24th 2016 DENVER — I was busy making excuses and Eddie Butler was busy looking for solutions.
No matter the nature of the “put up or shut up” mentality that often accompanies professional sports, we often forget that
to make it to this level, these guys often have to develop some kind of routine. Every athlete I’ve ever met has described
themselves as “a creature of habit” when given the chance. But for Butler, developing a routine and regular habits at the
MLB level has been a constant struggle through no fault of his own.
He has been bounced from the bullpen to the rotation to the bullpen and back again. Most recently, he sat for 10 days
between throwing pitches in an actual game (he was throwing side bullpen sessions) but rather than see this obstacle as
one he cannot overcome, he is beginning to embrace the new normal. “Hey look, whatever they want me to do,” Butler
told BSN Denver. “Whatever keeps me here is what I have to do, and if this is my role, I’m going to find a way to make it
work.”
Recognizing that this problem is not uniquely his own, Butler — under some counsel from catcher Nick Hundley — has
decided the next step is to seek out advice from players like Chris Rusin and Christian Bergman who have both switched
back and forth between starting and long relief.
While he admitted that at times this situation has been “stressful” for him, he reiterated that he does not need a defined
role, just a roster spot, and that means doing whatever it takes. Also, Rusin and Bergman have shown that this in-
between shifting can be a role. And a vital one at that.
Butler listed all kinds of advantages of coming out of the ‘pen including not having to “save pitches” for later in games and
has told BSN on more than one occasion that he has no qualms if he ultimately ends up as a reliever. This new wrinkle in
his approach shows how willing he is to embrace whatever role he is given and that has not been lost on the Rockies.
“He’s been asked to do a lot,” said manager Walt Weiss, “and he’s battled for us.”
And he will continue to for as long as he is given the chance. “I was really happy they let me go back out for the fifth [in
the game last night]they let me go out there and fight for the team.”
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Butler struggles in Colorado Rockies second consecutive heartbreaker By Drew Creasman / BSN Denver | June 24th 2016 DENVER — Eddie Butler just wasn’t good enough, and Zack Greinke was just good enough, in the second straight
heartbreaking loss for the Colorado Rockies.
The Rockies drew first blood in the first inning on a pair of doubles from Charlie Blackmon and Nolan Arenado and a
single from Trevor Story. They landed another punch in the second on an opposite-field home run from Mark Reynolds,
his seventh of the season, and the Rockies lead 3-0 early.
But Arizona took the lead right back in the top of the third with a pair of two-run home runs. The first was a 443-foot blast
off the bat of Socrates Brito and the second was Jake Lamb’s 15th of the year to nearly the same spot. The
Diamondbacks added two more the following frame on singles from Yasmani Tomas and Paul Goldschmidt after Butler
walked his counterpart, Greinke. And very quickly, it was 6-3.
The Rockies had a chance to get back in the game in the bottom of the fifth, getting the first two batters (LeMahieu and
Arenado) on base with nobody out. But Carlos Gonzalez grounded weakly into a force out at third, Story popped up to
shallow right, and Ryan Raburn struck out looking to quickly end the threat.
Butler was told before and during the game that he would need to gut through and get innings no matter the results and
he went back out for the fifth and put up a zero which turned out to be important not just in preserving the bullpen but also
keeping his team in the game. “He bent but he didn’t break,” said Weiss post-game. “He left some balls up to some left-
handed hitters, but he could have gotten derailed there and he didn’t.”
The Rockies did get back in the game in the bottom of the eighth, tying the game with a singles parade involving Raburn,
Reynolds, Blackmon, LeMahieu and Daniel Descalso in a pinch-hit role. Descalso continues to deliver big for the Rockies
in 2016.
Somehow, the inning still ended up a disappointment. After an Arenado walk, the Rockies had the bases loaded with only
one out and all of the momentum, having tied the game and with the heart of the order due up. Gonzalez and Story struck
out swinging back-to-back — CarGo appearing to tweak his wrist or hand in the process. It was announced after the game
that Gonzalez has suffered a right wrist sprain. He is listed as day-to-day and will be reevaluated in the morning.
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On whether or not the Rockies need to take a more considered, contact style approach in those situations, Weiss says,
“Those guys have been driving in runs for years and they are good at it. Every once in a while, the pitcher gets you.”
Carlos Estevez came on in the ninth and looked to be in control striking out the first two hitters, including getting
Goldschmidt at the end of an 11-pitch at-bat. “I threw every pitch that I had. In and out, up and down. And he fouled them
all off. I just went fastball, went with my strength, to get him.”
But then three seeing eye singles, one of which went off of Estevez’ glove another which “beat the shift” plated the
Diamonbacks a run and gave them a ninth-inning lead.
“That’s not Carlos Estevez’ loss, that’s my loss,” Butler said after the game. “If I get a Quality Start tonight, we win.”
Lasting Impact
It would be easy to overreact to this start from Butler but it is worth noting that he has been on a remarkably odd schedule
lately. He hadn’t pitched in 10 days and was unsure of his role (starter or closer) coming into this last week. He admitted
to BSN Denver that the circumstances have been “stressful” but also insisted on his own culpability, saying he intends to
seek out some advice from others on the team who have switched back and forth between the rotation and relief.
We will have more on this very soon.
What’s Next
Game 2 will be the third MLB start for Tyler Anderson and his second at Coors Field. Arizona hands the ball to their own
promising young guy in Archie Bradley. First pitch is at 6:40 MST.
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Colorado Rockies Jon Gray will make next start, to throw less in between By Drew Creasman / BSN Denver | June 23rd 2016 DENVER — There was concern for the Colorado Rockies after rookie starter Jon Gray had to be removed from
yesterday’s game in New York against the Yankees. Manager Walt Weiss cited fatigue after the game and Gray echoed
those sentiments when speaking to reporters before Thursday evening’s game with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Gray said he intends to address the problem by “taking it easy,” throwing fewer pitches in long-toss between games and
making sure he is fully rested for the days he starts. He was quick to be dismissive that there might be some kind of more
serious injury at work. He is scheduled to make his next start.
The Rockies need to be careful with Gray early in his career and it appears that is exactly what they are doing. Of course,
there is a balance to be had, as has been seen in the cases of Stephen Strasburg in Washington or Matt Harvey in New
York.
In the long term, it is worth keeping an eye on Gray’s stamina. He has experienced fatigue a few times before in his minor
league career near the ends of seasons. Going forward, if he wants to be an ace — and be an ace for a long time — he
will need to build his physique and get in the proverbial best shape of his life.
Carlos Estevez took Rockies Closer role with abundant mental toughness By Drew Creasman / BSN Denver | June 23rd 2016 DENVER – For Carlos Estevez, becoming the Colorado Rockies Closer has been a long-time goal, but not one he
expected to achieve in the first two months of his MLB career.
He told BSN Denver that it has been a “blessing” to be where he is now, and even notes that his opportunity only arose
after injuries to other bullpen pieces, most notably the 15-day DL-stint Jake McGee is currently on, leaving a hole at the
backend. Well, not for very long. Injuries may have opened the door, but someone had to walk through it.
Just prior to McGee’s injury and Estevez’s subsequent promotion, the rookie flamethrower proved his worth in a dominant
outing against the big bad Los Angeles Dodgers lineup. He struck out the side, on the road, against the heart of the order
one day after he had suffered a loss, giving up a walk-off home run to Trayce Thompson.
“I went out saying ‘OK, what happened, happened.’ I wanted the ball. I wanted to get out there again and prove that [the
previous day’s struggles]were gone. That’s done. I just wanted to get out there and get my team three outs. That’s all I
wanted,” Estevez said.
This mentality is exactly what gave the Rockies brass confidence that Estevez – despite his lack of MLB experience –
could step into the vital Closer role without missing a beat. A short memory is a requirement for any baseball player,
double for late-inning relievers, and Estevez has developed a persona that allows him to do things like striking out the side
while throwing fastballs for 20 of 21 pitches in the inning.
“I threw a change-up to Adrian Gonzalez with one ball and two strikes,” Estevez corrected me when I thought he threw 21
consecutive fastballs. But the point still stood that he showed the utmost confidence in the ‘ole number one.
“I saw they were swinging through the fastball,” he says. “I mean, here at this level, you just gotta get outs. Not work on
your pitches, you gotta get outs. So they were missing the fastball and I just kept throwing it.”
It wasn’t a perfect inning, however, as Thompson grounded a seeing-eye single on Estevez’s hardest-thrown pitch of the
inning, a fastball that touched 100 mph. But in his response to that, Estevez showed again why he just makes so much
sense in a late inning role. He doesn’t dwell. I’m not sure he even has that emotion anywhere in his body.
“OK, he got a single, that’s fine. Next time I’ll get him. I’ll try my best 100 percent to get him, but I didn’t care about the
single; ‘let me get the last out,’ that was my thinking right there.”