3 years ago
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The Rockies’ long, often fruitless hunt for a coagulated antiaircraft catcher, who besides tin enactment the shot implicit the wall, mightiness beryllium over.
Emphasis connected might.
Because everyone from proprietor Dick Monfort to Dinger knows that moving down the sheet astatine Coors Field takes a superior toll connected the body, whittles down batting averages, and drains catchers of their power.
But Elias Díaz’s month-plus location tally surge, combined with his important improvements down the plate, has the Rockies encouraged.
“We felt each on that the endowment was successful there,” manager Bud Black said anterior to Colorado’s Wednesday nighttime crippled against the Cubs. “Trust is processing betwixt america and him. We similar wherever he’s gotten to, arsenic acold arsenic the instauration of what it takes to beryllium a palmy catcher.
“We are precise comfy with wherever helium is and what he’s been doing, particularly the past mates of months.”
Diaz, 30, deed a expansive slam against the Cubs Tuesday night, the archetypal slam of his vocation and his career-high 12th location tally of the season. He deed 4 homers connected the Rockies’ caller 10-game roadworthy travel and launched 7 location runs successful July. His 10 location runs since June 28 are tied for the fourth-most successful the majors among each players, arsenic good arsenic the astir ever deed successful a 23-game span by a Rockies catcher.
Díaz’s 180-degree rotation has been remarkable. At the extremity of May, helium was slashing .125/.193/.381 with 1 location run. At the extremity of June, his enactment was .177/.260/.560 with a full of 4 location runs.
“I tried to enactment the course, support a affirmative cognition and support it simple,” Díaz said, utilizing bullpen catcher Aaron Muñoz to translate. “Mostly, passim the struggles, I didn’t effort to bash excessively much.”
Black loves having Díaz’s powerfulness successful the little portion of the order, but much important to Black has been the catcher’s improvement down the plate. Black gives Díaz a thumbs up connected blocking pitches, receiving and throwing. Díaz has thrown retired 8 would-be basal stealers (tied for seventh successful the National League), portion his 45.5 caught-stealing percent is the highest successful the majors.
Most of all, Black is pleased with the catcher’s improving game-calling skills and the narration he’s forging with Rockies pitchers.
“There is simply a comfortableness level with the pitchers,” Black said. “Elias is taking the pre-game scouting study into the crippled and past making adjustments arsenic the crippled goes on. He’s making adjustments connected the fly, based connected the (pitcher’s) worldly and command, connected each and each pitch. That has stood retired to me.”
Left-hander Kyle Freeland said the pitcher-catcher narration with Diaz has grown from outpouring training.
“It was a substance of him getting comfy with our starting unit and relievers, knowing our repertoire,” Freeland said. “Obviously that takes immoderate time. But he’s truly done a bully occupation learning however we similar to pitch.”
Freeland update. Freeland, who took a comebacker disconnected his near ft successful the 5th inning Tuesday night, woke up sore Wednesday but helium was inactive capable to play drawback and instrumentality batting signifier earlier the game.
Black said the nine is successful wait-and-see mode regarding Freeland’s adjacent start, which is scheduled for Sunday against the Marlins. Freeland, however, is assured he’ll beryllium acceptable to pitch.
“Waking up this greeting was a small rough, but aft moving astir and getting immoderate attraction it’s feeling better,” helium said. “It’s bully to go. I’m not disquieted astir it.”
Footnotes. Right-hander Peter Lambert, moving his mode backmost from past summer’s Tommy John surgery, threw 2 20-pitch innings of unrecorded batting signifier Wednesday. The Rockies are encouraged by Lambert’s advancement and Black said helium expects Lambert to transportation for the big-league nine successful September. … Right-hander reliever Robert Stephenson (upper-back tightness) was reinstated from the injured database Wednesday and right-hander Antonio Santo was optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque.
On Deck
Cubs RHP Jake Arrieta (5-10, 6.20 ERA) astatine Rockies RHP Antonio Senzatela (2-8, 4.58)
1:10 p.m. Thursday, Coors Field
TV: AT&T SportsNet
Radio: KOA 850 AM/94.1 FM
The Rockies haven’t officially announced that Senzatela volition commencement Thursday, but he’s lined up to bash so. He’s coming backmost from a bout with COVID-19 that near him feeling achy. Senzatela was placed connected the injured database aft the all-star game. He pitched 4 innings successful a insignificant league crippled past Saturday, throwing 40 pitches, followed by an further 20 pitches successful the bullpen to physique limb strength. In 4 vocation games (three starts) vs. the Cubs, the right-hander is 1-1 with a 9.00 ERA. In 10 starts astatine Coors Field this season, he’s 2-3 with a 3.75 ERA, striking retired 5.3 batters per 9 innings and walking 3.18. Arrieta was activated from the IL and took a nonaccomplishment successful a commencement connected July 30 astatine Washington. The seasoned right-hander has struggled this season, going 0-5 with a 9.55 ERA successful his past 8 starts. Thursday marks Arrieta’s seventh vocation commencement vs. the Rockies. He’s 2-3 with a 5.82 ERA, including 0-3 with a 10.43 ERA successful 3 starts astatine Coors Field.
Trending: Colorado entered Wednesday night’s crippled with 50 prime starts, which ranks 3rd successful the majors down the Athletics and Dodgers (56 each). The Rockies, however, are conscionable 33-17 successful those 50 starts.
At issue: The Rockies are experimenting with a fig of relievers this season, trying to find the close arms for the future. But it’s wide that the Rockies volition request to find a late-game reliever successful the offseason due to the fact that the bullpen’s ERA is 5.44, the highest successful the National League.
Pitching probables
Friday: Marlins LHP Trevor Rogers (7-6, 2.45) astatine Rockies RHP German Marquez (9-8, 3.51), 6:40 p.m., ATTRM
Saturday: Marlins RHP Sandy Alcantara (6-9, 2.12) astatine Rockies LHP Austin Gomber (8-6, 4.04), 6:10 p.m., ATTRM
Sunday: Marlins TBD astatine Rockies LHP Kyle Freeland (2-6, 4.46), 1:10 p.m., ATTRM
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